A-G Told Trump His Name Was in Epstein Files: WSJ

Pam Bondi, deputy say nothing in documents warranted further investigation, prosecution

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WASHINGTON - US Attorney-General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported on July 23.

The disclosure about Mr. Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's records on the case threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. Some Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein's clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison.

The White House sent mixed signals following the story. It released an initial statement characterizing it as "fake news," but a White House official later told Reuters the administration was not denying that Mr. Trump's name appears in some files, noting that Mr. Trump was already included in a tranche of materials Ms. Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers.

Mr. Trump, who was friendly with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, appears multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane in the 1990s. Mr. Trump and several members of his family also appear in an Epstein contact book, alongside hundreds of others.

Much of that material had been publicly released in the criminal case against Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after her conviction for child sex trafficking and other crimes.

During her trial, Epstein's longtime pilot testified that Mr. Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Mr. Trump has denied being on the plane.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify the Journal's report.