Washington / Palm Beach:
US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the release of investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could unfairly damage the reputations of people who had “innocently met” him in the past. Trump also dismissed the growing controversy around the Epstein files, calling it an attempt to divert attention from what he described as the Republican Party’s recent successes.
These remarks marked Trump’s first public response since the US Justice Department began releasing Epstein-related files on Friday.
“This whole thing with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Trump Defends Those Named or Photographed With Epstein
When asked about former US President Bill Clinton, who featured prominently in the first batch of photographs released by the Justice Department, Trump said he felt sympathy for him.
“I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I hate to see photos come out of him,” Trump said, adding that he himself also appeared in photographs with Epstein.
“There are photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy,” Trump remarked.
Calling the release of such images a “terrible thing,” Trump stressed that appearing in photographs with Epstein does not automatically imply wrongdoing.
“Bill Clinton’s a big boy. He can handle it,” Trump said. “But you probably have pictures being exposed of other people who innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago — many years ago — and they’re highly respected bankers, lawyers and others.”
Concern Over Reputational Damage
Trump warned that releasing such material risks unfairly harming individuals who had no involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities.
“A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein,” he said. “You ruin a reputation of somebody just because they were in a picture at a party.”
Background on the Epstein Case
Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier with connections to global political and business elites, was arrested in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges involving minors. He died later that year in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial, in what authorities ruled a suicide.
The renewed scrutiny follows the Justice Department’s decision to release documents and materials linked to the Epstein investigation, reigniting public debate over accountability, transparency, and the extent of Epstein’s connections.