US President Donald Trump on Monday warned that the release of investigative files about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could unfairly harm the reputations of people who had “innocently met” him. According to AFP, in his first comments since the Justice Department started making the files public on Friday, Trump tried to downplay the issue, saying it distracts from his party’s achievements. “This whole Epstein thing is just a way to divert attention from the tremendous success of the Republican Party,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Trump Responds to Clinton Photos and His Own Connection
When asked about former President Bill Clinton, who featured prominently in photos from the first set of released files, Trump said, “I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I hate to see photos come out of him." Trump also acknowledged that he appeared in photos with Epstein. “There are photos of me too," he said, adding, “Everybody was friendly with this guy (Epstein),” the US President.
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Trump called the release of the images a “terrible thing” and added, “Bill Clinton’s a big boy, he can handle it.” He warned that others might also be unfairly affected. “There are probably photos coming out of other people who innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago. Some of them are highly respected bankers, lawyers, and others,” he said.
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The Republican president said the disclosures had sparked widespread anger. “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people who really had nothing to do with Epstein. But they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruin the reputation of somebody," he further added.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with influential connections, died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide.
How much information has been released so far?
A large number of documents related to the Epstein case have already been made public. These include records from Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 criminal trial, Justice Department reports, and filings from several civil lawsuits. Earlier this year, Trump-appointed officials at the Justice Department and the FBI released some classified files on Epstein, though most of the material was already in the public domain. The Trump administration faced heavy criticism for this release.