Damning report torpedoes Trump's 'central defense' about Epstein ties
A new report on Sunday torpedoed one of President Donald Trump's "central defenses" about his ties to convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump has often claimed that he has never been credibly accused of wrongdoing over the course of his relationship with Epstein. He has also claimed that he never knew of Epstein's crimes, even though the recently released Epstein files include a transcript of Trump calling a local police station and telling them about "creepy" Epstein.
But a new report undermines both of those claims. Investigative political reporter Roger Sollenberger reported on Sunday that Trump was credibly accused of abusing at least two young girls, citing court records and an internal FBI slideshow that was released in the latest tranche of Epstein files.
"So far, Trump — thanks in part to false statements, misdirection, public confusion, and excessive redactions from his own DOJ — has evaded the crosshairs of credible allegations in the Epstein files," the report reads in part.
"However, this claim — along with the second about Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s behavior, from a Maxwell trial witness and included in the same slideshow — would contradict the narrative that the sitting president has not been credibly accused of wrongdoing in the Epstein saga," it continued.
The report also mentions that Trump was at least partially aware of Epstein's crimes because of information provided by a witness who helped secure a conviction against Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
"While this Maxwell witness says she was not a victim of Trump, she does meaningfully undermine one of the president’s central defenses — that despite years of close friendship and socializing, Trump had not been aware that Epstein preyed on underage girls and cut ties with him once he did learn about it," the report added.