Newly released emails between Jeffrey Epstein, author Michael Wolff, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell have reignited questions about President Donald Trump’s relationship with the late financier, as House Democrats move to force the release of all unclassified Epstein records.
The emails, published Wednesday by House Democrats, include a 2019 message in which Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” though the meaning of the remark remains unclear.
In another email from the same year, Epstein told Wolff that Trump “came to my house many times” but “never got a massage.” The messages were part of a larger trove of documents later released by a Republican-led congressional committee.
Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking operations, insisting that he severed ties with Epstein long before his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell.
“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 Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, referencing the recently ended 43-day government shutdown.
The latest disclosures coincided with the swearing-in of Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva, whose arrival gives Democrats the votes needed to compel a House vote on releasing all unclassified Epstein records.
“It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration,” Grijalva said. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office confirmed that the vote will be held next week.
Among the emails released was a 2011 message from Epstein to Maxwell in which he described Trump as “that dog that hasn’t barked,” claiming the former president had “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims, whose name was redacted.
Later in the day, Republicans made public an additional 20,000 Epstein-related documents, where Trump’s name appeared frequently, though mostly in connection to political references or secondhand allegations.
One email from 1993 mentioned a “20-year-old girlfriend” Epstein said he “gave to Donald,” and another referred to “photos of Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen,” though it was unclear if the comments were made in jest.
A newly released email from disgraced late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, referencing U.S. President Donald Trump, is seen in this handout image released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., on November 12, 2025. House Oversight Committee Democrats/Handout via REUTERS
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the Democratic disclosures as “a smear campaign,” asserting that the redacted victim was Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April and had described Trump as “friendly” in her memoir without accusing him of any wrongdoing.
“These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,” Leavitt said.
A newly released email from disgraced late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, referencing his former companion Ghislaine Maxwell and U.S. President Donald Trump, is seen in this handout image released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in Washington, D.C., U.S., on November 12, 2025. House Oversight Committee Democrats/Handout via REUTERS
The controversy has exposed cracks within the Republican Party. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in October found that only 40% of Republicans approved of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, a sharp drop compared to the 90% who support his overall leadership.
Trump allies have reportedly urged Representatives Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace to withdraw their names from the petition demanding full disclosure of Epstein records. Both lawmakers, however, have refused.
“There was no pressure,” Boebert told reporters after meeting with White House officials. Mace’s spokesperson, Sydney Long, said the congresswoman, a survivor of sexual assault, would not retract her support “because of her personal story.”
The impending House vote is expected to escalate tensions between the White House and congressional Democrats, potentially opening a new and politically charged chapter in the long-running effort to uncover the full extent of Epstein’s connections to powerful figures.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
