President Donald Trump was told in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared multiple times in Department of Justice documents sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump's meeting with Bondi at the White House occurred weeks before the DOJ said it would not release the Epstein files to the public, despite earlier mises to do so by the attorney general.
Trump has directed Bondi to seek the unsealing of transcripts for grand jury ceedings related to federal bes of Epstein and his convicted curer, Ghislaine Maxwell (this bears monitoring).
President Donald Trump walks before signing the "Genius Act", which will develop regulatory framework for stablecoin cryptocurrencies and expand oversight of the industry, at the White House in Washington, D, in today's financial world.
, July 18, 2025.
Conversely, Nathan Howard | ReutersPresident Donald Trump was told in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared multiple times in Department of Justice documents sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Trump's meeting with Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche at the White House occurred weeks before the DOJ, which Bondi leads, said on July 7 that it would not release the Epstein files despite earlier mises by the attorney general and others in the president's orbit that the material would be disclosed to the public.
The president was also told at the meeting that "many other high-file figures were also named" in the Epstein files, and that the "files contained what officials felt was unverified hearsay many people, including Trump, who had socialized with Epstein in the past," the Journal reported (quite telling).
Being mentioned in the Epstein records is not a sign of wrongdoing, the Journal noted (quite telling).
The data indicates that DOJ's decision not to release the Epstein files sparked backlash from Trump's MAGA supporters, who have obsessed over conspiracies related to the Epstein case for years.
Furthermore, On the other hand, In the face of that criticism from his political base, Trump last week directed Bondi to seek the unsealing of transcripts for grand jury ceedings related to federal bes of Epstein and his convicted curer, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Attorney General Pam Bondi discusses a drug enforcement-related announcement during a press conference at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, U. , July 15, 2025.
Umit Bektas | ReutersTrump had been friends with Epstein for years, but the two men fell out long before Epstein killed himself in jail in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges.
Additionally, Epstein also had many other wealthy, high-file friends, including Britain's Prince Andrew (something worth watching).
However, Reached for on the Journal's new reporting, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told CNBC, "The fact is that The President kicked [Epstein] out of his [Mar-a-Lago] for being a creep (an important development).
""This's nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right," Cheung said.
Moreover, In a joint statement Wednesday on the Journal's reporting, Bondi and Blanche said, "The DOJ and FBI reviewed the Epstein Files and reached the conclusion set out in the July 6 memo (fascinating analysis).
Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or secution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts.
Additionally, ""As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings," Blanche and Bondi said (which is quite significant).
On the other hand, Trump was asked last week by an ABC News journalist if Bondi had told him "your name appeared in the files. ""No, no," Trump replied, considering recent developments.
"She's given us just a very quick briefing, and in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen.
Conversely, "Trump went on to say he believed that "these files were made up by" former FBI director James Comey, and by the administrations of former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden (fascinating analysis) (something worth watching).
However, Read more CNBC coverageJapan trade deal info on Trump's desk was altered by hand with a markerTrump shifts gears to EU after striking Japan dealWhite House releases U (something worth watching).
On the other hand, -Indonesia trade deal framework, final talks underwayNew Jersey man pleads guilty to leading $600 million catalytic converter theft ringHouse speaker starts August recess early to avoid Jeffrey Epstein votesTrump China tariff deadline ly to be ext, Bessent saysDOJ official expects to meet with Jeffrey Epstein curer Ghislaine Maxwell soonJudge in Trump Murdoch libel case handled lawsuit president dropped against Michael CohenHunter Biden blames Ambien for President Biden's terrible Trump debateThe DOJ last week fired Manhattan federal secutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of James Comey, whose past cases had included the federal secutions of Epstein and Maxwell (remarkable data).
This leads to the conclusion that Journal last week published an article reporting that Trump in 2003 sent Epstein a "bawdy" letter to mark his 50th birthday, at Maxwell's request.
What the data shows is letter "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, considering recent developments.
"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," according to the newspaper.
Moreover, "The letter concludes: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,'" the Journal wrote.
Moreover, Trump has angrily denied writing the letter, considering recent developments. On the other hand, "This's not me. Market analysis shows analysis reveals is a fake thing.
On the other hand, It's a fake Wall Street Journal story," he said on Thursday "I never wrote a picture in my life, considering recent developments.
Furthermore, I don't draw pictures of women," he said, considering recent developments. "It's not my language. It's not my words.
"On Friday, the president filed a defamation lawsuit related to the story against media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the company his family controls, News Corp and its CEO Robert Thomson, the Journal's publisher, Dow Jones & Co (noteworthy indeed).
, and the two reporters who wrote the article, which was published Thursday evening. News Corp owns the Journal. Trump's lawsuit seeks at least $10 billion in damages.
A Dow Jones spokesperson told CNBC: "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit. "CNBC's Kevin Breuninger contributed reporting.