US Attorney General Pam Bondi informed US President Donald Trump back in the spring that his name appeared in the files of the major financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of child prostitution and other serious crimes several years ago and committed suicide.
This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing senior US administration officials. According to them, Bondi and her deputies informed Trump about this issue at a meeting held at the White House in May. The president's name is mentioned repeatedly in these files, the newspaper notes. In addition, the head of the US administration was informed that “many other prominent figures“ appear in Epstein's files. The article says that “hundreds of other names“ are mentioned in Epstein's documents.
“The mention in the records is not an indication of any wrongdoing“, the publication emphasizes. Trump was informed in May that the US Department of Justice did not plan to release any additional documents in the Epstein case, as these materials include child pornography and personal information of victims.
Meanwhile, White House Communications Director Stephen Chung described the current publication as “another fake story“ by this newspaper.
Trump and his administration are outraged and “angry“ by the active coverage of the events surrounding the Epstein case, writes Politico, citing its own sources.
“The US president is clearly furious. "This is the first time we've seen them in this condition," the publication quoted one of the sources as saying.
According to them, Trump is frustrated that his team can't "stop the conspiracy theories" against him, as well as the active media coverage of the situation. "He thinks he has much more important stories to tell," a senior White House official said.
Politico writes that Trump and his closest allies had hoped to spend the summer "enjoying a well-deserved victory lap," including by signing new trade agreements and reaching an agreement with NATO to increase defense spending.
“When you work 12-15 hours a day solving real problems, and then you turn on the TV and see people talking about Jeffrey Epstein, it's annoying. "That's what the president thinks," one of the sources explained.