Epstein Investigation Reveals Trump's Name, White House Calls it "Fake News"

Earlier this year, officials at the Justice Department examined a substantial amount of documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein, which led to the discovery of Donald Trump’s name appearing several times in the records. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, this prompted Attorney General Pam Bondi to inform President Trump at a White House meeting in May, alongside her deputy, about the presence of his name in the Epstein files, noting that several other prominent individuals were also mentioned.

The White House responded to the report by denouncing it as "another fake news story." During the same meeting, officials explained to Trump that the Justice Department would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein investigation due to the sensitivity of the material, which included child pornography and personal information of victims. Trump expressed his support for the Justice Department's decision to keep the documents private.

On the legislative front, a House subcommittee recently voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for files related to Epstein’s sex trafficking case. The White House communications director, Steven Cheung, reiterated that the reports from the Wall Street Journal were inaccurate, equating them to another instance of misleading journalism.

In a separate dispute, Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over an article that mentioned a questionable letter allegedly connected to him, which was part of a birthday album for Epstein. Trump has denied any involvement in writing that letter and has taken legal action against the publication, which has seen one of its reporters banned from traveling with Trump on Air Force One.

Amid these developments, Trump is reportedly encountering discontent from some supporters within his MAGA base, who are dissatisfied with how the Epstein documents have been managed and are left questioning why he is not advocating for the public release of the files. This situation has created tension between Trump and his followers, especially considering the serious nature of Epstein's accusations and previous judicial dealings. Epstein, who was awaiting trial for sex trafficking when he died by suicide in 2019, had previously received a controversial plea deal in 2008 that many view as excessively lenient.