Featured Image Credit: Win McNamee/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Politics
Emily Brown
Topics: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Politics
An official at The White House issued a blunt response when questioned about Donald Trump's name allegedly being featured in the highly controversial 'Epstein files'.
Despite insisting during his 2024 presidential campaign that he was open to releasing government information about Jeffrey Epstein, Trump's thoughts on the matter since have been inconsistent, to say the least.
The 'first phase' of files related to the disgraced financier were released earlier this year, but the Department of Justice then determined earlier this month that no further information needed to be released, prompting speculation that Trump may be trying to cover up some kind of link to Epstein.
The pair were known to have attended social events together in the past, long before Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors in 2019, but more recently Trump described him as a 'creep'.
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The president has now ordered the Justice Department to release grand jury materials related to Epstein, however, it has since been revealed that Trump was allegedly warned back in May that his name 'appears' in the Epstein files.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, as well as sources familiar with the discussion who spoke to CNN, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump that his name appeared in the files as part of a 'routine briefing' that detailed the findings made by the Justice Department. It's not clear the context in which Trump's name allegedly appears.
However, the sources claimed that the appearance of Trump's name was not the sole focus of the discussions. They also alleged that the review of the files appeared to uncover several claims which the Justice Department found not to be credible, including those relating to Trump.
Discussing the alleged appearance of Trump's name, one of the White House officials issued a blunt response, simply saying: “The White House is not surprised by this - Trump’s name was present in the binders that Bondi produced and handed out.”
The official also pointed out that Trump had already been mentioned in many of the materials previously released by the Justice Department.
“The White House does not view this as groundbreaking or new or surprising at all,” they added.
In an additional statement to UNILAD, White House communications director Steven Cheung said: “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about.”
Details about the alleged May meeting come after Trump was asked last week whether Bondi had told him about his name being in the files, to which he responded: “No, no. She’s given us just a very quick briefing.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is also said to have been involved in the May conversation, issued a joint statement with Bondi this week, saying: “The DOJ and FBI reviewed the Epstein Files and reached the conclusion set out in the July 6 memo. Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts. As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.”