US President Donald Trump has said the country should move on from the Jeffrey Epstein saga, but the controversy surrounding the case continues to prove difficult to put to rest.
Over the past two months, the US Department of Justice has released millions of documents tied to its sex-trafficking investigation into the late financier. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the government’s review of the files, required under a law passed by Congress in November, has now concluded, adding that there are no grounds for new prosecutions.
“There’s a lot of correspondence. There’s a lot of emails. There’s a lot of photographs,” Blanche said on Sunday. “But that doesn’t necessarily allow us to prosecute somebody.”
Despite the Justice Department closing its review, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pressing ahead with their own investigation. The House of Representatives is continuing its inquiry, with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expected to testify later in February after Republicans warned they could be held in contempt of Congress.
At the same time, members of Congress and Epstein’s victims are demanding further disclosures, arguing that additional documents exist but were not included in the released files.
The persistence of the issue highlights how difficult it has become for figures such as Trump to fully escape the fallout from the Epstein case. So far, however, the president appears to have weathered the controversy without lasting political damage.
That has not been the case for several other powerful figures whose connections to Epstein were more prominently detailed in the documents and who maintained contact with him long after his 2008 conviction for sex offences. Individuals including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Lord Peter Mandelson and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers have faced professional and personal repercussions. Others, such as Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have been forced to respond to emails and references involving their names.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he believed it was “really time for the country to get on to something else,” adding that “nothing came out about me.” Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
However, the president’s name appeared more than 6,000 times across the released documents, often in references made by Epstein and his associates. The two men, who both spent time in New York City and Palm Beach, were known to have a friendly relationship throughout much of the 1990s before falling out in the early 2000s, according to Trump.
One email released in December drew particular attention. In a 2011 message to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him… he has never once been mentioned.”
The latest document release also included a list of unverified FBI tips, some dating back to 2016 when Trump was running for president. These tips contained numerous allegations of sexual abuse involving Trump, Epstein and other high-profile individuals. Many of the claims were unsupported and were briefly removed from the Justice Department’s website, fuelling speculation that officials were attempting to shield the president.
In response, the department said some of the submissions contained false and sensational claims filed shortly before the 2020 election. It said the allegations were unfounded and would already have been used against Trump if there had been any credibility to them.
While a handful of new photographs of Trump surfaced, none revealed anything beyond what had long been publicly available. Trump, who does not use email, has no documented record of direct electronic communication with Epstein, and no new material directly challenges his claim that their relationship ended around 2004.
The most controversial revelation — a suggestive note Trump is alleged to have written for a 2002 birthday book for Epstein — was released by the Epstein estate rather than the government. Trump has strongly denied that the note is authentic.
Democrats have argued that the absence of damaging material against Trump raises questions about whether the Justice Department withheld documents. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer questioned whether all relevant records, including co-conspirator memos and original police reports, had truly been released.
One of Epstein’s victims, Lisa Phillips, said survivors were dissatisfied with how the case had been handled, accusing authorities of failing to disclose key documents, missing release deadlines and exposing the names of victims.
Public anger among Trump supporters over the handling of the Epstein files appears to have eased following the latest document releases. While some critics continue to voice opposition, much of Trump’s political base has shifted its focus to other issues, including unrest in Minneapolis and investigations into alleged voting fraud from the 2020 election.
Despite this, the matter remains unresolved. Democrats are seeking access to unredacted versions of the documents, and the upcoming testimony from the Clintons could reignite political tensions. Lawmakers have also warned that further subpoenas could be issued to Trump and other Republicans if control of the House changes after the midterm elections.
While the president insists it is time to move on, the Epstein saga continues to show signs of enduring political and public life.
