‘Nothing to hide’: Donald Trump denies links to Jeffrey Epstein, says he was ‘totally exonerated’

Donald Trump rejects Jeffrey Epstein ties, says he was ‘totally exonerated’

US President Donald Trump has denied any connection to financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying he had been “totally exonerated" and had no involvement with him.

“I have nothing to hide. I have been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Think of it. They've been pulled in. Clinton and many other Democrats have been pulled in," Trump said while responding to a reporter who cited remarks by Hillary Clinton about political diversion.

The comments came after the US Department of Justice released a fresh tranche of Epstein-related material, renewing attention on the late financier’s contacts with high-profile figures. Authorities published more than three million additional pages of records, including thousands of videos and images, bringing the total public archive to nearly 3.5 million pages.

Trump and Epstein were part of overlapping social circles in New York and Palm Beach during the 1990s and early 2000s and were photographed together at events. Epstein also visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort during that period. In a 2002 magazine interview, Trump called him a “terrific guy" and commented on his preference for women “on the younger side".

Trump has said he later cut ties with Epstein and that the financier was barred from Mar-a-Lago in the mid-2000s after a dispute and concerns about his behaviour. Their relationship reportedly deteriorated around 2004 when both pursued the same oceanfront property in Palm Beach, which was eventually purchased by Trump. He has never been criminally charged in the trafficking case.

Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to soliciting a minor and served jail time under a controversial plea agreement. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges but died in custody before trial; authorities ruled the death a suicide.