TheWhite Housewants everyone to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein. That much became crystal clear on Tuesday when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cut off questions about newly releasedFBIdocuments showingDonald Trumprang police about Epstein back in 2006. Her message? 'We're moving on from that.'
Except that the documents that just came out make moving on a bit tricky. Because they show Trump told Palm Beach police 'thank goodness you're stopping him, everyone has known he's been doing this' when they were investigating Epstein nearly 20 years ago. Which is awkward, considering Trump spent years insisting he had no clue about any of it.
An FBI report from a 2019 interview with former Palm Beach Police ChiefMichael Reiterhas landed the White House in hot water. Reiter's name is redacted in the document, but he's confirmed to the Miami Herald that he gave the interview and that Trump rang him in July 2006, right when the Epstein investigation became public.
According to the FBI's summary, Trump didn't just ring to say hello. 'Donald Trump told [Reiter] that he threw Epstein out of his club. Trump called the [Palm Beach Police Department] to tell him "thank goodness you're stopping him, everyone has known he's been doing this",' the document states. Trump apparently told Reiter that 'people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting', called Ghislaine Maxwell—Epstein's accomplice who's now serving 20 years for sex trafficking—'evil', and told police to 'focus on her'. The document also notes that Trump 'was one of the very first people to call when people found out that they were investigating Epstein'.
Here's where it gets messy. In July 2019, when reporters asked Trump if he had any suspicions about Epstein 'molesting underaged women',he responded: 'No, I had no idea. I had no idea.'
That's a pretty definitive denial. Except now we've got an FBI document saying that back in 2006, Trump rang the police specifically to say everyone knew what Epstein was up to.
At Tuesday's press briefing, a reporter pressed Leavitt on this exact contradiction, noting Trump had claimed he had no idea about Epstein's crimes, yet during the 2006 conversation, he said 'thank goodness you're stopping him' and called Maxwell 'evil'. 'Did that conversation with Palm Beach Police happen, and can you explain the discrepancy?'the reporter asked.
Leavitt didn't confirm whether the call happened. She didn't deny it either. 'It was a phone call that may or may not have happened in 2006. I don't know the answer to that question,'she told reporters. 'What I'm telling you is what President Trump has always said, is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep, and that remains true.'
She insisted Trump has 'remained consistent' and that 'unlike many other people who are named in these files, President Trump cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein'. Then came the bit that'll make headlines: 'And I'm sure many of you, when you read that alleged FBI report, probably thought to yourself, wow, this really cracks our narrative that we've been trying to push about this president for many years. So we're moving on from that.'
When asked for comment, the White House referred them to the Justice Department. A DOJ officialresponded: 'We are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the President contacted law enforcement 20 years ago.' So the FBI has a document from a 2019 interview saying Trump rang him. The police chief himself has confirmed to the Miami Herald that the call happened. But the DOJ says they're 'not aware of any corroborating evidence'. Either the call happened or it didn't.
Source: International Business Times UK
