A protester holds up a photo of the future President Donald Trump with financier Jeffrey Epstein at a rally in Augusta, Georgia, on Aug. 2, 2025. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting a federal sex trafficking trial.

WASHINGTON – Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker, wrote that President Donald Trump "spent hours at my house" with one of his victims, according to emails House Democrats released Nov. 12.

The White House called the release of emails a "smear." Trump attended parties and flew on Epstein’s plane during the 1990s. But Trump later ousted Epstein from his club and forcefully denied knowing about the sex trafficking. Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

The Democratic revelations came as the House prepares to swear in a new lawmaker from Arizona, Democrat Adelita Grijalva. She is expected to provide the final signature needed to force a vote on legislation that would release all Department of Justice records about the Epstein investigation.

Democrats release Epstein emails urging release of more records

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight committee, called the emails "serious and disturbing."

"We won’t stop until we end this White House cover-up," Garcia said on social media Nov. 12. "Release the files, NOW."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt alleged that the unnamed victim in the emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim she said “repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing.” She called the release of emails part of “bad-faith efforts to distract” from Trump’s accomplishments.

“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” Leavitt said. “The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi has said she already released Epstein records other than pornographic videos and documents naming victims in the case. The House bill would still face a vote in the Senate.

What do the emails say about Trump?

Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee released several emails that mention Trump to increase pressure on the Justice Department to release additional records.

"I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump," Epstein wrote in one email to Ghislaine Maxwell on April 2, 2011. The email continues after the name of an alleged victim of Epstein is redacted: "spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned."

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in sex acts.

Democrats alleged Maxwell is getting preferential treatment in prison after speaking with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Another Epstein email to author Michael Wolff on Jan. 31, 2019, said "of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop."

Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Epstein, the late billionaire financier, "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in New York and Palm Beach, Florida, according to the 2019 federal indictment.

His case continues to draw attention because of the bold-faced names who attended his parties and have shown up in evidence collected during the investigation against him. These high-profile figures include Trump, former President Bill Clinton and the former Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom.

Six years after Epstein's death, hundreds of women who call themselves Survivor Sisters are applying public pressure to identify Epstein associates they allege assaulted them or participated in his trafficking ring.

In the United Kingdom, King Charles III stripped the titles and honors from his younger brother, Prince Andrew, because of his connection to Epstein. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has denied knowing about sexual abuse in connection with Epstein.

Michael Wolff was a freelance USA TODAY contributor from 2012 to early 2017. USA TODAY had no knowledge of any relationship between him and Jeffrey Epstein, nor any actions beyond his submissions for publication. We are committed to integrity and transparency, as we uphold our editorial standards and maintain the trust of our readers.

This story has been updated to add new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump named in Epstein emails released by Dems. Latest updates in the saga.

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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