A USA TODAY review of a trove of Epstein’s emails reveals that the convicted sex offender had grave concerns about his longtime friend and confidant.
Democrats demand release of Epstein files after new emails emerge
Jeffrey Epstein wrote that President Donald Trump allegedly “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims and “knew the girls.”
WASHINGTON – “Dirty.” “Damn, that’s crazy.” “Borderline insane.” A mafia don, but with “great and dangerous power” as president and commander-in-chief of the United States.
That’s what Jeffrey Epstein described his longtime friend and former confidant, Donald Trump, years before his death in what was ruled a suicide, according to a trove of texts and emails from the convicted sex offender just released by the House Oversight Committee.
But perhaps the most interesting thing Mr. Epstein said about Mr. Trump in more than 20,000 pages of emails provided by the foundation was, “I am the one who can beat him.”
On November 12, House Democrats released an email from Epstein in which President Trump said he “spent hours at my house” with one of the disgraced financier’s victims and that he “knew the girls.” Democrats said the emails raise questions about what Trump knew about the crimes of Epstein, who allegedly sexually abused hundreds of women and girls and trafficked them to other wealthy men.
The White House and Trump himself tried to frame this document release and subsequent Republican releases as if they were a giant nothingburger. “These emails prove nothing except the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,” press secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters on November 12.
A review of the documents by USA TODAY found that Mr. Epstein had serious concerns about Mr. Trump’s behavior and character.
“Look, I know how dirty Donald is.”
On February 8, 2017, three weeks after President Trump first took office, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told Epstein, “It’s okay.”
So far, Summers said of the new president, “He hasn’t disrupted the world, he’s avoided scandal.”
“Remember I told you, I’ve met some very bad people, but none as bad as Trump. He doesn’t have a single decent cell in his body. Yes, he’s dangerous.”
On August 23, 2018, Epstein exchanged emails with his friend Kathryn Lemmler about legal and criminal exposure of Trump, apparently in connection with the ongoing “hush money” investigation in New York.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s his money or not, the problem is the lack of disclosure,” said Ruemmler, a former White House counsel in the Obama administration. “Furthermore, the fact that he lied about it makes it clear that he knew it was illegal.”
“You know, I know how dirty Donald is,” Epstein responded. “My guess is that no New York businessman other than a lawyer would understand what it means for a fixer to flip.”
Days earlier, Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime fixer and personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to fraud and campaign finance violations, accusing him of paying off two women to keep quiet about their affair with the then-candidate just before the 2016 election. Trump would ultimately be found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
‘Gambino was never the commander in chief.”
In December 2018, Epstein was in a dispute with Reid Weingarten, a prominent white-collar defense attorney who represented Epstein in a federal investigation into sex trafficking charges.
“You might want to tell your despicable friends that treating Trump like a mafia don ignores the fact that he has great and dangerous power,” Epstein wrote to Weingarten on December 20, 2018. “If you tighten the noose too late, you risk a very bad situation. … Gambino was never the commander-in-chief, and there was little he could do with the walls closing in. Not so with this madman.”
That could be a reference to the notorious “Teflon Don” John Gotti, a central figure in the Gambino crime family who was sentenced to life in prison by New York federal prosecutors after evading justice for decades.
Mr. Weingarten responded that Mr. Epstein’s comments were “not a stupid point” and that Mr. Trump was “starting to behave in a very erratic manner.”
Epstein’s reaction?
“It’s borderline insane, and it’s corroborated by people who are close to it.”
Mr. Epstein had a falling out with Mr. Trump more than a decade ago and was not considered close to Mr. Trump while he was president.
Two weeks before Trump was inaugurated for his first term in January 2017, Epstein told a New York Times reporter that Trump’s unpredictability would be a factor when dealing with nuclear-armed despots like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
On January 2, 2017, Epstein detailed his curse words: “Donald is so crazy.” “I said that.”
On March 24, 2018, New York Times reporter Landon Thomas Jr. texted Epstein, saying Trump was “really scared right now. He could very well turn the global economy upside down. … Now might be the time for you to jump in.”
Epstein responded: “He’s been telling everyone since day one that he feels alone and he’s crazy!!! Incredibly evil and crazy, and most people thought I was talking figuratively, but it’s clear he can unravel. Daniel like a storm.? Lie after lie after lie.”
“I’m the one who can defeat him.”
In December 2018, the FBI and Justice Department were investigating Epstein on sex trafficking charges following bombshell revelations in the Miami Herald about his girlfriend’s plea deal from a decade ago. The plea deal was overseen by Alex Acosta, the top federal prosecutor in Miami, who was later appointed by President Trump as labor secretary.
“Everything is going to blow over! They really just want to take down Trump and are doing everything they can to do that…!” an unidentified person wrote to Epstein on December 3, 2018.
“Yes, I am,” Epstein replied. “That’s wild, because I’m the one who can beat him.”
Epstein was first charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida in 2006. In 2008, Mr. Acosta and prosecutors reached a controversial plea deal that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution on sex trafficking charges, despite an indictment outlining 60 criminal charges against Mr. Epstein.
On July 6, 2019, seven months after claiming he could defeat Trump, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges after his private plane landed in New Jersey.
Federal prosecutors in New York had concluded that he was not bound by the terms of a previous non-prosecution agreement. Six days later, Acosta resigned as labor secretary amid public outrage over Epstein’s plea deal.
A month later, on August 10, guards found Epstein dead in his cell at a federal prison in New York City, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Investigators concluded he committed suicide.
Trump, who was president when Epstein was arrested, said he would release the government’s file on Epstein during the 2024 presidential campaign. He is now trying to block their release.
