Democrats on Wednesday released emails in which Jeffrey Epstein said US President Donald Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of the financier's alleged victims, and that the President “knew about the girls”.
The emails breathed new life into a long-simmering scandal that Mr Trump says is a Democrat-fuelled hoax. He has rigorously denied any involvement in or knowledge of the sex-trafficking activities of Epstein, his former friend who died in federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Mr Trump sought to portray the emails' release as a "deflection" to distract America from the negative impacts of the government shutdown.
Democrats on the House oversight committee released emails Epstein had written to Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein's death, and to author Michael Wolff.
In the message to Wolff, dated January 31, 2019, Epstein allegedly wrote “of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop”.
Another message from April 2011 showed Epstein had told Maxwell: “I want you to realise that dog that hasn't barked is Trump.” He added that an unidentified victim “spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned”.
Mr Trump has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or Maxwell.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the emails "proved absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong".
She accused the Democrats of having “selectively leaked emails” to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”.
Ms Leavitt said in a statement that the unidentified person referred to in the emails was Virginia Giuffre, who had accused Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager and who died by suicide in April. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has rejected Ms Giuffre’s allegations and said he didn’t recall meeting her.
"Miss Giuffre maintained, and God rest her soul, that she maintained that there was nothing inappropriate she ever witnessed, that President Trump was always extremely professional and friendly to her," Ms Leavitt later told reporters at the White House.
But Democrats on the House committee said the emails “raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein's horrific crimes”.
The Epstein case has already led to the disgracing of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and of British politician Peter Mandelson over their ties to Epstein. While in opposition, Republicans spent years demanding the release of investigative files that could inculpate other friends of Epstein but since Mr Trump returned to office they have largely dropped those calls and refused to publish the files.
Democrats, meanwhile, have worked to capitalise on the case and want to force a vote that would compel publication of the full Epstein case files.
Democrats on the House oversight committee obtained the emails after subpoenaing Epstein's estate this year.
In a July 7 memo, the Justice Department said the Epstein “client list” that Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist, and reaffirmed that he died by suicide in his prison cell.
Mr Trump's Maga supporters have long asserted that Epstein was murdered in prison.
The case has long been the subject of conspiracy theories, considering Epstein's rich and powerful friends and the circumstances of his death. Mr Trump was friendly with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, and their interactions faced renewed scrutiny this year.
Democrats in September released a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein that was purportedly signed by Mr Trump. He has denied it is his signature.
