President Donald Trump denied that he was briefed on his name appearing in the case files of Jeffrey Epstein, seeming contradicting a recent report in The Wall Street Journal that he was.
After Air Force One landed in Scotland on Friday, a reporter asked Trump, “Were you briefed on your name appearing in the Epstein files ever?”
“No, I was never briefed. No,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, the Journal, quoting unnamed senior administration officials, reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy informed Trump in May that his name was in the files, along with many other high profile figures. The story noted that earlier this month, Trump had also denied being informed of his name being in the files. The White House’s communications director, Steven Cheung, told the Journal that the story was “fake news.”
The Justice Department announced earlier this month that its review of the Epstein case was ending, finding not evidence to pursue additional convictions and denying that a client list existed. That created a backlash among some of Trump’s die-hard supporters, who have long embraced theories that high profile Democrats were involved in an Epstein sex-trafficking ring.
A Journal spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
Last week, the Journal reported on a birthday album that was given to Epstein in 2003, featuring collected letters from some of his friends. Among the letters was one bearing Trump’s name that “contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker,” the Journal reported, adding that a “pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.”
Trump denied writing the letter, and sued the Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion.
A spokesperson for the Journal said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
Earlier this week, the White House pulled a Journal reporter from the Scotland trip. The reporter, Tarini Parti, was scheduled to be the print pooler for part of the trip, according to Politico.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board.”