Newly released Epstein files spotlight Trump’s past jet trips with Maxwell

Numerous references to US President Donald Trump are found in a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein files, including documents describing the flights he and his then-friend took on his private jet.

According to an email from a New York prosecutor that is included in the new batch of documents about Epstein, Trump “many more times than previously has been reported” flying on the private jet of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The unnamed prosecutor stated in an email on January 7, 2020 that flight records showed that Trump had used Epstein’s private jet eight times in the 1990s. At least four flights, including those with Ghislaine Maxwell, were also on board.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison term for abusing underage girls while working as a late financier Epstein.

Trump claimed in a social media post that he “was never on Epstein’s Plane, or at his “stupid’ Island” in 2024. Trump’s email was free of any allegations that he had a crime. The Reuters news agency had a request to comment on the email, but the White House did not respond right away.

The DOJ claimed that some documents, which had been submitted to the FBI after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, contained “untrue and sensationalist claims” about Trump, but it did not provide further details.

In a social media post, the DOJ stated, “To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and they certainly would have been used against President Trump already if they had had any credibility.”

The Trump administration has been accused of breaking the law passed in November by publishing significant redactions in a portion of the documents released last week. The administration had opposed the release of the Epstein-related documents. About 8, 000 files, including audio and video recordings, and 30, 000 pages of documents, are present in the most recent release.

In the most recent release, many names and details are left out. Beyond a provision in the Epstein files law that permits limited redactions to protect details about Epstein’s victims, some of the redactions appear to obscure the names of prosecutors and government officials.

The document stated that “on two additional flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who might be witnesses for a Maxwell case.”

Trump, Epstein, and a 20-year-old woman whose name was redacted were the only three passengers on one flight.

According to some videos, Epstein’s burial grounds were depicted inside a federal detention facility. Although his death was declared a suicide, there has been continual speculating about his circumstances.

Trump has understated how significant the Epstein files are, saying that his administration’s use of them was “deflecting against tremendous success.”

According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, 23% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files while 2 percent disapprove. About 70% of respondents said they thought the government was keeping information about Epstein’s connections to powerful people who might have been involved in teen girls’ sex trafficking.

Democrats’ and a few Republicans’ lawmakers have continued to push for the release of additional information. Members of Trump’s administration had promised to release Epstein-related documents before entering the White House, but Trump’s right-wing supporters disagreed on how to handle them.