A newly uncovered FBI document suggests Donald Trump told police about Jeffrey Epstein’s behaviour in 2006.
The document, released in the latest batch of Epstein files, is a written record of a 2019 FBI interview with an ex-cop from Palm Beach, Florida, who says Mr Trump called him in relation to an investigation into the financier.
“Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this,” Mr Trump apparently said.
Epstein files: See the latest revelations
The name of the officer has been redacted from the file, however, Michael Reiter – who retired from his role as police chief in 2009 – told the Miami Herald he had taken the call.
Mr Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
The document would appear to contradict previous claims by the president that he “had no idea” about his crimes.
When asked by reporters following the disgraced financier’s arrest for sex trafficking in 2019 if he had “any suspicions” about him, Mr Trump said: “No, I had no idea. I had no idea. I haven’t spoken to him in many, many years.”
What else does FBI file say?
According to the FBI summary of the interview, Mr Trump told police in July 2006 that “people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting” and that he had thrown Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club.
Mr Trump allegedly told authorities he was once around Epstein when he was with teenagers and that he “got the hell out of there”.
The summary also claims Mr Trump told the police chief that Ghislaine Maxwell – who is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking, and has this week refused to answer questions at a congressional hearing – was Epstein’s “operative” and “she is evil and to focus on her”.
According to the newly revealed document, Mr Trump was “one of the very first people to call” the police when he found out they were investigating Epstein.
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The investigation into Epstein began in Florida in 2006 over his alleged sexual exploitation of underage girls.
Epstein agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in 2008 that meant he avoided more serious federal charges.
A Department of Justice official told NBC News, the US sister network of Sky News, that “we are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the president contacted law enforcement 20 years ago”.
Trump and Epstein moved in the same circles in Florida and New York for many years, and were pictured together on several occasions in the 1990s and early 2000s, including at the real estate mogul’s club in Palm Beach.
There is now-infamous NBC News archive footage of the pair socialising in November 1992 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, with the now-president appearing to point out women on the dance floor.
In a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump was quoted saying: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.
“He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Trump was asked about his relationship with Epstein after he was found dead in his cell in 2019, and he played down the extent of their relationship.
He said he “knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him”, but added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
Asked why the pair fell out, Mr Trump said: “The reason doesn’t make any difference, frankly,” and added that he had “no idea” about Epstein’s crimes.
Tap here to read more about what we know about their relationship.
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What has the White House said?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked on Tuesday about the alleged call Mr Trump made to police, said it “may or may not have happened in 2006. I don’t know the answer”.
She added: “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 in this call. If it did happen it corroborates exactly what President Trump has said from the beginning.”
Mr Reiter declined comment to NBC News, writing that he is “not participating in interviews at this time”.
