The US Justice Department reviewed allegations of sexual misconduct involving President Donald Trump in connection with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but found no credible evidence warranting further investigation, according to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Mr Blanche made the remarks on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, less than two days after the Trump administration released roughly three million pages of documents related to the Justice Department’s long-running investigation into Epstein, who died in custody in 2019.
Epstein has cast a long shadow over Mr Trump’s presidency. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump allies promised to make the Epstein files public, but the administration later hesitated, fuelling speculation that the records contained damaging information about the president or those close to him.
Read related news from New Daily Prime:
Trump files $5bn lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase
FBI report reveals early warning on Epstein abuse ignored for decades
Trump orders release of Epstein files
The newly released files include numerous references to Mr Trump, who was socially close to Epstein until the early 2000s. Although Mr Trump has repeatedly downplayed the relationship, the two men were known to socialise extensively during that period. Mr Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.
Using a proprietary search tool, The New York Times identified more than 5,300 files containing over 38,000 references to Mr Trump, his wife, his Mar-a-Lago resort, and related terms within the latest batch of emails, videos, and government records. Earlier document releases contained an additional 130 Trump-related files.
Many of the references consist of news articles and publicly available material that appeared in Epstein’s email inbox. None of the documents reviewed show direct correspondence between Epstein and Mr Trump, and few records date back to the period when they were known to be friends.
Unverified Tips and Witness Accounts
The files include unverified tips received by the FBI, some of which mention Mr Trump. An internal FBI email from last year refers to “salacious information” involving several prominent individuals, including Mr Trump. The tips—submitted through the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center—were compiled into a summary last summer and released as part of the document trove.
The summary does not contain corroborating evidence, and the FBI did not independently verify the claims. Some tipsters’ names were not redacted. The Times has not detailed the allegations.
Also included are interview notes and transcripts from Epstein’s victims, some of whom recalled encounters involving Mr Trump. In one interview conducted in September 2019, a victim said Epstein drove her to Mar-a-Lago to meet Mr Trump. Notes from the interview do not suggest misconduct by the president.
Another file recounts statements from Juan Alessi, a former Epstein employee, who told investigators that Mr Trump, among other high-profile individuals, had visited Epstein’s home.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on specific documents, referring instead to Mr Trump’s statement that the files “absolved me” of wrongdoing.
Confirming What Was Already Known
Much of the newly released material reinforces information already in the public domain, including reporting by journalists and disclosures by congressional committees. Several files duplicate records released late last year by the Justice Department and the House Oversight Committee.
Some documents suggest that Epstein continued to closely follow Mr Trump’s career long after their relationship ended. In 2018, for example, Epstein’s accountant emailed him a Reuters article about investigations into Mr Trump’s financial dealings with Deutsche Bank, which had also been Epstein’s primary bank.
The files also include images and records confirming earlier reports about Epstein displaying photographs of himself with powerful figures, including Mr Trump, inside his Manhattan mansion.
There are scattered references to Epstein’s 50th birthday book, compiled in 2003. One email from late 2002 notes that submissions from Mr Trump and others had not yet arrived. The completed book, released by Congress last year, included a crude message bearing Mr Trump’s name. Mr Trump has denied authoring it and is suing The Wall Street Journal for linking him to the entry.
Emails and Family References
Among the documents are emails sent by a woman named Melania to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in his sex-trafficking operation. It remains unclear whether the sender was Melania Knavs, who later married Mr Trump.
The email, sent in October 2002, followed a New York magazine profile of Epstein and contained friendly remarks. Maxwell replied months later. The email address of the sender has been redacted.
Other files include passing references to Trump family members, including handwritten notes from the mid-2000s listing gifts, apparently including one for Ivana Trump, Mr Trump’s former wife.
Sensitivity Around Trump References
Some documents suggest heightened sensitivity within the Trump administration regarding the president’s appearance in the files. In one set of 2019 text messages between Epstein and Stephen K. Bannon, a photograph of Mr Trump was partially redacted.
In December, the Justice Department briefly removed and later reposted a photograph of Epstein’s mansion that showed an image of Mr Trump among a group of women, citing concerns about protecting victims.
One email indicates that in 2011 Epstein considered contacting Mr Trump regarding Virginia Giuffre, one of his most prominent accusers, who said she was recruited while working at Mar-a-Lago. It remains unclear whether Epstein ever reached out.
Mr Trump has said he ended his relationship with Epstein in part because Epstein recruited Ms Giuffre from his club, a claim that has drawn renewed attention following the release of the files.
