US President Donald Trump has issued his first remarks on the Department of Justice’s release of Jeffrey Epstein files, warning that those who knew Epstein in the past risk having their reputations devastated by the disclosure of the investigative materials.
This marks the first time Trump has expressed his views since the US Justice Department began releasing the files last Friday; he also dismissed the furore over Epstein as a distraction from his party’s achievements.
As reported by RTE, he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago home, “This whole thing with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has.”
Former President Bill Clinton featured prominently in the first batch of photos from the Epstein files released by the Justice Department and Trump was asked for his reaction.
He said, “I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I hate to see photos come out of him.”
Trump further said he did not specifically like the release of pictures of Mr Clinton and others, calling it a “terrible thing.”
“But you probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffery Epstein years ago, and many years, and they’ve highly respected bankers and lawyers and others.”
Trump has called the recent episode a Democratic “hoax” but he also signed a bill into law requiring full disclosure.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, in what was ruled a suicide.
In this connection, Clinto spokesperson Angel Urena issued a statement urging MsBondi to immediately release any remaining materials in the Epstein case.
The Justice Department has clarified that it is working to access documentation for release to Congress.
Additionally, the massive volume of files will be released over the coming weeks, meaning that Epstein’s case will likely remain a dominant headline into early next year.
