Epstein files ‘absolve me’, Trump claims
Monday, 2 February 2026
Donald Trump said he was “absolved” of wrongdoing after the US department of justice (DOJ) released the latest batch of Epstein files.
The US president told reporters on Saturday: “I didn’t see it myself but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it’s the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical Left.”
Trump is mentioned more than 1000 times in the three million files that were released to the public about Jeffrey Epstein’s case on Friday.
But the files included no major new allegations against Trump, who was known to have a close relationship with the disgraced financier until they fell out.
However, politicians and victims of Epstein have condemned the latest release as incomplete and called for the files in their entirety to be released.
Trump called for the release of the Epstein files in 2024 and promised he would do it when he was president, only later to dismiss the need to release the documents as a Democrat-led “hoax” to “deflect” attention away from his success.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general, sent a letter to congress indicating that Friday’s release “marks the end” of the government’s efforts to comply with the law, prompting criticism that the files had not been fully released.
Robert Garcia, a Democratic-ranking member on the House oversight committee, said the Trump administration was withholding some 50 per cent of the files still.
In a statement, he said: “Donald Trump and his department of justice have now made it clear that they intend to withhold roughly 50 per cent of the Epstein files, while claiming to have fully complied with the law. This is outrageous and incredibly concerning.
“The oversight committee subpoena directs Pam Bondi to release all the files to the committee, while protecting survivors.”
Chuck Schumer, the senate Democrat leader, accused Ms Bondi of thinking “she can dupe the American people”.
He said: “DoJ needs to get its story straight. They say they collected six million pages, but only admit to releasing three million. But I checked – even that’s inflated. Less than 2.7 million pages were released. DoJ thinks it can just round up 300k by pages and we won’t notice. We’re wondering what’s in those 300k pages and we’re still waiting to hear where the other three million pages are…”
Survivors ‘exposed’ in latest release
In a joint statement, Epstein’s victims wrote: “This latest release of Jeffrey Epstein files is being sold as transparency but what it actually does is expose survivors.
“Once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.
“The justice department cannot claim it is finished releasing files until every legally required document is released and every abuse and enabler is fully exposed.”
The latest release of files has shown that other well-known people such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Bill Gates and Elon Musk had interactions with Epstein, including some after he was convicted of sex crimes.
Trump was included, but many of the allegations were spurious and not verified or followed up by the FBI.
Some documents detailing graphic allegations against Mr Trump were released before being briefly removed from the DOJ website later on Friday.
One summary reported by a redacted person claimed that a 14-year-old girl was forced to perform oral sex on Trump around 25 years ago in New Jersey. The girl claimed that she bit him and was hit in the face after she laughed about it.
Another complainant alleged that Trump “participated regularly in paying money to force her to perform sex acts with him and alleged Trump was present when her uncle murdered her newborn child”.
Other allegations claimed that Trump would “auction off” children brought in by Epstein at “calendar girls” parties in Mar-a-Lago.
One complainant claimed that she was drugged and woke up “sore with US$300 on the bed”.
The victim, who was dead by the time the report was made, claimed that she remembered seeing “a flash” of Trump’s face before later going missing.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and has never been accused of a crime linked with Epstein.
Another file shows a message between a sender and recipient, both of whom are redacted, reading: “What does JE think of going to Mar-a-Lago after xmas instead of his island?”
The message was sent in 2012, years after Mr Trump said he had stopped speaking with Epstein.
The DoJ said in a statement: “This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act.
“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.
“To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already.”
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said the department was releasing more than three million pages of documents as well as more than 2000 videos and 180,000 images under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by Mr Trump.