Newly released Epstein emails say Trump ‘knew about the girls’

WASHINGTON: US House Democrats have released a series of emails linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying the correspondence raises fresh questions about President Donald Trump’s association with Epstein and what he may have known about the abuse of underage girls.

The development coincided with the swearing-in of newly elected Democrat Adelita Grijalva, whose arrival has strengthened Democratic efforts to push for wider disclosure of Epstein-related records.

Emails claim Trump “knew about the girls”

According to the documents made public by Democrats, Epstein wrote in a 2019 email to author Michael Wolff that Trump “knew about the girls.” The context of the message or the meaning of the phrase remains unclear.

In another email from the same year, Epstein told Wolff that although Trump “came to my house many times,” he “never got a massage.” That email was part of a separate trove of files released later in the day by a Republican-led committee.

Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes, saying he severed ties with him long before Epstein’s 2019 death in a New York jail cell, which was ruled a suicide.

Trump calls move a distraction

Reacting to the release, Trump accused Democrats of attempting to divert attention from the record 43-day U.S. government shutdown.

“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein hoax again because they’ll do anything to deflect from how badly they’ve done on the shutdown,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

New Democrat pushes for full records release

The emails were published hours after Grijalva took her oath of office. Her arrival gives Democrats the numbers needed to initiate a House vote on releasing all unclassified Epstein documents — something Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump have so far opposed.

“It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration,” Grijalva said.

Johnson’s office confirmed that the vote is expected next week.

Republicans also release 20,000 documents

Later on Wednesday, a Republican-led committee released **20,000 additional Epstein-related files**. Trump’s name appears frequently, mostly in references to his political career or to unverified allegations. In one exchange, Epstein claimed he “gave” a 20-year-old girlfriend to Trump in 1993 and mentioned photos of “Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen,” though the tone of the message made it unclear whether he was being serious.

White House: “Trump did nothing wrong”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the emails, accusing Democrats of selectively redacting information — including the name of a victim who she said was Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April. Giuffre had previously described Trump as friendly and never accused him of misconduct.

“These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,” Leavitt said.

Republican dissatisfaction growing

A Reuters/Ipsos poll from October found that only four in 10 Republican voters approved of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files — significantly lower than his broader approval within the party.

US media also reported that Trump and senior officials reached out to Republican lawmakers Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace, urging them to withdraw their support from the petition demanding a full public release of Epstein files.

Boebert told reporters she faced “no pressure” during her meeting with White House officials and said she still backs the petition.

Mace, a survivor of sexual assault, will not withdraw her name “because of her personal story,” her spokesperson said.