Democrats on Wednesday released thousands of emails allegedly written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that include references linking President Donald Trump to Epstein. Touching off nationwide uproar and prompting a Justice Department review – Nytimes report.
One 2011 email says Trump spent hours with a victim of Epstein’s abuse. In a separate 2019 email, Epstein wrote that Trump previously knew about women trafficked by Epstein, according to Democrats’ release.
The White House called release part of a concerted effort to create a false narrative to smear the president. Trump fired back, accusing Democrats of cherry-picking messages. And naming several influential party figures — including Dari Summers — as having close ties with Epstein, and also mentioning JP Morgan Chase.
Trump asked Justice Department to probe claims. The department said it will review allegations about people. And institutions named by Trump and that any ties to Epstein will be investigated with urgency and integrity.
In his social media post connecting Democrats with Mr. Epstein, Mr. Trump named Mr. Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and the venture capitalist and megadonor Reid Hoffman.
The newly released emails “prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing,” said Angel Ureña, a spokesman for Mr. Clinton. “The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns and who knows what else.”
On X, Mr. Hoffman called on Mr. Trump to release all the Epstein files. “I want this complete release because it will show that the calls for baseless investigations of me are nothing more than political persecution and slander,” he said, adding that he also wanted justice for Mr. Epstein’s victims.
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A representative for Mr. Summers declined to comment.
Mr. Trump also said he wanted law enforcement officials to investigate “J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions.” A recent investigation by The New York Times found that the bank had spent years supporting — and profiting from — Mr. Epstein, ignoring a series of red flags about his conduct.
