The U.S. Department of Justice has sought to put distance between President Donald Trump and a series of claims contained in newly released Jeffrey Epstein-related records, after documents circulating online included an allegation of rape involving Trump that the department described as baseless.
In a statement posted on social media as the latest tranche of Epstein files became public, the Justice Department said “some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims” submitted to the FBI shortly before the 2020 election. It added: “the claims are unfounded and false.”
The allegation referenced by the department appears in an FBI intake document that surfaced among records released as part of a broader disclosure related to the Epstein investigation, according to reporting by People. The magazine said the document includes a second-hand account relayed to the FBI in October 2020 that alleges a woman had said she was raped by Trump and Epstein. The report is not presented as a sworn statement by the woman and does not include corroborating material, and People described it as “unverified.”
The release of the files has reignited scrutiny of Trump’s past social proximity to Epstein, the financier who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, and to Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of trafficking-related offences. The Justice Department, however, warned that the appearance of a claim in a released record is not the same as proof it is true, and said it would continue to release material required by law.
In its social media statement, the department argued that if the allegations had any credibility they would have been politically deployed years earlier, writing that if the claims “had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized” against Trump.
The People report said the intake document was generated during the latter part of the Trump presidency and was among material now being released from federal archives tied to the Epstein case. It said the filing references an allegation involving Trump and Epstein and that the Justice Department has characterised the allegation as false.
The dispute over the contents of the file release has also centred on other records in the same disclosure that federal officials say are plainly fraudulent. Reuters reported that the Justice Department said a card purportedly sent from Epstein to former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, which included a crude reference to Trump and “young, nubile girls,” was a fake, citing FBI analysis that it did not match Epstein’s handwriting and included anomalies, including being postmarked after Epstein’s death.
Reuters also reported that the Justice Department said there were no allegations in the released materials implicating Trump in any crimes, even as the files include mention of him among Epstein-related records.
Trump has long denied involvement in Epstein’s criminal conduct. His relationship with Epstein, a well-connected figure in Palm Beach and New York social circles, has been documented in photographs and media accounts dating back decades. In a 2002 interview with New York magazine, Trump spoke warmly of Epstein, saying: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy.”
That quote has repeatedly been revisited in later years as Epstein’s crimes became public and prosecutors described a system in which underage girls were recruited and abused. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers, previously said she was recruited by Maxwell while working at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida, before being taken into Epstein’s orbit. Trump has disputed aspects of related accounts and has said he later barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, though timelines and details have been contested in public reporting.
The new attention comes amid a periodic cycle of Epstein-related document releases, some of which contain raw investigative leads, tips, and unverified claims collected by law enforcement. Such records can include hearsay or information that investigators determined was not credible, as well as references to prominent individuals who were not charged with wrongdoing.
In its social media statement this week, the Justice Department framed the renewed focus on Trump as a misreading of what the disclosures represent, emphasising that public access requirements do not amount to a government endorsement of the contents.
People’s account of the FBI intake document said the allegation against Trump was described as having been dismissed by federal officials, and it quoted the Justice Department’s language calling the claim “untrue and sensationalist.”
The filing’s emergence has been amplified on social media by accounts arguing it represents definitive proof of criminal conduct. The Justice Department’s statement, along with Reuters’ reporting about the forged Nassar-related card, has been used by officials and some commentators to argue that the file release contains material of uneven reliability, including items the FBI says are fabricated.
The Justice Department has not publicly detailed what investigative steps, if any, were taken in response to the 2020 allegation described by People beyond stating that it is false, and the release of the record does not itself indicate that prosecutors pursued charges. No court filing tied to the allegation described by People has been identified in the public record accompanying the latest release.
Epstein’s case has remained a flashpoint in U.S. politics and culture partly because of the breadth of his social connections and the enduring public questions about who knew what about his conduct, and when. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to state prostitution-related charges involving a minor and later served time in jail, before being arrested again by federal authorities in 2019. He died in a New York jail that year, in a death ruled a suicide, though it has been the subject of persistent conspiracy theories. Maxwell, his former partner, was convicted in federal court in 2021 and later sentenced.
The latest records have once again put Trump’s past interactions with Epstein under a microscope, but the Justice Department’s public position is that the key allegation driving the current attention is not credible. “To be clear,” the department wrote, “the claims are unfounded and false.”
