The simple reason the media isn’t talking about Trump in the Epstein Files
Donald Trump’s name is mentioned in the Epstein Files thousands of times more than Peter Mandelson, so why is much of the media seemingly ignoring the president's relationship with the convicted paedophile and sex trafficker?
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In brief…
- Serious allegations have been made against Donald Trump in recently released documents from the Epstein Files, but former Labour MP Peter Mandelson has been much of the focus of the media in the UK.
- The News Agents say there is a straightforward and “boringly logistical” reason for this – and suggest the analysis of Trump’s friendship with Epstein will be explored further down the line. The president has denied all claims made against him.
- Emily Maitlis says the allegations against Trump make some of the documents “almost unreadable” due to the seriousness of the claims.
What’s the story?
Considering the amount of times Donald Trump is mentioned in the Epstein Files (around 38,000), you might think there would be more focus on him than someone like Peter Mandelson.
The media, especially in the UK and including The News Agents, has followed the recent release of more than three million documents relating to the convicted paedophile and sex trafficker with intense scrutiny on the former Labour MP and UK ambassador to the US, rather than the president of the United States.
Mandelson has quit the Labour Party and stepped down from the House of Lords, after sharing confidential documents with Epstein which put the UK’s economy and stability at enormous risk.
Lewis Goodall says the reason for this focus on Mandelson is “boringly logistical” – and among the millions of pages, his relationship with Epstein is crystal clear.
“There is this lengthy, extensive email chain between him and Epstein, even though Mandelson actually appears in far fewer overall files than Trump,” says Lewis.
He describes the email chain between Epstein and Mandelson as something close to a “stream of consciousness” while when it comes to direct communication with Trump, there’s nothing.
Epstein and Trump’s close, public friendship is believed to have mostly taken place in the early 2000s, and the recently released files do not date back that far.
Everyone is afraid of a Trump lawsuit
If there’s one thing that Trump likes more than money, power and bulldozing ballrooms, it’s suing people – just ask the BBC, which is currently in the midst of a $10 billion (£7.31bn) lawsuit.
And no other media company wants to be at the receiving end of a call from Trump’s lawyer.
Many of the Trump references in the documents come from tips given to the FBI from people claiming to have witnessed or been victim of Trump’s alleged behaviour when with Epstein.
“Some of those tips do include very serious accusations about Trump, but it's also true to say that that information has not been verified,” says Lewis.
“Trump is highly litigious, as we know, so I think it's fair to say that a lot of media organisations will be more reluctant to air those accusations, partly because the information itself is pretty unverifiable, but also because of Trump's own behaviour.”
Right now, Emily Maitlis says, journalists will be scouring through more than three million pages, some of which she describes as “almost unreadable” because of how vile the allegations are.
“There will be countless reporters who are doing this and who are building up pictures about people, but they are not prepared to go without having done the background checks,” she says.
Additionally, she says, reporting into what has recently been disclosed about Peter Mandelson was first investigated by The Financial Times in September 2025 – and at the time he denied everything.
Which brings us back to Mandelson
When Mandelson was in government, The News Agents say, he was passing on highly confidential information relating to the UK’s finances and banking industry to Epstein, with what they describe as “extraordinary speed”.
He was doing this at a time when the UK economy was “on its knees”, says Emily."If it was an ordinary business we'd call it insider trading - but it's a government, and so it actually starts to look more akin to treason,” she adds.
In return, he was given an estimated £75,000 by Epstein, with his husband receiving an additional £10,000. Mandelson says he has no memory of these payments, and will “investigate” the allegations himself.
Mandelson has said he regrets "ever having known Epstein".
“You have government secrets on your desk every single day. You are trusted with them, and it sounds like a ridiculous word to use in this day and age, but he is almost like a pantomime villain,” Emily says.
“He was working against the best interests of their country, and would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those pesky kids – not to go too Scooby Doo.”
The villains in Scooby Doo were never seen again after their plans were uncovered – but Mandelson is already back, with an interview in The Times.
“We said that we wouldn't be hearing from Mandelson for a while. But already the reset – as he calls it – the rehabilitation tour has begun in earnest,” says Lewis.
“He says that there would be no point in him just crawling under a rock and going away, because it wouldn't be proportionate.
“What's very clear from this interview is there is a profound disconnect between how Mandelson sees this story and how the rest of the world, and certainly Westminster, is seeing this story.”