President Trump also said he was not considering pardoning Epstein’s colleague Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison on sex trafficking-related charges.
Biggest takeaways from Epstein’s emails and references to Trump
Josh Meyer, USA TODAY’s domestic security correspondent, investigated thousands of Epstein emails. Here are the biggest takeaways about President Trump:
President Donald Trump said he knows “nothing” about recent comments made by Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who committed suicide after facing sex trafficking charges.
Newly released emails say Trump “knew about the girls.”
On November 14, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One what he meant by Epstein’s comments, President Trump replied, “I don’t know anything about it.”
President Trump also said he would not consider pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein’s who was convicted of five sex trafficking-related crimes and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“I’m not going to deny it, I’m not going to deny it. I don’t even think about it,” Trump said.
House Democrats this week released emails showing Mr. Epstein discussing Mr. Trump, including one in which Mr. Trump said he “spent many hours at his home” with the victim. The email reignited the controversy surrounding the Epstein scandal that dogged President Trump during his second term in office.
The Trump administration’s decision not to release any more documents related to Epstein has sparked a backlash and a push by Congress to obtain the records. A petition seeking to release all documents relating to Epstein received enough signatures this week to force a vote on the issue in the House of Commons.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about[Epstein]because it takes away from the topic of the tone of the Republican Party,” Trump said in response to a question about reports that he encouraged Republican lawmakers to withdraw their signatures on the petition.
“They want to waste the people’s time, and some stupid Republicans like that,” Trump added.
Epstein’s 2019 federal indictment alleges that he “sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls in his homes” in Manhattan, Palm Beach and other locations. According to the indictment, Epstein paid some of his victims to recruit more underage girls. He could have received up to 45 years in prison when he committed suicide.
President Trump this week called on the Justice Department and FBI to investigate Democrats associated with Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton, in response to the release of the emails. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was opening an investigation.
President Trump said of the investigation request, “I am the highest law enforcement officer in this country.” “I don’t want to use it, but I’m the chief law enforcement officer in this country and I’m authorized to do it.”
Contributor: Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
