The Justice Department has made public previously withheld documents connected to the investigation of financier Jeffrey Epstein, including FBI memos in which a woman made unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct involving President Donald Trump.
The files had been absent from earlier releases, prompting criticism from lawmakers and claims of a cover-up. Authorities later said the omission was a mistake, as the documents had been incorrectly categorized as duplicates during the review process.
The three newly released memos summarize FBI interviews conducted in 2019 with an unnamed woman who claimed she was introduced to Trump by Epstein in the 1980s when she was a minor.
In her statements, the woman alleged that both men sexually assaulted her between the ages of 13 and 15. The FBI did not maintain further contact with the woman after the interviews, and the claims remain uncorroborated.
The documents do not clarify whether Trump and Epstein were acquainted at the time the alleged incidents took place. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and the White House dismissed the allegations as "completely baseless" and unsupported by credible evidence.
"As we have said countless times, President Trump has been totally exonerated by the release of the Epstein Files," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. She added that the Justice Department under the previous administration of Joe Biden did not pursue charges because "they knew President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong."
The newly released files include thousands of references to Trump, spanning emails and other correspondence sent by Epstein.
In addition, the documents list allegations made to the FBI’s national Threat Operation Center, some of which involve Trump, Epstein, and other high-profile individuals. Many of the tips are unverified and lack supporting evidence.
Following a January release of Epstein documents, the Justice Department had already noted that some claims against Trump were untrue or sensationalized and had been submitted shortly before the 2020 election. Officials said that any credible allegations would likely have been used against Trump previously.
Reports by media outlets indicated that the newly released memos had been missing from prior releases, despite FBI records suggesting four interviews were conducted with the woman in 2019 as part of the investigation into Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted and jailed in 2022 for sex trafficking.
Three of these memos, covering over 50 pages, were not previously available to the public.
Trump and Epstein had been socially connected for several years but reportedly fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein’s first arrest. The timing of their relationship adds complexity to the unverified claims in the documents.
The release comes amid heightened political scrutiny. This week, a House committee voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to explain the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. Lawmakers from both parties supported the move.
In November, Congress passed legislation requiring the Justice Department to release all records related to Epstein investigations. Since then, millions of documents have become public, offering a detailed look into Epstein’s network and the allegations surrounding him.