The U.S. Department of Justice has released previously unpublished FBI materials related to the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein, which include statements from a woman accusing Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. This was reported by Reuters and other U.S. media outlets. The documents were published on the department’s website on March 5.
According to the FBI materials, in 2019 agents interviewed an unnamed woman four times as part of the investigation into Epstein, who was accused of trafficking minors. The Justice Department had previously released an interview log but published a summary of only one meeting, during which the woman stated that Epstein had sexually abused her when she was a teenager.
The newly released documents indicate that she also claimed that in the 1980s, when she was between 13 and 15 years old, Epstein introduced her to Trump, after which Trump allegedly tried to force her to perform oral sex. Reuters noted that it was unable to independently verify the accuracy of these allegations.
The White House described the accusations as “completely unfounded and unsupported by any credible evidence.” The Justice Department also warned that some of the released materials may contain “unverified and sensational allegations” concerning Trump.
The department explained that the documents were among 15 files previously “mistakenly labeled as duplicates” and therefore were not released earlier. Their publication comes amid pressure from Congress: Democrats accuse the Trump administration of concealing materials related to the president, and a House committee has already voted to summon Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide explanations.
Trump has previously said that he cut off contact with Epstein in the mid-2000s and knew nothing about his crimes. Previously released Justice Department documents also indicated that Trump flew several times on Epstein’s plane in the 1990s, something he has denied.
U.S. media have reported that the anonymous plaintiff repeatedly filed civil lawsuits in U.S. courts, alleging that Trump and Epstein committed sexual crimes against her when she was a minor. However, those lawsuits were withdrawn and never proceeded to a substantive hearing.
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell is currently seeking in a U.S. federal court to block the release of 90,000 pages of documents, arguing that the special law requiring disclosure of the “Epstein files” is unconstitutional.
In 2008, Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution. In the summer of 2019, he was arrested again and charged with trafficking women, including minors, and coercing them into prostitution. Later that same year, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell before trial. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Authorities continue to declassify the so-called “Epstein files,” which include victim testimonies and documents mentioning numerous well-known figures — including politicians, billionaires, and members of royal families. Another batch of documents was released on January 30.
