Congressional Democrats released more than 20,000 pages of documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, including three email exchanges that reference former president Donald Trump. The material, published by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, includes messages between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and between Epstein and author Michael Wolff. House Republicans countered by releasing a larger set of documents, accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” to create a “fake narrative to slander President Trump.” The White House said the emails were “selectively leaked” to the “liberal media” to smear Mr. Trump; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also noted Mr. Trump had said he expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago decades ago for “being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre.” Trump has acknowledged a past association with Epstein but says they fell out in the early 2000s and denies any wrongdoing.
“Dog that hasn’t barked is Trump”
One email, dated 2011 and sent between Epstein and Maxwell, contains a line from Epstein: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.” Epstein adds that Trump “has never once been mentioned,” including by a “police chief.” Maxwell replies, “I have been thinking about that…” In the Democrats’ redacted release the victim’s name was obscured; committee documents released more broadly show the name as Virginia, a reference to Virginia Giuffre. The White House highlighted that Giuffre repeatedly said Trump was not involved in abuse during their limited interactions. Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who died earlier this year, said in a 2016 deposition she never saw Trump participate in any abuse, and her 2024 memoir did not accuse Trump. Representative Robert Garcia, the panel’s top Democrat, said victim names were redacted according to families’ wishes.
Epstein seeks Wolff’s view of Trump
Other emails are between Epstein and Michael Wolff, written while Trump was campaigning and later during his presidency. In a 2015 message Wolff warned Epstein that CNN might question Trump about their connection and advised letting Trump “hang himself” by denying ties, which Wolff said could create “valuable PR and political currency” for Epstein. Wolff also suggested that if Trump seemed likely to win, Epstein could “save him, generating a debt.” In October 2016, days before the election, Wolff offered Epstein an interview opportunity he said might “finish” Trump or produce sympathy for Epstein. A January 2019 email attributed to Epstein says “Trump said he asked me to resign,” apparently about Epstein’s Mar-a-Lago membership, and adds he was “never a member ever” and that “of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” Wolff has acknowledged some of the released emails were between him and Epstein and said he had long sought to discuss the story.
Prince Andrew and a 2011 exchange
The files also contain a March 2011 exchange in which Maxwell forwarded a “right of reply” email from the Mail on Sunday alleging sexual activity between Prince Andrew and a masseuse linked to Epstein. Andrew’s reply included in the release reads: “Hey there! What’s all this? I don’t know anything about this! You must SAY so please. This has NOTHING to do with me. I can’t take any more of this.” The newspaper published a story on 6 March 2011 that included a photo of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre. Prince Andrew has consistently denied wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Contact with Lord Mandelson
The documents also show communications between Epstein and Lord Peter Mandelson, whose links to Epstein prompted his removal as the UK’s ambassador to the US in September, according to the release. Earlier reporting noted Mandelson sought Epstein’s advice on a banking matter in 2010 after Epstein’s prior prison sentence. In a 6 November 2015 email Epstein wrote to Mandelson, “63 years old. You made it.” Mandelson replied less than 90 minutes later, “Just. I have decided to extend my life by spending more of it in the US.” Epstein then wrote, “in the Donald White House,” referencing the U.S. election that week, and added, “you were right about staying away from Andrew. I was right in your staying with Rinaldo [sic],” a reference to Mandelson’s husband. Mandelson has said he regrets his relationship with Epstein and declined to comment on the released emails when approached by the BBC.