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By Jenna Sundel and Gabe Whisnant
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President Donald Trump has posted his first remarks since Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three emails referencing Trump sent by the late sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump posted on Wednesday afternoon on Truth Social, "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. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap. The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!""
Why It Matters
The documents have renewed scrutiny over what Trump may have known about Epstein’s sexual misconduct. Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes and has said he ended their relationship years ago.
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Trump Named in Leaked Jeffrey Epstein Emails: What to Know
In a 2011 email to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein states that Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s house with a sex trafficking victim. The victim's name was redacted, but Republicans on the committee said it was Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of arranging for her to have sexual encounters with several of his rich and powerful friends.
Giuffre, who died earlier this year, had said that Trump was not among these friends. In a court deposition, she said under oath that she didn’t believe Trump had any knowledge of Epstein’s misconduct with underage girls.
Epstein's message to Maxwell refers to Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked.”
In a 2019 message to author Michael Wolff, Epstein claims the future president once asked him to resign his Mar-a-Lago club membership.
Epstein also wrote that “of course” Trump “knew about the girls” because he had asked Maxwell “to stop.”
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee later released additional emails allegedly showing Epstein's correspondence with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Democrats “selectively leaked emails” to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.”
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, on Truth Social: "In other words, the Democrats are using the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures, in particular, their most recent one — THE SHUTDOWN!"
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, on X: "Oversight Dems have received new emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate that raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes. Read them for yourself. It’s time to end this cover-up and RELEASE THE FILES."
Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, in a statement sent to Newsweek: "The Epstein emails are bad for President Trump politically, but they’re not going to move the needle legally. First, they don’t support the proposition that Trump participated in sex acts, at least not directly. Second, although the emails suggest that Trump knew about Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors, none of the evidence is admissible. Epstein is dead, the emails are hearsay, and even if Trump could theoretically be prosecuted after he leaves office because there is no statute of limitations for federal sex abuse and presidential immunity doesn’t apply to unofficial acts, the Confrontation Clause of the Constitution would bar the admission of the emails at any trial."
What Happens Next
Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, giving Democrats the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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