US President Donald Trump has cautioned that the ongoing release of investigative files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could unfairly damage the reputations of individuals who only had innocent interactions with him in the past.
Trump made the remarks on Monday night at his Mar-a-Lago residence, marking his first public comments since the US Justice Department began releasing the Epstein files last Friday. He downplayed the renewed attention on the case, describing it as a distraction from what he called the Republican Party’s achievements.
“This whole thing with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has,” Trump told reporters.
The first batch of released photos prominently featured former US President Bill Clinton, prompting questions about Trump’s response. Trump said he has always had a good relationship with Clinton and expressed discomfort with the publication of the images.
“I like Bill Clinton. I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I hate to see photos come out of him,” he said.
Trump also acknowledged that he himself appeared in photographs with Epstein, noting that Epstein moved in wide social circles.
“There’s photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy,” he said.
He described the release of such images as a “terrible thing,” stressing that appearing in a photograph with Epstein does not automatically suggest wrongdoing.
“Bill Clinton’s a big boy, he can handle it,” Trump added. “But you probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they’re highly respected bankers and lawyers and others.”
According to Trump, many people are upset about the publication of images involving individuals who, he insisted, had no involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
“They’re in a picture with him because he was at a party and you ruin a reputation of somebody,” he said.
Epstein, a wealthy and well-connected financier, died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide.
