The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) informed President Donald Trump earlier this year that his name appeared repeatedly in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The discovery was made during a routine review of a vast collection of documents related to Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who described the material as a ‘truckload,’ informed Trump during a briefing in May that he, along with hundreds of other high-profile individuals, was mentioned in the records. However, Bondi and her deputy declined to release the files publicly, citing the presence of child pornography and sensitive personal information about victims. Trump, according to the report, deferred to the DOJ’s decision to withhold the files from the public.
The DOJ’s decision not to release the documents was formalized in early July with the release of a memo stating that the long-rumored ‘client list’ of Epstein’s pedophile island never existed, and there was no evidence to justify a probe into uncharged third parties. The memo also confirmed that no further documents would be released. This information contradicts recent statements by the Trump administration, which denied that any files existed. The White House has dismissed the WSJ’s report as fake news, with communications director Steven Cheung criticizing it as another ‘fake news story.’ The administration had previously contested similar allegations, such as the claim that Trump sent a lewd letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday, which was allegedly part of a leather-bound album compiled by Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump reacted strongly to these accusations by filing a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, News Corp, as well as the publication’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co., and the two journalists involved. He accused the media outlet of spreading ‘defamatory lies’ and referred to it as a ‘disgusting and filthy rag.’ Trump insisted that he ‘never wrote a picture in my life’ in response to the alleged lewd letter, and he accused the WSJ of orchestrating a smear campaign against him. The case highlights the ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and the media, particularly in the wake of a series of high-profile allegations and legal challenges regarding the Epstein case.