Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate that reference President Trump, raising new questions about their relationship. The exchanges are part of about 23,000 additional documents the committee is reviewing, Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said.
One 2015 email between Epstein and author Michael Wolff discusses how to handle a CNN interview with Trump. Wolff wrote, “I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt.”
A 2011 email Epstein sent to Ghislaine Maxwell called Trump the “dog that hasn’t barked” and said Trump spent “hours at my house” with one of the alleged sex-trafficking victims. A 2019 message from Epstein to Wolff said, “of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislane to stop.” The emails released Wednesday were redacted; NPR has not independently confirmed their veracity.
In September, House Democrats released more than 200 pages of an Epstein birthday book from decades earlier that includes a lewd drawing and what appears to be a letter signed by Trump. The president has repeatedly denied any meaningful connection to Epstein and has disputed the birthday book. In July he told reporters he and Epstein fell out after Epstein hired young female employees who worked at the spa at Mar-a-Lago.
The timing of the release coincides with the House returning to session for votes that could reopen the government after a lengthy shutdown. House Democrats and four Republicans have sought a vote to release additional Epstein-related files. House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed that vote by keeping the chamber out of session for weeks and by refusing to swear in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona; Grijalva is expected to be sworn in and to sign a bipartisan petition that would bring the number of signatures to the 218 needed to force a vote.
The Epstein documents continue to be a political liability for Trump, who has campaigned on exposing powerful people hiding information related to Epstein and his alleged crimes.
