'Nothing came out about me': From 'Democrat hoax' to 'move on', what Trump said about Epstein Files

Even as several files related to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein remains redacted, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Feb 3) suggested Americans to move on from the Epstein scandal. While he accepted that he was friends with Epstein for 17 years, he explained that he is absolved of all wrongdoing because nothing came out about him. “Nothing came out about me other than it was a conspiracy against me,” he said to reporters in Oval Office.

Trump's contradicted his own statement that he gave on Feb 2. He had said that he was never “friendly” with Epstein and never visited Epstein’s ‘infested’ private island. Though Trump has insisted that he was not a close friend of Epstein, past records suggest the opposite. Last year, The Wall Street Journal published Epstein's birthday album which allegedly had sexually suggestive birthday message from Trump from 2003. US president denied writing or signing the message, calling it "fake" and suing WSJ.

Trump accused Democrats and their donors of creating fake stories about his links with Epstein while having relations with the convicted sex offender. A number of times in the post he had termed Epstein client list as "Democrat hoax". Trump claimed the newly released files actually "absolved" him of wrongdoing, arguing that it exposes the Democrats. He also asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, for their links with Epstein. On Feb 3, Trump added that it was "not a Republican, it's a Democrat problem", in a bid to turn the issue back to the Clintons, "It's a shame," he said of the Clintons.

In 2002, Trump told New York magazine that he has known Epstein for 15 years, calling him a “terrific guy.” He added, ”He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” In 2019, Trump attempted to play down his relationship, insisting: “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.” Trump said the pair had fallen out years earlier, and claimed: “I was not a fan of his.” There are photographs of the duo at Mar-a-Lago, Victoria’s Secret Angels event in New York. Photos also show Trump and Epstein with Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell at an event in 2000.

Trump has said a number of things about Epstein Files since he came to power in 2025. First, he dismissed it as ‘hoax’, then he called it fabricated lies by the "Radical Left" to frame him, then he also claimed that it is a “Russia Scam” started by Democrats. He even slammed his own supporters for Epstein “obsession”, calling them “weaklings.”

More recently in 2025, Trump stated that he cut ties with Epstein because the disgraced financier "stole" employees who worked for him at the Mar-a-Lago spa.

In one of the interview, Epstein also allegedly said that he had been Trump’s “closest friend for 10 years." In a 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein claimed Trump "knew about the girls" and had allegedly asked Ghislaine Maxwell to "stop" certain activities. In a 2011 email to Maxwell, Epstein referred to Trump as “the dog that hasn't barked.” In an October 2018 text, Epstein allegedly boasted, “i am the one able to take him down.”

He also slammed author Michael Wolff for spreading lies about his links with Epstein and claimed that Wolff did it to harm his reputation and his presidency. In the files released, Wolff and Epstein were seen exchanging messages in 2015-2016 about Trump. In one exchange, Wolff referred to Epstein as the "Trump bullet" that could end his campaign and suggested Epstein should use his knowledge of Trump to create a "debt" or "political currency." Trump also called him a "sleazebag" and "third-rate writer" and threatened to sue him for defamation.

The fresh cache of three million Epstein documents released by Department of Justice (DOJ) on January 30, contains name of former Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, Howard Lutnick, Elon Musk, Mira Nair, among others. Nearly 2.5 million pages remain unreleased. The term “Epstein files” refers to a collection of legal documents, court records, and investigative materials connected to Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier convicted of operating a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls. It also includes transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses and details of his flight logs. In November, US President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Bill after Congress' approval, and made it a federal law that mandates the DOJ to release all unclassified Epstein documents.