Donald Trump insisted the latest Epstein files ‘absolve’ him of any wrongdoing – claiming it was the ‘opposite of what people were hoping for’, despite the files containing an allegation of a sex act involving a young teenage girl.
The Department of Justice published more than three million additional pages on Friday, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
They also included images of Brett Ratner, the director of the new documentary about the President’s wife Melania, embracing a young woman next to Epstein.
Responding to the files’ release, Mr Trump said: ‘I didn’t see it myself but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it’s the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical Left.’
Sexual assault allegations against him emerged in the files but were removed just hours after being published. An FBI record contained a claim that a 13 or 14-year-old girl was forced to perform a sex act on Mr Trump decades ago.
The document containing the uncorroborated tip about Mr Trump and a teenage girl disappeared from the files but was later restored. The tip is unverified and has been strongly rejected by the White House.
Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein’s victims.
The President also threatened to sue Epstein’s estate, and his friend-turned-nemesis Michael Wolff, for allegedly ‘conspiring’ to destroy his political career in emails shown in the files.
US President Donald Trump (pictured) insisted the latest Epstein files ‘absolve’ him of any wrongdoing – despite them containing an allegation of a sex act involving a young teenage girl
Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida in 1997
The new cache of files also included images of Brett Ratner (right), the director of the new documentary about the President’s wife Melania, seen here embracing a young woman next to Epstein (left)
Speaking on board Air Force One, Mr Trump said: ‘Wolff, who’s a third-rate writer, was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to hurt me politically or otherwise and that came through loud and clear.
‘So we’ll probably sue Wolff on that… Maybe the Epstein estate, I guess. I don’t know. But we’ll certainly sue Wolff.’
In the pictures of Brett Ratner, 56, known for the Rush Hour movies, he can be seen sitting on a sofa alongside Epstein and two woman whose faces have been obscured.
There is no indication of wrongdoing from the files. The Melania film is Mr Ratner’s first project since he was accused of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement.
Meanwhile Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have accused Mr Trump and the Department of Justice of withholding around half of the Epstein files.
But Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday’s release ‘marks the end’ of the government’s efforts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act – which was signed by Mr Trump in November last year.
