Newly released emails have reignited scrutiny over former US president Donald Trump’s past connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The correspondence, made public by Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, appears to show Epstein suggesting that Trump spent “hours” with one of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre.
The emails, dated between 2011 and 2019, were included in a batch of documents obtained through a congressional subpoena of Epstein’s estate. They have prompted fresh debate in Washington, with lawmakers calling for full disclosure of Epstein-related files still held by the US Department of Justice.
In one email sent to Ghislaine Maxwell in April 2011, Epstein wrote that “Trump spent hours at my house with her,” referring to Giuffre. He added that “he has never once been mentioned.” Maxwell, who was later convicted of sex trafficking, replied that she had been “thinking about that.”
Another email, reportedly sent to journalist Michael Wolff in 2019, contains Epstein’s claim that Trump “knew about the girls” and had once asked Maxwell to stop.
Donald Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. In a statement on Truth Social, he accused Democrats of reviving what he described as “the Jeffrey Epstein hoax” to distract from their own political troubles.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has since announced that a vote will be held next week on whether to compel the Justice Department to release the remaining Epstein files.
The White House dismissed the Democrats’ release of the emails as an attempt to “create a false narrative.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year, previously stated that Trump “couldn’t have been friendlier” to her during their brief interactions.
Epstein’s death in 2019 was ruled a suicide while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His long-standing social ties, including with high-profile figures such as Donald Trump, continue to fuel public and political controversy more than five years later.
