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WASHINGTON – Democrats released emails from accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to document multiple references to President Donald Trump but the White House and Republican lawmakers deny the messages prove any close connection between the two.
Two of the key Epstein emails say Trump “spent hours at my house” and “of course he know about the girls.”
The documents Democrats highlighted are part of 23,000 pages of records the House Oversight and Accountability Committee released Nov. 12 about the Epstein investigation. "Release the Epstein files" had been a rallying cry of Republicans demanding more information to fight pedophilia but now threatens to fracture the party as Democrats demand the Justice Department release its files.
A House vote is expected next week on legislation to force the department to release more. But the bill must still get through the Senate and be signed by Trump to take effect.
“We won’t stop until we end this White House cover-up,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight committee, said in a social media post Nov. 12. “Release the files, NOW.”
The White House and Republicans say the administration released more documents than any other had − and the records and other testimony fail to prove Trump knew about Epstein’s alleged criminal activity.
Trump said on social media “only a very bad, or stupid” Republican would help Democrats draw more attention to Epstein. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the email release was part of a Democratic “smear” against the president.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” she said.
Democrats call emails 'serious and disturbing'
The first email Democrats highlighted was from April 2011, after Epstein spent 13 months in jail for soliciting a 14-year-old girl for sex and was returning to public life. He had pleaded guilty in state court to procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute but then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta dropped his federal investigation as part of the plea deal.
“i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump...” Epstein wrote Maxwell in the email. After a victim’s name was redacted, the email continued that she “spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned.”
Epstein sent the email to his aide, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted and is serving a 20-year prison term for conspiring with him to traffic minors.
Garcia called the emails "serious and disturbing."
Adam Kinzinger, a former GOP House member from Illinois who investigated Trump because of the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, said the implications of the emails are obvious.
"Trump is associated with Epstein and protecting Ghislane Maxwell to protect himself," Kinzinger said on social media Nov. 13. "Every Republican now has a choice, pick a side. No middle ground."
GOP contends victim in Epstein email absolved Trump
The victim mentioned in the email was Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was 16 when Maxwell recruited her from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to work for Epstein in 2000.
Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, published a posthumous book, “Nobody’s Girl,” saying Epstein abused her and trafficked her to other men, including the former Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom, whose title has been taken away.
House Republicans on the Oversight panel accused Democrats of redacting Giuffre’s name from the email because she had public denied witnessing wrongdoing by Trump.
“Democrats are trying to create a fake narrative to slander President Trump,” Republicans said in a social media post Nov. 12. “Shame on them.”
Giuffre testified in a civil case in November 2016 that Trump didn’t “partake in any sex with any of” Epstein’s girls.
“I don’t think Donald Trump participated in anything,” Giuffre said in the deposition. “Oh, I didn't physically see him have sex with any of the girls, so I can't say who he had sex with in his whole life or not, but I just know it wasn't with me when I was with other girls.”
Epstein tells Wolff that Trump 'knew about the girls'
The second email that Democrats highlighted − from Epstein to author Michael Wolff, who has written several books about Trump − was from January 2019, when Trump was president and Epstein was not yet facing federal charges. A series of articles in the Miami Herald suggested prosecutors treated Epstein leniently years earlier.
“of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop,” Epstein wrote to Wolff.
By this point, Trump appointed Acosta as his labor secretary during his first term. The president defended Acosta when Epstein was indicted on federal charges in July 2019.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who led the second impeachment against Trump from his first term, said even presidents must be brought to justice.
"Republicans are scrambling to cover up the Epstein file, but we say anyone involved in Epstein's billion-dollar child sex trafficking ring must be brought to justice − whether Republicans, Democrats or, yes, even presidents," Raskin said on social media Nov. 12.
Trump has forcefully denied knowing about Epstein’s criminal activities and said he ousted him from his Mar-a-Lago club.
"These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong," Leavitt told reporters Nov. 12.
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 article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats say Epstein emails prove Trump knew of misconduct, which president, GOP deny
Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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