Newly released emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein suggest President Donald Trump knew about the underage girls Epstein was accused of abusing, according to US House Democrats. The White House condemned the publication as a politically motivated “hoax”.
Epstein’s emails to Wolff and Maxwell
Democrats cited email exchanges between Epstein, author Michael Wolff, and Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite serving 20 years in prison for aiding Epstein’s abuse of minors.
In one 2019 message to Wolff, Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls when he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
A separate 2011 report to Maxwell allegedly said Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims — whose name was redacted in the report.
White House condemns ‘hoax’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly rejected the Democrats’ claims, accusing them of “selectively leaking” materials to smear the president.
“Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a false narrative to smear President Trump,” Leavitt said in a statement.
She described the disclosure as a “hoax designed to take the shine off” the upcoming House vote to end the ongoing government shutdown, which Trump has touted as a political victory for Republicans.
“These stories are nothing more than bad faith attempts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments. Every sane American sees right through this fraud,” she added.
Leavitt further claimed that the redacted victim mentioned in the emails was Virginia Giuffre, who she said “repeatedly maintained that President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing.”
The Epstein case is reemerging as a political flashpoint
The Epstein controversy continues to shadow Trump and fuel criticism even among his supporters, who accuse federal authorities of covering up details of Epstein’s ties to powerful figures.
Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Trump vehemently denies knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, saying the two were once acquaintances who later fell out.
Democrats push for release of Epstein file
The email message coincides with the planned swearing-in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat who succeeds her late father. Her recall is expected to give Democrats enough support to force a House vote to declassify all files related to Epstein, a move Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson have rejected.
Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, urged the Justice Department to release Epstein’s files.
“The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we’re going to expose,” Garcia said.
“These latest emails raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the president.”
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)
Read also | Mamdani plans to call Trump to protect New York City: ‘I will be proactive’ emails
