The Justice Department on Tuesday released a third batch of records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including documents that reference President Donald Trump, among others, as lawmakers and survivors intensified pressure for the full disclosure of the files.
One newly released email, sent in January 2020 by an unnamed federal prosecutor in New York, claims that flight logs show Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet at least eight times during the 1990s. The email does not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing.
“For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a [Ghislaine] Maxwell case,” the email states.
Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was indicted in July 2020 on federal sex trafficking charges. She was convicted in December 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
According to the email, Trump, who was serving his first term as president at the time the message was written, “is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present.” It adds that Trump is listed as having traveled “with, among others and at various times, Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric.”
U.S. President Donlad Trump talks about the Epstein files
The email further states: “On one flight in 1993, he and Epstein are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old [redacted]. On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case.”
The sender and recipient of the email were redacted. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The latest document release also includes a photograph of a handwritten postcard attributed to Epstein, which U.S. media outlets reported was written while he was already in custody.
According to CNN, the postcard was sent by Epstein in August 2019, after his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges and while he was being held in a New York jail. The handwritten message contains explicit and disturbing language about young women and references a president.
The postcard reads in part: “Our president also shares our love of young, nubile. When a young beauty walked by, he loved to grab snatch.” It concludes with the line: “Life is unfair. Yours, J. Epstein.”
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A postcard Epstein sent from his jail cell in 2019 in which he wrote that 'our president also shares our love of young, nubile'
Sky News initially reported that it was unclear which “president” Epstein was referring to. CNN later reported that the reference “appears to be” to Trump, while emphasizing that U.S. authorities have never accused Trump of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or his crimes.
Epstein died in his jail cell on August 10, 2019, in what authorities ruled a suicide. However, the postmark on the postcard indicates it was processed on August 13, three days after his death.
CNN reported that U.S. prison officials are permitted to review outgoing inmate correspondence, a process that can delay the sending of mail and may explain the discrepancy between Epstein’s death and the postmark date. The outlet said the postcard was addressed to Larry Nassar, the former doctor for the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team, who was later convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of athletes.
The Justice Department acknowledged that the newly released documents contain multiple references to Trump, but cautioned that some include claims it described as false.
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A 2020 memo by a prosecutor describing a flight on which the only passengers were Epstein, Trump and a '20-year-old' whose name was redacted and who, according to reports, was a woman
(Photo: X)
“The Department of Justice has officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the department said in a statement posted on X.
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement continued.
“Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims,” it said.
The document release comes amid mounting criticism from lawmakers and Epstein survivors, who say the department has failed to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandates the disclosure of all unclassified records related to Epstein.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that he would introduce a resolution directing the Senate to “initiate legal action against the DOJ,” accusing the department of releasing only a fraction of the required records.
“The law Congress passed is crystal clear: release the Epstein files in full so Americans can see the truth,” Schumer wrote on X. “Instead, the Trump Department of Justice dumped redactions and withheld the evidence — that breaks the law.”
According to an NBC News count, fewer than 10,000 documents were released Friday and Saturday, despite Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stating that “hundreds of thousands” of records would be made public.
Earlier releases contained only passing references to Trump, while including numerous images of former President Bill Clinton, who traveled on Epstein’s plane in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related trips, before Epstein was charged with sex crimes.
Some of the images showed Clinton in a hot tub, swimming with Maxwell, or seated with a woman on his lap. Clinton has denied any wrongdoing, and his spokesman called on Trump to direct that all images and references to Clinton be released.
Trump, speaking to reporters Monday night, said the release of photographs was inappropriate and suggested he might also appear in some images.
“I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. Been nice to him. He’s been nice to me. We’ve always gotten along,” Trump said.
“I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats, and a couple of bad Republicans, are asking for. So they’re giving their photos of me, too. Everybody was friendly with this guy,” Trump said, referring to Epstein.
He added: “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they’re in a picture. They’re in a picture with him because he was in a party, and you ruin a reputation of somebody. So a lot of people are very angry that this continues.”
Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month, and Trump signed it into law on November 19. The legislation gave Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to make public “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to Epstein, with limited exceptions to protect victims’ identities.
A group of Epstein survivors issued a statement Monday urging lawmakers to intervene, saying the DOJ had violated the law.
“The public received a fraction of the files, and what we received was riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation,” the letter said. “At the same time, numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm.”
The survivors called for “immediate congressional oversight, including hearings, formal demands for compliance, and legal action, to ensure the Department of Justice fulfills its legal obligations.”