Trump says latest release of Epstein files clears him
President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that the release of several million pages of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “absolves him.”
Breaking his silence about the latest release of the files while aboard Air Force One during a flight from Washington, D.C. to West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said, “Some very important people told me that not only does it absolve me, but it’s the opposite of what people expected, you know, the radical left.”
The president then suggested he might threaten legal action against author Michael Wolff, alleging that he and Epstein were “conspiring” against him since the release of a February 2016 email in which Wolff suggested the serial rapist was the “bullet” that could end Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to News.
“Wolff, who is a third-rate writer, was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to harm me, politically or otherwise, and that became apparent,” he said. “So we’ll probably sue Wolff for that.”
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On Friday, the Justice Department released a trove of documents after Congress passed a law last year that legally required the Trump administration to release all files.
Trump is referenced in the files, among many other powerful figures such as Elon Musk and Bill Clinton. Being mentioned in the files is not necessarily a sign of wrongdoing or association with Epstein’s crimes.
Trump is referenced thousands of times in the documents, including emails in which Epstein and others shared news about him, made comments about his policies and gossiped about him and his family.
A spreadsheet was also created in August that compiled uncorroborated tips from people who claimed to have some knowledge of Trump’s wrongdoing.