One newly unsealed email in the Epstein files has finally proved what years of speculation alleged. A conversation between Jeffrey Epstein and Michael Wolff has placed Donald Trump closer to Epstein’s crimes than ever before.
The Jan. 2019 email was buried in the 20,000 pages released this week by the House Oversight Committee. Though only two-sentenced, it reads like an unfiltered confession from a man who believed the truth would stay sealed forever. Epstein told journalist and author Michael Wolff that Trump claimed he “asked me to resign” from Mar-a-Lago. It’s something Trump’s team has long insisted was punishment for Epstein’s behavior. However, Epstein flatly claimed he was “never a member ever.”
But the real blow arrives in the next sentence. “Of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,” Epstein wrote. The phrasing is casual, almost bored. It’s as if Trump knowing about underage girls being exploited in Epstein’s mansion was a given, not a scandal. That alone complicates one of Trumpworld’s favorite narratives that Trump and Epstein barely knew each other.
The email is just two lines, but it detonates years of Trump’s carefully rehearsed political theater. Epstein was a prolific liar, but even liars slip when speaking privately to people they trust. And if Epstein’s version is true, the question isn’t whether Trump knew. It’s why he didn’t stop the crime, rather than politely asking Maxwell to tone it down.
Wolff, in an Instagram video responding to the release, confirmed the emails came from his conversation with Epstein. “Some of those emails are between Epstein and me, with Epstein discussing his relationship with Donald Trump,” he said. Wolff also claimed that he has been “trying to talk about this story for a very long time now.” The email shatters the narrative that Mar-a-Lago “banned” Epstein decisively.
Trump’s claim of being unaware of anything involving girls or Ghislaine Maxwell has a big question mark now. The email directly contradicts Trump’s claims of complete innocence. Adding to that, another email directly mentions that Trump has spent time with one of the victims at Epstein’s house. Predictably, the White House rushed to call this a “fake narrative.” The phrase is now attached to every inconvenient document in the files.
Politico and NBC News also note that the administration offered no evidence that the email was fabricated. Instead, it leaned on the familiar argument that Epstein was unreliable. But the fact that Trump and Epstein knew each other for decades and shared overlapping social circles is already well-documented. This makes it harder to believe Trump’s side of the story. Especially since he claims to have known absolutely nothing.
USA TODAY also issued a clarifying statement about Wolff, worried the association might smear its newsroom. He was a freelance contributor at their website from 2012 to early 2017, they said. The outlet clarified that they had “no knowledge” of his private correspondence with Epstein.
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