Former Attorney General William Barr has shared new details about his conversations with President Donald Trump following the 2019 death of Jeffrey Epstein in federal custody. The information comes from Barr’s testimony before a House investigative panel last month, with the full transcript released on Tuesday by House Oversight Chair James Comer.
Barr told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he had at least two conversations with Trump about Epstein’s death. The first conversation happened immediately after Barr learned of the convicted sex offender’s apparent suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019.
According to Barr’s testimony, he called Trump directly when he heard about the suicide. “I called him up and said, ‘You better brace for this,’ and I told him words to that effect,” Barr told the panel. He recalled telling Trump that Epstein had “committed suicide” and noted that Trump also “suspected it was apparently suicide.” Both men shared the same initial reaction to the news, with Barr explaining that Trump responded with something like, “How the hell did that happen, he’s in federal custody?”
Barr’s conversations with Trump reveal shared concerns about conspiracy theories
Both the former attorney general and the president expressed immediate concerns about how Epstein’s death would be received by the public. Barr testified that he conveyed to Trump that the situation was “appalling” and that they would investigate it thoroughly. He also recalled Trump having the same reaction about the potential for conspiracy theories, with both men recognizing that the death would “certainly generate a lot of conspiracy theories.”
Let's read the transcript.
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The Justice Department and FBI later concluded in a joint memo released in July that Epstein died by suicide. However, this determination faced criticism from many Trump supporters who suspected foul play was involved. Trump has faced ongoing scrutiny over his past connections to various controversial figures throughout his political career.
The only other conversation Barr remembers having with Trump about Epstein involved the president discussing their past relationship. “The president said something to the effect that he had broken off with Epstein long ago and that he had actually pushed him out of Mar-a-Lago,” Barr testified. Trump has publicly acknowledged his past relationship with Epstein but claimed in 2019 that they hadn’t spoken in 15 years. According to Trump, part of their falling out included throwing Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for trying to recruit employees from the resort.
House committee continues investigation into Epstein case
The House Oversight Committee has been conducting a broader investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein case and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Along with Barr’s testimony, the committee also released letters from former Trump Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Jeff Sessions, who both denied having any relevant knowledge about the probe.
The committee has now requested additional documents from Epstein’s estate, including “full, unredacted copies” of cash ledgers, message logs, calendars and flight logs. According to a Tuesday letter from the committee, staff members had previously reviewed these unredacted documents in private. The ongoing investigation reflects continued interest in understanding the full scope of Epstein’s connections and activities before his death in federal custody.
The release of Barr’s testimony provides new insight into how the Trump administration handled one of the most high-profile deaths in federal custody in recent years. The conversations between Barr and Trump show both officials were immediately aware of the potential for public skepticism and conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death.
