Donald Trump has told Americans it’s time to move on from the Epstein files after claiming he was not implicated in the latest release of redacted documents.
Trump, 79, appeared annoyed when questioned about the latest release of documents relating to his former friend, the convicted sex offender who died in 2019.
During a White House press briefing on Tuesday, CNN’S Kaitlan Collins asked the president about survivors unhappy with the Trump administration‘s redactions.
The president shrugged, then said he “had heard” people thought they “released too much,” despite the DOJ only issuing half of the six million files in their possession last week as part of their final release of documents.
“I think it’s really time for the country to get onto something else,” Trump then stated. “Now that nothing came out about me, other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally, by Epstein and other people. But I think it’s time now for the country to maybe get onto something else.”
He appeared to be referring to journalist Michael Wolff, co-host of the Daily Beast’s Inside Trump’s Head podcast. Trump threatened to sue Wolff, who he claims worked with Epstein in order to make him lose the election.
Trump is named more than 1000 times in the Epstein files released Friday, despite his insistence that they are a “Democrat hoax”. He was at the top of a list of “prominent names” related to the Department of Justice’s investigation of Epstein.
When Collins tried to get Trump to respond to Epstein’s survivors, he dodged the question and personally insulted the CNN reporter for not smiling.
“You are the worst reporter,” Trump said. “CNN has no ratings because of people like you. You know, she’s a young woman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile. I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile in your face.”
Collins pointed out she was not smiling because “I’m asking you about survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, Mr President.”
Ignoring her, he continued, “You know why you’re not smiling? Because you know you’re not telling the truth. And you’re a very dishonest organization, and they should be ashamed of you.”
“These are survivors of a sexual abuser” Collins said, before Trump actively turned to questions from a different reporter.
The White House gloated over the exchange, with the Rapid Response 47 account on X posting the an edited clip of the exchange with the caption “@POTUS NUKES @kaitlancollins.”
When contacted for comment, the White House referred to the Daily Beast to Trump’s comments in the Oval Office.
The Oval Office exchange with Collins and Trump initially began when she pointed out that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and billionaire friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Elon Musk also appeared in the latest release of files relating to Epstein.
Lutnick was Epstein’s next-door neighbor when they both lived in townhouses on the swanky Upper East Side of Manhattan. The latest release of files shows he planned to visit the financier’s infamous island.
Musk also features in the files, begging to party with the sex offender.
Musk attempted to downplay the Epstein files on Saturday, after previously using Trump’s appearance in them to blow-up their friendship last year.
“What matters is not release of some subset of the Epstein files, but rather the prosecution of those who committed heinous crimes with Epstein,“ he wrote in an X post Saturday morning.
“When there is at least one arrest, some justice will have been done. If not, this is all performative. Nothing but a distraction,” he added.
Trump, Lutnick and Musk Trump have denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and have not been charged or accused by prosecutors in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
Trump said he had not read the emails between his friends and Epstein, stating “I have a lot of things I’m doing, you mentioned two names, I’m sure they’re fine. I’m sure they’re fine, otherwise there would have been major headlines.”
The post Epstein Files Star Trump Proclaims Epstein Files Have Nothing on Him appeared first on The Daily Beast.
