Trump Accuses Democrats Of Using Epstein ‘Hoax’ To Distract from Shutdown Turmoil

US President Donald Trump has accused Democrats of weaponising the Jeffrey Epstein case to divert attention from what he described as their “failure” to resolve the longest government shutdown. He dismissed newly released emails referencing him as part of a political “hoax.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect from how badly they've handled the Shutdown — and so many other subjects.”

His remarks came after House Democrats released a set of emails suggesting Trump may have had closer ties to Epstein, the convicted sex offender, than previously known. Three of the emails, disclosed by the House Oversight Committee, alleged that Trump “knew about the girls” and had spent “hours” at Epstein's home with one of the victims.

“Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap,” Trump said in a separate post on Truth Social. He went on to accuse Democrats of “costing our country $1.5 trillion” through what he described as their “antics of viciously closing our country,” and said they should “pay a fair price” for the damage caused.

Trump urged Republican lawmakers not to be drawn into what he called a politically motivated distraction surrounding Epstein, whose case has re-emerged in political and media discussions following the release of thousands of documents from his estate.

“There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else,” Trump said, calling for unity within his party. “Republicans should focus only on opening up our country and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats.”

The emails released by Democrats were part of a cache of 23,000 documents obtained from Epstein's estate. One 2019 email from Epstein to journalist Michael Wolff claimed that Trump “knew about the girls,” although no concrete evidence has been presented to substantiate that claim.

While the correspondence has revived questions about Trump's social relationship with Epstein, no allegations of wrongdoing have been made against the president. Even Epstein's accuser, Virginia Giuffre, has previously stated that Trump was never involved in any sexual misconduct.

The White House condemned the release, accusing Democrats of selectively leaking the material to “smear” the president. Nonetheless, the disclosures have reignited scrutiny over Trump's past association with Epstein, whose connections to powerful figures have continued to fuel political controversy years after his death.