It now seems impossible for US President Donald Trump to hide his connection to financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors.
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday released emails that further demonstrate the criminal link between Trump and Epstein, in which the deceased financier suggests that the now-president knew “about the girls” and had “spent hours” with one of his victims at his home.
Trump, who has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the sex trafficking activities of his former friend, accused the congressmen of trying to “deflect attention” from their own mistakes during the longest government shutdown in history.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt came to the president’s defence, harshly criticising the emails and asserting that they prove “nothing.”
But the scandal is proving difficult for Trump to overcome. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said three new emails “raise serious questions about Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes.”
But it is not just the Democrats pressuring the president, as House Republican leader Mike Johnson said he would hold a vote next week to force the Justice Department to release the remaining Epstein files, which would shed even more light on his connection to Trump.
Epstein emails implicate Trump
The email that came to light was sent by Epstein in April 2011 to his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and in it he claims that Trump spent a lot of time with a woman who was later identified by the White House as Epstein’s main accuser, Virginia Giuffre, who was also linked to Prince Andrew of England, whom she accused of abusing her.
“I want you to realise that the dog that hasn’t barked yet is Trump,” Epstein wrote. He later added that the victim “spent hours in my house with him, and he has never been mentioned.”
Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein’s death, responded: “I’ve been thinking about that…”
In another email to journalist Michael Wolff, dated 31 January 2019, Epstein allegedly wrote: “Trump said he asked me to resign, when I was never a member… of course he knew about the girls, since he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
Epstein appeared to be referring to Trump’s claims – repeated by the White House on Wednesday – that he kicked the sex offender out of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida because he was a “disgusting guy.”
Regarding that case, Trump himself said that Epstein “stole” young women who worked at the Mar-a-Lago spa, explaining why he ended their friendship.
In an interview Maxwell gave earlier this year to Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche, she denied recruiting women at Mar-a-Lago.
In another document released Thursday by the House Oversight Committee, Epstein asserted that President Trump was “on the verge of madness.” He made this statement in a 2018 email exchange with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
“Trump is on the verge of madness,” Epstein wrote on 22 December 2018. It is unclear what prompted the exchange between Epstein and Summers.
Similarly, in another email sent by Epstein to a White House adviser during Barack Obama’s presidency, he states: “I know how corrupt Donald is.”
The Epstein case continues to rock the Trump administration four months after the Justice Department closed the case, announcing there was no more information to share.
Democrats in the House, eager to capitalise on the controversy, have been trying to force a vote to compel the release of all Epstein case files.
That pressure grew Wednesday afternoon when newly sworn-in Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva added her name to a petition that already has enough signatures to demand a vote on the full release of the files.
Trump urged Republicans not to fall into a “trap.”
“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump said on Truth Social, alluding to the 40-day government shutdown in the United States, which he blames on his opponents.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee obtained the emails after subpoenaing Epstein’s heirs earlier this year.
Karoline Leavitt also stated that the Democrats “selectively leaked” those messages “to create a false narrative and defame” Trump.
“These emails prove absolutely nothing, except that President Trump did nothing wrong,” Leavitt stated.
The Justice Department asserted in a 7 July memo that there was no alleged “client list” of Epstein, and reaffirmed that the man committed suicide in his cell.
This provoked a furious reaction from a part of the Trump support movement known as MAGA, as several of its leaders have spent years propagating the theory that a “deep state” protects Democratic Party figures whom they accuse of having been clients of Epstein.
Trump’s associates within the MAGA movement – including two allies who now run the FBI – were dedicated to fuelling conspiracy theories, including the one that Epstein’s suicide was actually a murder ordered by his powerful clients.
Trump’s ties to Epstein are extensive. The two were photographed partying together. It was a 15-year friendship before they reportedly drifted apart in 2004 over a real estate deal. Trump has not been charged with any crimes in connection with Epstein or Maxwell.
Epstein admitted to two serious prostitution charges in 2008 as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, negotiated by a prosecutor who would later become part of Trump’s cabinet and who was widely criticised for being too lenient.