Epstein’s emails rattle Trump in the US and even spread in Brazil

US President Donald Trump has had another turbulent week. Even after agreeing to end the shutdown, the Republican faces new pressure: Democrats have released more than 20,000 pages of documents and emails from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which mentioned Trump multiple times and reignited old suspicions the president is trying to bury.

The House Oversight Committee last week released an extensive new set of files from Epstein’s estate, which were requested under a subpoena earlier this year. The documents, which include emails the billionaire exchanged over a 15-year period, once again put Trump at the center of public debate.

Among the correspondence revealed, Epstein mentioned Trump several times, mocked his mental state, suggested revealing secrets, and discussed episodes involving figures close to the Republican. The letters also show Epstein coordinating communication strategies with Ghislaine Maxwell regarding the sexual assault allegations.

The White House downplayed the significance of the content, and its spokeswoman, Carolyn Leavitt, said that the documents “prove absolutely nothing” against the president.

“I know how dirty Donald is,” Epstein said.

The emails reveal that Epstein made harsh comments about the Republican at various times. In 2017, he called the then-future president “a completely crazy person” in a letter to a New York Times reporter.

The following year, he told former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers that Trump was “almost crazy,” and told former White House adviser Katherine Rumler that he “knows how dirty Donald is,” alluding to potential scandals.

This correspondence occurred at a time when Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to the Stormy Daniels case.

The files also indicate that Epstein hinted that he had compromising material relating to the current US president. In 2015, he stated that he could post “pictures of Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen” and cited a 1990s model who was “delivered to Donald”. Nothing has been proven, and Trump has always denied any wrongdoing.

Another excerpt from the documents shows that Epstein disputes Trump’s account of their breakup. In letters to writer Michael Wolff, he said he “was never a member” of the Mar-a-Lago Club, contradicted the story that he was fired for harassing female employees, and even suggested that Trump “knew about the girls.”

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Photo taken in 1997. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump attend an event held at the Mar-a-Lago Club Resort

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Jeffrey Epstein

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Jeffrey Epstein case

Jeffrey Epstein, the former billionaire financier, was accused of running a sexual exploitation ring involving underage girls between the 1990s and 2000s.
The first complaints gained momentum in 2005, leading to a police investigation that lasted for years.
In 2008, Epstein reached a plea deal, admitted to part of the charges and received a reduced sentence, serving just over a year in a different system before being released in 2009.
The case returned to the center of the news in 2019, when a new federal investigation led to his arrest on sex trafficking charges. Less than three weeks later, in August of that year, Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan cell.
The authorities concluded that he committed suicide.

An email containing an ambiguous phrase

The documents also bring up the mysterious episode due to the phrase “the dog that did not bark.”

In an email dated April 2, 2011, Epstein wrote to Ghislaine Maxwell that “the dog that did not bark is Trump,” noting that Virginia Giuffre — identified by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee — had spent hours at his home with the then-future president, without ever mentioning him in her accusations.

Echoes have reached Brasilia: from Trump to Lula and Bolsonaro

The disclosure of the documents revealed unexpected references to Brazil. In one email, dated 2018, Epstein wrote: “Chomsky called me with Lola. From prison. What a world.”

The phrase suggests that Noam Chomsky brokered a phone call between Epstein and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was serving a sentence in Curitiba at the time.

to capitals, The Communications Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic categorically denied that such contact occurred. However, the record coincides with Chomsky’s visit to Lula on September 20, 2018, one day before the letter was sent.

Another email shows Epstein referring to Jair Bolsonaro, who at the time was running for president, as “the man.” The documents do not provide additional context about the dialogue or identify the interlocutor, leaving the reason for the mention open.

Trump accuses Democrats and announces the opening of a federal investigation

Amid the political wear and tear caused by the closure, and his declining popularity, the US President is trying to respond to the new blow. On social media, he called the disclosure of the files a “farce,” accused Democrats of “shifting the focus,” and ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a broad investigation into Epstein’s ties to figures like Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reed Hoffman, and JPMorgan executives.

Bondi confirmed that he would launch an investigation and would appoint Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead the case.

The release of the emails also sparked a race in the Legislature. Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn in and became the 218th vote needed to force the House to deliberate on the full release of Justice Department files linked to Epstein.

Meanwhile, Republican congresswomen such as Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace — both survivors of sexual violence — refused to remove their names from the petition. Chamber President Mike Johnson announced that he will put to a vote next week a draft that requires full disclosure of the files.