Among the more than 20,000 Epstein documents released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday were several email exchanges that disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had in 2015 and 2016 with friends, lawyers and journalists about the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.
In some cases, Epstein offers suggestions to journalists about leads they could pursue.
A notable example is an email conversation between Epstein and then-New York Times reporter Landon Thomas, Jr. in December 2015.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefiting Wall Street Rising, Featuring a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City.
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Thomas initiated the exchange on December 8, 2015 with an email to Epstein. referring to a 2002 New York magazine article that Thomas had written, which quoted Trump as calling Epstein a “fantastic guy” who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and a lot of them are younger.”
“Now everyone comes to me thinking I have juicy information about you and Trump. Because of this,” the journalist wrote, referring to that article.
Epstein then responded to Thomas in a series of emails over the next two hours, in his typical error-ridden style, first suggesting that Thomas investigate Trump’s finances before moving on to more personal topics.
In an email, Epstein writes: “Do you want a photo?” [sic] of Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen.” Thomas responded, “Yes!!”
It is unclear whether Epstein owned those photographs or whether he ever sent any to the journalist.
In another email, Epstein suggested that reporters “ask my manservant about the donation.” [sic] “He almost walked through the door leaving his nose print on the glass while young women were swimming in the pool and he was so focused he walked straight to the door.”
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffery Epstein on July 8, 2019 in New York City. Epstein will be charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors.
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ABC News reached out to the White House about Epstein’s claims in the email exchange with the New York Times reporter.
The Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Committee on Wednesday released thousands of pages of new Epstein documents after House Democrats released three emails in which Epstein Trump discussed.
The documents were obtained after the committee subpoenaed the Epstein Estate over the summer.
The White House accused Democrats on the committee of releasing “emails selectively leaked to liberal media to create a false narrative” about President Trump,” including one in which Epstein wrote that Trump “spent hours at my house” with someone Democrats alleged was a victim.
“These emails prove absolutely nothing, other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
In Epstein’s exchanges with Thomas, the New York Times reporter, Epstein sent a link to an article about a woman who Epstein claimed had been his girlfriend and who later dated Trump.
“My 20-year-old girlfriend in ’93, who after two years I gave to Donald,” Epstein wrote.
During Trump’s first campaign for the presidency, Epstein was also in frequent contact with author Michael Wolff, who was working on a book about Trump.
In many messages, Wolff appeared to be encouraging Epstein to speak publicly about his past relationship with the candidate, noting that many reporters and his political rivals were investigating the issue.
“The NYT called me about you and Trump,” Wolff told Epstein in February 2016. “Plus, Hillary’s campaign is digging deeper, Once again, you should consider getting ahead of yourself.”
In October 2016, after the “Access Hollywood” tapes became public and just days before the presidential election, Wolff sent Epstein another message, with “Now might be the time” in the subject line.
“There’s an opportunity to come forward this week and talk about Trump in a way that can generate a lot of sympathy and help bring him down. Interested?”
It is unclear whether Epstein responded to that message.
Other emails include exchanges Epstein had during Trump’s first term.
A few days after Trump’s first inauguration, on February 8, 2017, Epstein, in a conversation with Larry Summers, who was Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton and former president of Harvard University, said: “Remember I told you: I’ve met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump. Not a decent cell in his body… so yeah, dangerous.”
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP
In August 2018, Kathryn Ruemmler, who previously served as a White House adviser during part of President Barack Obama’s administration, emailed Epstein a link to an op-ed published by The New York Times advocating for Trump’s impeachment, following the guilty pleas of Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.
“You see, I know how dirty Donald is,” Epstein wrote to Ruemmler. “I guess non-lawyers in New York have no idea what it means for your fixer to change.”
In a December 3, 2018 exchange via iMessage, someone whose name is redacted wrote to Epstein: “Everything will pass! In reality, they are just trying to take down Trump and doing everything possible to achieve it…!”
The context of this message is unclear.
“Yes, thank you,” Epstein responded. “He’s wild. Because I’m the one who can defeat him.”
