Notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said in an email to author Michael Wolff that his longtime friend, President Donald Trump, “knew the girls,” according to copies of April 2019 messages allegedly exchanged between the two that were released by House Democrats on Wednesday.
It is unclear what is meant by “knew about the girls.”
In another newly released email to his convicted co-defendant Ghislaine Maxwell in April 2011, Epstein wrote, “I want you to understand that the dog that didn’t bark is Trump.”
In the same email, Epstein added that the person identified by Democrats as his victim (whose name is redacted in the email) “spent many hours at my house” with Trump.
Epstein added that “he was never mentioned” in the message.
Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a statement that they had obtained emails and more than 20,000 other documents from Epstein’s estate.
President Trump has denied knowing about Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls and women. The president has never been charged with any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
It’s unclear what Epstein referred to in the email as “the dog that didn’t bark.”
“Democrats selectively leaked emails to liberal media to create a false narrative to smear President Trump,” White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said in a statement Wednesday.
“The ‘unnamed victim’ referred to in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, whom President Trump repeatedly stated was not involved in any wrongdoing and that he ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her during their limited interactions,” Levitt said.
“The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for making female employees, including Giuffre, uncomfortable,” Levitt said.
“These stories are nothing but a malicious effort to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments, and any sensible American can see through this misinformation and obvious distraction from reopening the government.”
Giuffre died by suicide in April.
CNBC has reached out to Maxwell’s attorney for comment on the email.
Epstein, 66, committed suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019, weeks after he was arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges.
Numerous women have testified that Epstein sexually abused them when they were underage girls or young women.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for charges related to the procurement of underage girls to be abused by Epstein.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the emails they obtained raise “serious questions” about Trump’s involvement with Epstein.
The three emails related to Mr. Trump are among thousands written by Mr. Epstein and obtained by Democrats.
“The more Donald Trump tries to hide the Epstein file, the more we will uncover. These recent emails and communications raise obvious questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the president’s relationship with Epstein,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
“The Department of Justice must immediately and fully release the Epstein file to the public,” Garcia said. “The Oversight Committee will continue to seek answers and will not stop until justice is served for the victims.”
President Trump and the Justice Department have been criticized for months for reneging on promises by Trump administration officials to release criminal investigative files on Epstein.
Trump said in July that he kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and cut ties with him several years ago because he “stole people who worked for me.”
President Trump said Epstein poached at least one other Mar-a-Lago employee after he was warned not to do it again.
The president has repeatedly told authorities that demands to release the so-called Epstein files are a “Democratic hoax.”
—CNBC’s Laya Neelakandan contributed to this article.
This is developing news. Please check the latest information.
