Trump did 'nothing wrong': White House after Epstein-linked emails release

The White House moved quickly to defend President Donald Trump after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released long-spanning Jeffrey Epstein emails referencing him

US President Donald Trump and the White House on Wednesday (local time) attacked Democrats after the House Oversight Committee released emails in which sex offender Jeffrey Epstein referenced Trump multiple times.

 

The Democratic release prompted an immediate response from Trump, who accused his opponents of reviving what he called the “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax”. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, "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."

 

He further said, "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."

 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump by saying that he "did nothing wrong" in his dealings with Epstein. Leavitt told reporters, "Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar-a-Lago until President Trump kicked him out because Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he was a creep." 

What do the disputed emails show?

 

The emails, released by Democrats on the Oversight Committee, include exchanges spanning 15 years involving Epstein, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and writer Michael Wolff. They contain multiple references to Trump, including alleged descriptions of his interactions with a woman described by Democrats as one of Epstein’s sex-trafficking victims.

 

A 2019 email from Wolff stated, "Of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop." Another email from 2011 reportedly referenced Trump spending “hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims. 

 

"There's communication between Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, obviously making some claims about Donald Trump spending significant time, hours, with possibly one of the victims," said Representative Robert Garcia. "There's also disturbing emails there about Trump and Jeffrey Epstein that people can read for themselves."

 

The California Congressman urged the Department of Justice to release all the files that it holds related to Epstein. He noted, "And so we're not going to rest until we get the truth about the full files and what powerful men committed horrific acts against these women and, in some cases, back then, children and girls." 

What was the original Epstein case?

 

In 2006, Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, was accused of sexual offences after the parents of a 14-year-old girl informed Florida police that their daughter had been molested at his home. In 2008, Epstein was indicted and pleaded guilty to two felony charges.

 

A New York Times report stated that Epstein used to pay teenage girls to perform sexual acts and used Maxwell to recruit and manage his stable of victims.

 

Reports have also suggested that Epstein had been friends with Trump for a very long time, who frequently saw each other at high-society parties in Florida and New York. However, Trump has denied any association with him.