House Democrats released emails on Wednesday that suggest President Donald Trump may have had knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex trafficking activities. The emails, which were sent between 2011 and 2019, were obtained from Epstein's estate as part of an ongoing investigation by the House Oversight Committee.

In one email dated April 2, 2011, Epstein referred to Trump as the "dog that hasn't barked" and claimed that an alleged victim had spent hours at his house with Trump. Epstein wrote to Ghislaine Maxwell, his former associate, saying, "I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him, he has never once been mentioned."

Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein's crimes, responded to Epstein's message, indicating she was considering the implications of his statement. This email exchange occurred shortly after a British newspaper published stories about Epstein, Maxwell, and their connections to powerful individuals.

Another email from December 2015 involved Epstein and journalist Michael Wolff. In this correspondence, Wolff mentioned that CNN was planning to ask Trump about his relationship with Epstein. Wolff suggested that if Trump denied being on Epstein's plane or visiting his home, it could provide valuable political leverage. Epstein replied, "I think you should let him hang himself."

In a third email from January 2019, Epstein wrote to Wolff about whether Trump had banned him from Mar-A-Lago. Epstein claimed, "Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop."

The release of these emails comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the Justice Department's handling of Epstein's case. Earlier this year, the department stated it would not release additional files related to Epstein, despite previous commitments to transparency. This has led to bipartisan calls for the full release of the Epstein files.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, stated, "The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately. The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover."

Trump has previously dismissed inquiries about his relationship with Epstein, labeling them as a "hoax" and claiming that their association ended over a disagreement regarding staff at Mar-A-Lago. He stated, "I said, ‘Stay the hell out of here.’"

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The investigation into his activities and connections continues, with the House Oversight Committee seeking further information from the Justice Department regarding Epstein and Maxwell's cases. The committee has issued a bipartisan subpoena for all records related to their investigations, but so far, only a small fraction of documents has been released.