Kamal Ghorui
Trump with Epstein (File photo)
US President Donald Trump has once again denied any involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he has been “totally exonerated” and has “nothing to hide.”Addressing reporters, Trump said investigations had cleared him of wrongdoing. “I have nothing to hide. I’ve been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” he said, adding that Democrats “went in hoping that they’d find it and found just the opposite.”
Trump also claimed that Epstein had opposed his political ambitions. “Jeffrey Epstein was fighting that I don’t get elected with some author, a sleazebag, by the way,” he claimed.During the interaction, Trump further suggested that other political figures, including former president Bill Clinton, had been drawn into scrutiny related to Epstein. Taking jabs at the Democrats, he added, “it’s really interesting because they’ve been pulled in. Think of it. They’ve been pulled in. Clinton and many other Democrats have been pulled in.”He also hit back at Hillary Clinton’s claims that, “she and her husband are getting pulled into the Epstein matter to divert attention from [Trump]” and that his “administration has something to hide”. In response to reporter’s questions on the accusations, Trump said, “No, no. They’re getting pulled and that’s their problem. I don’t know. They’re going to have to see what happens. But I watched her in Munich, and she seriously has Trump derangement syndrome.“Epstein died in 2019 in federal custody while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His links to prominent figures across politics, business and entertainment have remained a subject of public attention and ongoing scrutiny.This comes after a batch of released Justice Department files referenced past contact between Donald Trump and investigators probing Jeffrey Epstein. According to a 2019 FBI interview summary, former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter claims Trump called during the mid-2000s investigation and expressed relief authorities were taking action, stating that people had long known about Epstein’s conduct. The document also records Trump as saying he had banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club and left a gathering after noticing teenagers present. Trump has previously said he cut ties with Epstein more than 20 years ago.The release of the Epstein files led to investigators reviewing allegations and tips involving several prominent figures, including Trump, but officials said they did not find credible information warranting further investigation into sexual misconduct claims against him. The records also confirm prosecutors issued a subpoena to Mar-a-Lago in 2021 during their case against Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
