What did Trump know about Epstein?
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Virginia Giuffre
18 min read
Central figure in the Epstein case who was allegedly recruited from Mar-a-Lago. Understanding her full story and legal battles provides essential context for the allegations discussed in the article.
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Discharge petition
12 min read
The article discusses the procedural mechanism being used to force release of Epstein files. Most readers don't understand how this rare congressional procedure works to bypass leadership obstruction.
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Ghislaine Maxwell
1 min read
Key accomplice mentioned throughout the article who received emails from Epstein about Trump. Her background, trial, and current imprisonment status are directly relevant to understanding the ongoing story.
From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were friends. They were photographed together in Mar-a-Lago, Epstein attended Trump’s wedding in 1993, and they attended the same elite social events in Manhattan.
On July 12, 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, Trump was asked by a reporter on the White House lawn if he suspected Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls:
REPORTER: With regard to Jeffrey Epstein, did you have any suspicions that he was molesting young women, underaged women?
TRUMP: No, I had no idea. I had no idea. I haven’t spoken to him in many, many years. But I had -- I didn’t have no idea [sic].
On July 31, 2025, Trump was asked if he knew why Epstein had been “taking“ young women who were employed at Trump’s spa at Mar-a-Lago. Two days earlier, Trump claimed that Epstein had “stolen“ Virginia Giuffre and other underage victims from the spa. Trump again denied knowledge of Epstein’s activities. “No, I didn’t know,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee released emails, obtained from Epstein’s estate, that directly contradict Trump’s denials.
In a January 31, 2019, email to journalist Michael Wolff, Epstein wrote that Trump “of course… knew about the girls.”
In April 2011, as Epstein’s legal troubles mounted, Epstein wrote in an email to his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, that the “dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.” Epstein said that Trump had spent “hours at my house” with one of the victims, which Republicans on the committee later revealed was Giuffre. The email implies that Trump had knowledge of Epstein’s crimes but had not communicated with authorities.
The White House claims that House Democrats unnecessarily redacted Giuffre’s name to create a “fake narrative.” Giuffre said in a deposition that Trump never conducted himself inappropriately in her presence.
While the emails do not show that Trump was involved in sexual misconduct facilitated by Epstein, they do directly undermine Trump’s claims that he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes.
Trump scrambles to prevent the release of more Epstein information
After a record 50-day delay, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) finally swore in Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) on Wednesday. Grijalva then provided the final signature needed for
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