‘Epstein emails don’t tell the full story - the public needs to see the FBI’s videos and photos’
The White House claims the Epstein Files are a “manufactured hoax” – ahead of a House of Representatives vote on releasing the documents. If Trump and his team are so sure of his innocence, why is he so scared of making them public?
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In brief…
- US lawmakers have shared 23,000 documents from the Jeffrey Epstein estate, which reveal alleged new details of his relationship with Donald Trump.
- The News Agents say his MAGA leadership looks increasingly unsecure, and believe more rebel Republicans will vote against his administration's wishes to make the Epstein Files public.
- Spencer Kuvin, a lawyer who has worked with Epstein victims for 20 years, says what has been made public already is the tip of the iceberg, and that the FBI has incriminating photographic and video evidence he hopes will also be revealed.
"I have met some very bad people. None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body."
These are the words of Jeffrey Epstein, taken from emails among 23,000 pages of documents released by US lawmakers. In other emails, Epstein describes Trump as the "dog that hasn't barked", and said he spent "hours" with a sex trafficking victim at his home.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has described pressure to release the Epstein Files as a "manufactured hoax", and "a fake narrative to smear President Trump.
This is despite promises from Trump during his 2024 election campaign to release the files.
The release of documents this week comes ahead of a House of Representatives vote on full disclosure of the Epstein Files. This has been forced after 218 lawmakers signed a discharge petition to force the vote.
“There is utter discomfort in the White House today,” says Jon Sopel.
“Even though there is no smoking gun and nothing that would be conclusive evidence in court - it raises questions, and people are already conspiracy minded about why there's been so little about Epstein come out, why there are such efforts to suppress this, that this feeds it, and that is what is killing Donald Trump right now.”
Why these new revelations have left Trump so rattled
The documents that have been revealed are not part of the Epstein Files – those remain sealed, and ahead of next week’s vote Trump has held private meetings with the four Republican Congress members in an attempt to persuade them to vote against making them public.
These were Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert.
“Donald Trump is trying to turn the screws on Republican congressmen and women who might be thinking of voting with the Democrats,” Jon says.
“At the moment, they're saying no, the public wants to know this. MAGA Republicans have been the ones saying this ought to be released before the elections, they were the ones saying it was the Democrats who were covering up, they can't just go back to our voters and say they've changed their minds.
“If Trump is confident there is nothing in the files, then he can just say the files ought to be released.”
He believes that many Republicans will vote against the president, wanting to prioritise staying on side with their constituents over keeping things sweet with Trump.
“Donald Trump may be able to exert enough pressure on enough people that the Republicans back away. But so far, it doesn't look like they are,” Jon adds.
“It's not just about emails from the Epstein estate. This is about the criminal investigations into Epstein. It's about the interviews that have been held with Epstein, with victims, with associates,
“It's a big tranche of information that is about to come out.”
Emily Maitlis says what comes next will test whether Trump still has control over the MAGA elements in the Republican Party.
'The public needs to the the videotape and surveillance footage too'
The News Agents describe the 23,000 emails as having "flooded the zone" with details that contradict Trump's claims he cut contact with Epstein in 2004/05, and appear to shed more light on the nature of their relationship.
But Spencer Kuvin, a Florida-based lawyer who has represented victims of Epstein for 20 years, says this "avalanche" of information is just the tip of the iceberg, and believes more damning evidence against Trump could come to light.
"I think the breadth of that relationship between Trump and Epstein has yet to be fully disclosed," Kevin tells Emily Maitlis.
"I think that the general public needs to see the videotapes and the surveillance tapes that the FBI have, and the photographs that I believe they have in their custody.
"That will really, truly start to tell the story."
Having worked with victims of sexual trafficking by Epstein and partner Ghislaine Maxwell for two decades, Kuvin says his head is full of information he "cannot disclose".
The emails disclosed this week, he adds, are "nothing new" to him.
"What I think it does is give the public more of an insight into what we have known as lawyers and advocates for the victims for years – and that is the true scope and breadth of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's attempts at leverage on powerful, influential people around the globe," Kuvin adds.
"We've always known this, and we've always talked about it in general terms, but I think now – with the disclosure of at least these emails – the general public is seeing the evidence that supports why advocates for the victims have been talking about this for so long."
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking of minors charges – with some believing he was killed to keep his knowledge of the rich and powerful under wraps.
Kuvin is one of the people who do not believe Epstein died by suicide.
"When he was first arrested, I was the first individual to say he's not making it out alive," Kevin adds.
"I knew because of what I have learned over the years of litigating these cases, what he had and the information that was there. So I have never been convinced that he took his own life in jail.
"How and who has been a question, but whether it occurred has not, at least not to me."
He adds that Epstein's death was either a "massive failure" by the US Department of Justice, or someone killed him.
"Those are really the only two options, and I think that option two is, frankly, more likely."