New FBI Documents Challenge Trump’s Claim of Ignorance About Jeffrey Epstein’s Crimes
The release of a summary of an interview by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has once again put President Donald Trump’s claim of being unaware of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual crimes under scrutiny. According to the document, Trump contacted the Palm Beach Police Chief in Florida in 2006, around the time the first allegations against Epstein became public.
The summary, included in recently released Department of Justice documents, quotes Michael Reiter, then-chief of Palm Beach Police, saying that Trump told him in a phone call, “Thank God you arrested him. Everyone knows what he does.” The document also states that Trump said New Yorkers were aware of Epstein’s behavior and described Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s close associate, as an “evil” person.
In response to questions about this call, the Department of Justice stated that it has “no evidence” of the president contacting law enforcement officials 20 years ago. This comes after millions of pages of documents related to Epstein’s case were released weeks ago, in accordance with a bipartisan law.
Donald Trump had a friendly relationship with Epstein for years but has consistently claimed he ended the relationship before Epstein’s first arrest and was unaware of his crimes. White House spokesperson Caroline Lewitt told reporters on Tuesday that Trump has been “honest and transparent” about ending his relationship with Epstein. Regarding the possible 2006 call, she added, “It may have happened or not. I don’t have an answer to that question.”
Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier, died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide, but it sparked numerous conspiracy theories within the U.S. political and media spheres, a topic frequently mentioned during the 2024 election campaign.
Recent developments show that the Epstein case remains a political challenge for the Trump administration, and the gradual release of documents is revealing new aspects of his connections with prominent political, financial, and academic figures.
