Trump seeks release of grand jury transcripts as Epstein uproar widens
The case of deceased high-profile sex offender Epstein has dominated news recently after the Trump administration reversed course last week on its pledge to release documents it had suggested contained damning revelations about Epstein and his alleged elite clientele.
That reversal enraged many of Trump's most loyal followers and prompted allegations that his administration is covering up lurid details of Epstein's crimes to protect rich and powerful figures.
Trump himself had been associated with Epstein and once called him a friend.
'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late on Thursday.
Shortly after Trump's statement, Attorney General Bondi said on social media that the Justice Department was ready to ask the court on Friday to unseal the grand jury transcripts.
'President Trump – we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,' Bondi wrote.
The latest development comes just hours after Trump threatened to sue The Wall Street Journal after it published a story about an alleged risque letter he wrote to Epstein that featured a drawing of a naked woman. The WSJ story, which quickly reverberated around the US capital, says the note to Epstein bearing Trump's signature was part of a collection assembled for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003.
The newspaper said it reviewed the letter but did not print an image.
'The Editor of The Wall Street Journal… was told directly by [White House Press Secretary] Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE,' Trump wrote on his social media platform.
'Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway,' he said.
'President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. [Rupert] Murdoch, shortly. The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don't even exist,' he added.
The alleged letter, which Trump denies writing, involves several lines of typewritten text, contained in an outline of a naked woman drawn with a marker.
'The future president's signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair,' the Journal reported.
'The letter concludes: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.''
Trump told the WSJ: 'This is not me. This is a fake thing.'
'I don't draw pictures of women,' he said. 'It's not my language. It's not my words.'
Epstein took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 – during Trump's first term – after being charged with sex trafficking in a scheme where he allegedly groomed young and underage women for sexual abuse by the rich and powerful.
The Trump-supporting far-right has long latched onto the scandal, claiming the existence of a still-secret list of Epstein's powerful clients and that the late financier was, in fact, murdered in his cell as part of a cover-up.
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