Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails on Wednesday that suggest former financier Jeffrey Epstein claimed President Donald Trump was aware of his alleged victims. In the emails, Epstein referred to Trump as the "dog that hasn’t barked" and indicated that Trump had spent time with one of Epstein's alleged victims.

In an email to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote in April 2011, "I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. (Victim) spent hours at my house with him; he has never once been mentioned." Maxwell responded, "I have been thinking about that … " This exchange raises questions about the nature of Trump's relationship with Epstein.

In a separate email exchange with author Michael Wolff in 2015, Epstein and Wolff discussed how to prepare Trump for an upcoming CNN interview. Wolff suggested, "I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency." Wolff also noted that Trump would likely defend Epstein, saying he was a victim of political correctness.

In another email from 2019, Epstein claimed that Trump "knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop" and mentioned that Trump had requested Epstein resign from Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach resort. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the committee, stated, "The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding."

Trump has previously stated that he and Epstein had a falling out many years ago. In 2019, he claimed he had not spoken to Epstein for 15 years and had expelled him from his private club after Epstein allegedly hired staff who had worked for Trump. The White House has not provided further comments on the emails but previously stated that Trump had kicked Epstein out for being a "creep."

When asked about his relationship with Epstein during a visit to Scotland, Trump described it as "old history" and said he did not want to waste time explaining it. He reiterated that he had stopped talking to Epstein after he did something inappropriate, stating, "He stole people that worked for me. I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata."

Trump and Epstein were known to socialize in the 1990s and early 2000s, and Trump's name appeared multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has not been officially accused of any crimes related to Epstein. In response to a report about a letter he allegedly wrote to Epstein, Trump denied creating any drawings, calling the report "false, malicious, and defamatory."

Trump has since filed a defamation lawsuit against the publication that reported on his ties to Epstein, seeking $10 billion in damages. The defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the article is true and should be dismissed with prejudice.