WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� wrote in a 2019 email to a journalist that Donald Trump 鈥渒new about the girls,鈥� according to documents made public Wednesday, but what he knew 鈥� and whether it pertained to the sex offender鈥檚 crimes 鈥� is unclear. The White House quickly accused Democrats of selectively leaking the emails to smear the president.
released three emails referencing Trump, including one Epstein wrote in 2011 in which he told confidant Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump had 鈥渟pent hours鈥� at Epstein鈥檚 house with a sex trafficking victim.
The disclosures seemed designed to raise new and about what regarding what prosecutors call a yearslong effort by Epstein to exploit underage girls. The Republican businessman-turned-politician has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein鈥檚 crimes and has said he ended their relationship years ago.
Trump did not take questions from reporters Wednesday, even after inviting them into the Oval Office to watch him sign legislation ending the government shutdown.
The version of the 2011 email released by the Democrats redacted the name of the victim, but Republicans on the committee later said it was Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of arranging for her to have sexual encounters with a number of his rich and powerful friends. Epstein in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges.
The emails made public Wednesday are part of a batch of 23,000 documents provided by Epstein鈥檚 estate to the Oversight Committee.
Giuffre said Trump 鈥榗ouldn鈥檛 have been friendlier’
Giuffre, who , long insisted that Trump was not among the men who had victimized her.
In a court deposition, she said under oath that she didn鈥檛 believe Trump had any knowledge of Epstein鈥檚 misconduct with underage girls. And in , she described meeting Trump only once, when she worked as a spa attendant at in Palm Beach, Florida, and did not accuse him of wrongdoing.
Giuffre wrote that she was introduced to Trump by her father, who also worked at the club. She described Trump as friendly and said he offered to help her get babysitting jobs with parents at the club.
Trump 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 have been friendlier,鈥� Giuffre wrote.
Other members of Epstein鈥檚 household staff also said in sworn depositions that, while Trump did stop by Epstein鈥檚 house, they didn鈥檛 see him engage in any inappropriate conduct.
Republicans says emails released to tarnish Trump
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Democrats 鈥渟electively leaked emails鈥� to 鈥渃reate a fake narrative to smear President Trump.鈥�
Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said Democrats 鈥渁re trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they鈥檒l do anything at all to deflect on how badly they鈥檝e done鈥� on 鈥渁nd so many other subjects.鈥�
鈥淭here should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!鈥� Trump wrote.
In July, Trump said he had because his one-time friend was 鈥渢aking people who worked for me,鈥� including Giuffre. The women, he said, were 鈥渢aken out of the spa, hired by him 鈥� in other words, gone.鈥�
鈥淚 said, 鈥楲isten, we don鈥檛 want you taking our people,鈥欌�� Trump told reporters. Asked if Giuffre was one of the employees poached by Epstein, the president demurred but then said Epstein 鈥渟tole her.鈥�
Shortly after Democrats released the Trump-related emails, committee Republicans countered by disclosing what they said was an additional 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein鈥檚 estate. Among them were a trove of emails written over several years by Epstein, including many where he commented 鈥� often unfavorably 鈥� on Trump’s rise in politics and corresponded with journalists.
Emails revive questions about Trump鈥檚 relationship with Epstein
The release resurfaces a storyline that had shadowed Trump’s presidency during the summer when the FBI and the Justice Department abruptly announced that they would not be releasing that investigators had spent weeks examining, disappointing conspiracy theorists and online sleuths who had expected to see new revelations.
In one 2019 email to , who has written extensively about Trump, Epstein wrote of Trump, 鈥渙f course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.鈥�
In an April 2, 2011, email to Maxwell, a former Epstein girlfriend now imprisoned for conspiring to engage in sex trafficking, Epstein wrote, 鈥淚 want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. Virginia spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75 % there.鈥�
Maxwell replied the same day: 鈥淚 have been thinking about that.鈥�
Leavitt said the person referenced in the emails is Giuffre, who had accused and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager and who died by suicide in April. Andrew, who recently was and evicted from his royal residence by King Charles III after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with Epstein, has rejected Giuffre鈥檚 allegations and said he didn鈥檛 recall meeting her.
It wasn’t clear what Epstein meant by saying that Trump was a dog that 鈥渉adn’t barked,鈥� but both he and Maxwell in other correspondence accused Giuffre of fabricating stories about her supposed sexual interactions with famous men.
Leavitt said in a statement that Giuffre had 鈥渞epeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and 鈥榗ouldn鈥檛 have been friendlier鈥� to her in their limited interactions.鈥�
鈥淭he fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭hese stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump鈥檚 historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again.鈥�
Messages seeking comment were left with Wolff, Maxwell attorney David Markus and representatives for Giuffre鈥檚 family.
Maxwell’s interview with the Justice Department
Maxwell, interviewed in July by the Justice Department鈥檚 second-in-command, repeatedly denied witnessing any sexually inappropriate interactions involving Trump.
鈥淚 actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting,鈥� Maxwell , according to a transcript of the interview. 鈥淚 never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.鈥�
Giuffre came forward publicly after an initial investigation ended in an 18-month Florida jail term for Epstein, who made to avoid federal prosecution by pleading guilty instead to relatively minor state-level charges of soliciting prostitution. He was released in 2009.
In subsequent lawsuits, Giuffre said she was a teenage spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago when she was approached in 2000 by Maxwell.
Lawyers for Maxwell, , have argued that she never should have been tried or convicted for her role in luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. She is serving a 20-year prison term, though she was to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas after the Blanche interview.
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Sisak reported from New York.
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