US President Donald Trump appeared on flight records for the private jet of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more times than previously known, according to an email released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The email, dated 7 January 2020 and written by an assistant US attorney, states that Trump was listed as a passenger on Epstein’s plane on eight occasions between 1993 and 1996.
“Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware),” the email reads.
Being named on the flight records does not imply wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes. In 2024, he wrote: “I was never on Epstein’s Plane.”
The DOJ said some of the documents released on Tuesday include “untrue and sensationalist claims” about the president.
Trump and Epstein were known to be friends for several years, although Trump has said their relationship ended around 2004, well before Epstein was first arrested.
The documents form part of a release of more than 30,000 pages — commonly referred to as the Epstein files — which the DOJ was legally required to publish in full by last Friday.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the department said: “Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI shortly before the 2020 election.
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had any credibility, they would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”
The DOJ added that it was releasing the documents in line with its legal obligations and commitment to transparency, while maintaining protections for Epstein’s victims.
The email in question is part of a chain titled “RE: Epstein flight records.” While the sender and recipient are redacted, the message identifies the author as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York.
According to the email, Trump “is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996,” including four flights on which Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell was also present.
It says Trump travelled on different occasions with his former wife Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric.
The email further notes that on one flight in 1993, Trump and Epstein were the only two passengers listed. On another, the only passengers were Epstein, Trump and a then 20-year-old individual, whose name has been redacted.
It also states that on two other flights, two of the passengers were women who could have been potential witnesses in a case involving Maxwell.
In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for offences including conspiracy to entice minors to travel for illegal sex acts and sex trafficking of a minor.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The email does not provide further details about the flights.
A handwritten flight log released by the DOJ in February includes entries that are difficult to decipher. One appears to list Trump and his son Eric on a flight dated 13 August 1995 from Palm Beach International Airport in Florida to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The same entry also lists “JE” and “GM”, widely believed to refer to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Tuesday’s disclosure marks the largest release of Epstein-related documents so far, though the DOJ has acknowledged that thousands more files remain unpublished. Since Friday, documents have been released in eight separate batches.
The department missed the congressional deadline to make all Epstein-related material public, including photographs, videos and investigative records, drawing criticism from survivors and lawmakers from both parties.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on the day of the deadline that the remaining documents would be released gradually.
“There are a lot of eyes on this,” he said. “We want to make sure that when we do release materials, we are protecting every single victim.”
