President Donald Trump on Monday sought to reframe the Justice Department’s partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files as damaging to the reputations of innocent people, while distancing himself from the scandal and casting Democrats like Bill Clinton and Larry Summers as more closely connected to the late sex offender.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department briefly posted a new cache of records that contained numerous references to Trump, including files that reveal Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet “many more times” than previously revealed, according to The Washington Post.
The documents were posted to the DOJ website for several hours Monday before disappearing sometime around 8 p.m. The Post reported that it downloaded the full set before they were removed.
Footage of Trump denying his involvement spread widely across social media platforms and was picked up by various news outlets.
“And the problem is a lot of Democrats are being caught up in the web,” Trump said Monday during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago to announce new battleships for the Navy. “Like Larry Summers … He was at Epstein’s Island a lot. I wasn’t. I never went there, by the way. But fortunately. It’s nice,” Trump quipped while shifting blame in his next breath. “But I never went there. But a lot of people did go there.”
Critics seized on Trump’s convoluted explanations, warning that his words would eventually come back to haunt him.
“This is gonna be the one that hits him the hardest. It’s gonna leak,” one person noted on Threads, while another accused Trump of dry snitching on everyone but himself, adding, “How does he know a lot of people went to the nice island if he never went there.”
Someone else echoed that suspicion, writing, “How does he know that Clinton was at the island? Only way he could know, is if he was there, too!”
Some argued Trump was minimizing how much he knew, accusing him of intentionally downplaying his connection to Epstein’s misconduct despite being part of his inner circle.
“I mean it’s not like he’s got any f****** friends so it’s not like he was talking to people about it he was actually there lol he thinks we’re all as dumb and koolaided as Maga.”
Trump’s remarks were his first on the matter since the Justice Department began releasing a new tranche of Epstein-related documents last Friday under a law he signed in November, which required the agency to make all of its files public—an obligation it has yet to fully meet after missing the 30-day deadline, citing the need to protect victims. Notably, the initial batch of documents made scant reference to Trump, despite his yearslong friendship with Epstein.
Trump — who just months ago urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Clinton and other Democrats — on Monday suggested that Clinton and other powerful figures were unwittingly swept into Epstein’s orbit.
“I know there were a lot of people that are angry about all of the pictures of other people, you know? But I think it’s terrible. Look … I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I’ve been nice to him. He’s been nice to me. We’ve always gotten along. Respect him. I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans are asking for. …”
Trump briefly acknowledged that photos of him also appeared in the document release but offered no detail about his relationship with Epstein, aside from repeating his claim that he barred the disgraced financier from Mar-a-Lago.
“There are photos of me, too. Everybody was friendly with this guy,” Trump said. “But they’re, you know, he was around. He was all over Palm Beach and other places. … And Bill Clinton was a friend of his, but everybody was.”
Trump expressed sympathy, arguing that the public airing of certain images risked unfairly tarnishing people who had done nothing wrong.
“I don’t like the pictures of Bill Clinton being shown. I don’t like the pictures of other people being shown. I think it’s a terrible thing.”
The bulk of images in the DOJ’s initial release depicted Clinton alongside Epstein in various settings, or pictured him with women whose faces were redacted, with no indication of any wrongdoing.
Clinton has never faced charges nor been accused by authorities in connection to Epstein. Among the most widely circulated images last week was a photo of Clinton reclining in a hot tub, arms folded behind his head, next to another individual whose face was blacked out.
Clinton’s spokesperson, Angel Ureña, called on the Justice Department to “immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton.” Ureña added, “Refusal to do so will confirm the widespread suspicion the Department of Justice’s actions to date are not about transparency, but about insinuation – using selective releases to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years, under Presidents and Attorneys General of both parties.”
Ureña emphasized that the selective inclusion of Clinton’s photos appeared intended to suggest misconduct.
“What the Department of Justice has released so far, and the manner in which it did so, makes one thing clear: someone or something is being protected,” Ureña said. “We do not know whom, what or why. But we do know this: We need no such protection.”
Monday’s disclosures from the DOJ show federal investigators issued a subpoena to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 seeking materials connected to the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who was later convicted of sex trafficking. The records also include handwritten notes by a New York assistant U.S. attorney cataloging Trump’s alleged travel on Epstein’s private jet, including one trip described as involving only Trump, Epstein and a 20-year-old woman.
The materials further contain multiple tips submitted to the FBI alleging Trump’s presence at gatherings involving Epstein during the early 2000s, including events held at properties linked to both men. The files do not indicate whether those tips were substantiated or whether investigators pursued them further.
The batch also contains extensive filings from Epstein’s victims objecting to the 2008 nonprosecution agreement negotiated by then–U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta in Miami. That deal allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges in exchange for pleading guilty in state court to reduced offenses involving solicitation of a minor.
Trump reiterated his assertion that the release of Epstein-related documents was a Democratic tactic intended to “deflect” attention from his administration’s accomplishments.
“I believe we’re going to have the most successful economy in history,” Trump said. “They don’t want to talk about that — they want to talk about Epstein.”
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