US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has nothing to do with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that he had been “totally exonerated" in any case linking him with the latter.
"I have nothing to hide. I have been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein... I have been totally exonerated on Epstein... In fact, Jeffrey Epstein was fighting that I don't get elected with some author,” he said during a Press Gaggle on Air Force One.
Fresh attention has been drawn to the connections of the late financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after a major release of documents by the US Department of Justice. The department has made public more than three million additional pages of records linked to Epstein. The newly disclosed material includes around 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
With this latest release, the total number of officially published pages has reached nearly 3.5 million.
The disclosure has once again raised questions about Epstein’s associations with well-known political leaders and business figures.
In December last year, the US Department of Justice released a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents. Among the materials was a photograph that included Donald Trump. The image was briefly removed from the department’s website a day after it was posted, without any public explanation. The DOJ later reinstated the photo, stating that it had confirmed the image did not depict any of Epstein’s victims.
"The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims. Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review. After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction," DOJ said in an X post.
Who was Jeffrey Epstein?
Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender. He gained wealth through investment and financial management, often serving high-profile clients. Epstein became infamous for sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls, leading to his 2008 conviction in Florida and later federal investigations. In 2019, he was arrested again on federal sex-trafficking charges but died in jail under controversial circumstances, officially ruled a suicide. His connections to powerful figures worldwide fueled widespread scrutiny and conspiracy theories. Epstein’s case highlighted systemic issues of sexual abuse, exploitation, and privilege.
