Trump denied any friendship with Epstein and claimed author Michael Wolff conspired with him to harm his presidency, adding he never visited the “infested” island.
(AP Photo / Allison Robbert)
US President Donald Trump defended himself against allegations related to Jeffrey Epstein in a post on Truth Social, alleging a conspiracy to damage his presidency.
“Not only wasn’t I friendly with Jeffrey Epstein but, based upon information that has just been released by the Department of Justice, Epstein and a SLEAZEBAG lying ‘author’ named Michael Wolff, conspired in order to damage me and/or my Presidency,” Trump wrote.
Trump also took aim at his political opponents: “So much for the Radical Left’s hope against hope, some of whom I’ll be suing.”
Trump went on to deny ever visiting Epstein’s private island, contrasting himself with Democrats he criticized: “Additionally, unlike so many people that like to ‘talk’ trash, I never went to the infested Epstein island but, almost all of these Crooked Democrats, and their Donors, did.”
This statement follows recently released Department of Justice information, which Trump claims supports his assertions.
Trump, who has long denounced Wolff, noted that he ended his friendship with Epstein in the early 2000s. The latest batch of Justice Department files, released on Friday (January 30), mentioned Trump’s name several hundred times, mostly in emails exchanged between Wolff and Epstein.
Trump responds on Air Force One
Aboard Air Force One en route to Palm Beach, Florida, Trump addressed reporters about the documents, which include more than three million records and personal emails. He asserted that the emails suggested Wolff and Epstein were conspiring against him:
“It looked like this guy, Wolff, was a writer, was conspiring with Epstein to do harm to me,” Trump said. “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… that Wolff, who’s a third-rate writer, was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to hurt me, politically or otherwise, and that came through loud and clear.”
He also indicated possible legal action: “I’m considering suing Wolff and the Epstein estate because he was conspiring with Wolff to do harm to me politically. That’s not a friend.”
Background on Wolff, Epstein, and the 2016 election
Some of the emails between Wolff and Epstein date back to February 2016, during Trump’s presidential campaign. In one exchange, Wolff suggested that Epstein could serve as the “bullet” to end Trump’s campaign: “Yeah, you’re the Trump bullet,” Wolff responded to an email from Epstein, who noted he was being approached by reporters about Trump’s presidential run.
Trump and Epstein reportedly parted ways around 2004, prior to Epstein’s criminal charges for sex crimes. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, with authorities deeming it a suicide.