Epstein emails suggest Trump ‘knew about the girls,’ Democrats say; White House labels it ‘fake narrative’

Newly released emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein suggest that President Donald Trump was aware of the underage girls Epstein was accused of exploiting, according to US House Democrats. The White House denounced the release as a politically motivated “hoax.”

Epstein’s emails to Wolff and Maxwell

Democrats cited email exchanges between Epstein, author Michael Wolff, and Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving a 20-year prison sentence for aiding Epstein’s abuse of minors.

In one 2019 message to Wolff, Epstein claimed Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

A separate 2011 message to Maxwell reportedly stated that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims — whose name was redacted in the release.

White House denounces ‘hoax’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the Democrats’ claims, accusing them of “selectively leaking” material to smear the President.

“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” Leavitt said in a statement.

She described the release as “a hoax designed to take the shine off” an upcoming House vote to end the ongoing government shutdown, which Trump has touted as a political win for Republicans.

“These stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments. Any American with common sense sees right through this hoax,” she added.

Leavitt further claimed that the redacted victim mentioned in the emails was Virginia Giuffre, who, according to her, had “repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever.”

Epstein case resurfaces as political flashpoint

The Epstein controversy has continued to shadow Trump, fueling criticism even among his supporters, who accuse federal authorities of withholding details of Epstein’s ties to powerful figures.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Trump has vehemently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, saying the two were once acquaintances who later had a falling out.

Democrats push for Epstein file release

The email release coincides with the scheduled swearing-in of Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat succeeding her late father. Her induction is expected to give Democrats enough support to force a House vote to declassify all Epstein-related files, a move resisted by Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, urged the Justice Department to make the Epstein files public.

“The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover,” Garcia said.

“These latest emails raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President.”

(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)