One of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims told the FBI that Ghislaine Maxwell tried to set her up with Donald Trump and his friends, making it clear that she was “available” for them.
However, the Justice Department has kept the names of the men involved in the victim’s story, except for Trump’s, hidden, leading to accusations of another cover-up.
On Friday, the department released about 3.5 million new documents, including shocking new information about Trump, unverified FBI tips about possible abuse or connections to Epstein and Maxwell, and interviews with people who were victims of Epstein.
In one FBI interview from September 2021, a woman, whose name was redacted, said that Maxwell took her to a party in New York, where she seemed very excited that there would be a lot of men for her to meet.
At the party, the victim was introduced to Trump by Maxwell, who gave him a summary of her achievements.
The file said, “MAXWELL presented (redacted) to TRUMP and they had a conversation for about 20 minutes.
(Redacted) was invited to MAR-A-LAGO where she was given a tour by TRUMP with EPSTEIN and MAXWELL present.”
The file added that nothing happened between the victim and Trump, but it noted that Maxwell made it clear that the victim was available.
Maxwell said things like, “Oh I think he likes you. Aren’t you lucky. This is great” and “Oh he’ll like that. He doesn’t like that.” It was set up the same way Maxwell introduced the victim to Epstein.
This information is from a 302 report, which FBI agents use to summarize interviews that might be used as evidence.
It is not clear when the introductions happened, but the details have raised new questions about Trump’s connections to Epstein and Maxwell, and how much he knew about their crimes.
Trump has always denied any wrongdoing and previously claimed he cut ties with Epstein in the mid-2000s, but recent documents suggest that’s not true.
Last year, Trump also expressed concern that people who met Epstein years ago without knowing about his crimes could be unfairly affected by the released files.
On Friday, the White House referred the Daily Beast to a statement from the Justice Department, which said the new files “may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production.”
The statement also said, “To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false.
If they had any credibility, they would have been used against President Trump already.”
The administration has faced criticism again for hiding the names of men who might have been involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking operations, which weakens efforts to hold people accountable.
In the FBI’s 302 report, agents noted that Maxwell introduced the victim to other men, not just Trump, including one who was contacted by government officials and another man who was much older than the victim.
However, their names and details are still hidden in the heavily redacted files.
When asked if the public would learn the identities of men who abused girls and young women in Epstein’s operation, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “If we find information that allows us to prosecute them, you can be sure we will.
But I don’t think the public will find out who the men were in the Epstein files who abused women, unfortunately.”
Blanche added that the department followed the law and had the right to withhold information that could harm ongoing investigations, break attorney-client privilege, identify victims, or show child pornography.
“We didn’t protect or not protect anybody,” he told reporters on Friday.
Democrats and Epstein’s survivors have criticized the department for redacting names and for not releasing about half of the files it holds.
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who helped push the Epstein Transparency Act with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, said, “The DOJ said it found over 6 million pages that could be relevant but is only releasing about 3.5 million after review and redactions.
This raises questions about why the rest are being withheld… Failing to release these files protects the powerful individuals involved and hurts public trust in our institutions.”
In a joint statement after the latest files were released, several survivors of Epstein’s abuse said, “This is not over.
We will not stop until the truth is fully revealed and every perpetrator is finally held accountable. As we have always said, this is not about politics. We hope Democrats and Republicans will stand with survivors in continuing to demand the full release of the Epstein files.”
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