The FBI removed Donald Trump’s name from nearly 100,000 pages of Jeffrey Epstein’s files during an investigation in March. Internal guidelines stipulated that any mention of Trump should be flagged for redaction. These guidelines also applied to other public figures.
Justice Department officials said the investigation revealed no client lists or evidence linking Trump to wrongdoing. Trump’s name appeared in Epstein’s address book and travel records, but investigators found no criminal connection. Newsweek has contacted the FBI for comment.
President Trump and White House officials have recently insisted that the release of the remaining files was unwarranted. This position persists despite calls from Trump supporters to keep their promise to release all the documents.
Bloomberg reported that FBI agents searched tens of thousands of pages at the request of Pam Bondi, then Florida’s attorney general. The agents listed the names of citizens, including Trump, and then withheld them under the Freedom of Information Act.
After the release, the files were sent to Bondi. She told Trump in May that his name was in the records. In early July, the Justice Department and FBI issued a joint statement stating that no additional documents would be released.
The statement cited privacy and victim protection as justification for withholding additional files. Critics from both parties have expressed concerns about the process and the lack of transparency.
Trump said he believed former President Barack Obama and others were also in the files. He claimed that Obama’s name was added without basis.
Trump and Epstein first met in the late 1980s in New York. They remained friends for about 15 years. In 2002, Trump described Epstein as a “great guy” in New York magazine. Trump says they had a falling out long before Epstein’s 2019 arrest.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands hosted lavish parties, and prosecutors say minors were abused there. Some of the victims were as young as 11.
In 2020, the U.S. Virgin Islands reached a $105 million settlement with Epstein’s estate. This followed allegations that Epstein transported minors and young women for exploitation.
Travel records show that Trump used Epstein’s plane on at least eight flights from New York to Florida between 1993 and 1997. Questions remain about whether Trump visited Epstein’s island.
On Monday, Trump told reporters that he had never had the opportunity to visit and had declined all invitations.
On Thursday, Trump called the story a “hoax,” claiming the files had been stolen and leaked. He added that if authorities had had evidence, they would have released it.