Trump promised a lawsuit after The Wall Street Journal described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
Thursday’s disclosure — coupled with frustration from Trump-allied lawmakers on Capitol Hill — pushed Trump to abruptly reverse course and direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to try to make some of the documents in the case public.
Bondi said she would seek court permission Friday to release grand jury information, but it would require a judge’s approval, and she and Trump were silent on the additional evidence collected by federal law enforcement in the sprawling investigation that Bondi last week announced she would not release.
Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and convicted a year later on charges that she helped Epstein lure girls to be sexually abused.
Trump slammed the story in a lengthy social media post Thursday night, saying he spoke to both to the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, and its top editor, Emma Tucker, and told them the letter was “fake.” Trump promised to sue the paper over the story, saying: “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”
Vice President JD Vance said The Wall Street Journal “should be ashamed” for publishing it.
The Trump administration has been struggling for nearly two weeks to contain the fallout of the Justice Department’s announcement that no more Epstein evidence in the government’s possession would be released to the public despite promises of transparency from Bondi. The Justice Department’s reversal on the Epstein files not only angered Trump supporters but touched off a testy exchange at the White House last week between Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino that neither official has publicly addressed.
The Justice Department has yet to provide a full accounting of its reversal months after Bondi handed out binders to conservative influencers at the White House that read the “Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “the most transparent administration.” Bondi earlier this week refused to answer questions from reporters about the Epstein files and her relationship with Bongino.
The White House on Thursday closed the door on calls for a further inquiry into the Epstein investigation, saying the president would not be recommending the appointment of a special counsel.
Even though his administration for months had hyped the expected release of more documents, Trump slammed his own supporters earlier this week for their furor over the Epstein files saga. Trump called it a “hoax” and tried to place blame on Democrats, accusing former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as former FBI Director James Comey — without evidence — of making up such documents.
Earlier Thursday, the controversy over the Epstein files had snarled the House’s efforts to pass a bill that claws back $9.4 billion in federal spending, as Democrats used procedural moves to force votes on releasing the documents in tandem with the package.
That frustrated House Republicans, who tried to forge a solution that could include a resolution supporting the release of “credible” files pertaining to Epstein and his activities.
And Trump’s ties to Epstein have been well-documented, though the president has not been accused of misconduct in connection with their social relationship.
It also depicts the two men standing and gesturing at the women on the dance floor.
“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump said when the video emerged. “He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling-out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years.”
Previously released files included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Trump’s Atlantic City casino but didn’t say if she actually met Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing.
