WASHINGTON, DC (LOOTPRESS) – Newly released emails between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates have drawn renewed attention to his past interactions with President Donald Trump, sparking political controversy on Capitol Hill.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led by Democrats, released a small set of email exchanges on Wednesday from a batch of more than 23,000 documents obtained from the Epstein Estate under subpoena. The messages include references to Trump and were shared as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Epstein’s connections with powerful figures.
In one April 2011 exchange, Epstein referred to Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked,” writing to his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell that an alleged victim “spent hours at my house with him,” but that Trump “has never once been mentioned.” Maxwell replied, “I have been thinking about that.”
Another series of emails between Epstein and journalist Michael Wolff show discussions about Trump during the early stages of his 2016 presidential campaign. In December 2015, Wolff told Epstein that CNN was preparing to question Trump about their relationship. Epstein responded by asking how Trump should answer, to which Wolff replied, “I think you should let him hang himself.”
A third exchange, from January 2019, appears to reference Trump’s decision years earlier to ban Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort. “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” Epstein wrote. “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” The full context of the comments remains unclear.
Wolff confirmed to ABC News that he spoke extensively with Epstein about Trump for his books on the Trump presidency, saying Epstein was a “valuable source.” He said he encouraged Epstein to speak publicly about their relationship.
None of the released documents include allegations of criminal wrongdoing by Trump. Trump has previously denied any involvement in Epstein’s activities, claiming he ended contact with him in the early 2000s.
Republicans on the Oversight Committee sharply criticized Democrats for releasing what they called “selectively edited” materials intended to damage Trump politically. In a statement, the Republican majority accused Democrats of “carelessly cherry-picking documents to generate click-bait” while withholding other records that name Democratic officials.
They also pointed to one redacted name in the 2011 email—believed to refer to Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who publicly stated that Trump never engaged in misconduct. Republicans said the Epstein Estate did not redact her name in the version it provided to the committee. Giuffre died by apparent suicide earlier this year.
The White House also condemned the release. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the move “a bad-faith effort to distract from President Trump’s accomplishments,” adding that Giuffre had described Trump as “nothing but friendly” in their brief encounters.
Democrats defended the release, arguing it was necessary for transparency. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, said the documents “raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President.”
The controversy comes as the House prepares for a potential December vote on a bipartisan bill that would compel the Department of Justice to release all Epstein-related investigative files. The DOJ has so far declined to make those records public, citing privacy concerns and lack of evidence of a “client list” or blackmail scheme.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in the operation.
