Update: Following the developments reported below, the House Oversight Committee released an additional 20,000 documents related to the case. 

Democrats of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released emails in which the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared to discuss President Donald Trump’s knowledge of his criminal activities, escalating congressional scrutiny of the administration’s handling of the Epstein case.

The emails, part of 23,000 documents from Epstein’s estate provided to the committee, include correspondence between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and related charges.

In an April 2, 2011 email to Maxwell, Epstein wrote: “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.” (Sic—the victim’s name was redacted in the released version.)

In another 2011 email, Epstein wrote that a victim “worked for trump” at Mar-a-Lago while underage, stating: “according to her version she worked for trump, first at that age, at MAra lago.” (Sic)

In a January 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein wrote of Trump: “of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.” (Sic)

A December 2015 exchange shows Epstein and Wolff discussing how Trump should respond if asked about their relationship during a CNN appearance, with Wolff suggesting Trump’s denial could give Epstein “valuable PR and political currency.”

Days before Epstein’s July 2019 arrest, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon exchanged messages with Epstein about Trump and Britain’s Prince Andrew. When Epstein noted that an “accuser came out of mara lago,” Bannon replied: “Can’t believe nobody is making u the connective tissue.”

The documents also reveal that prominent figures across the political spectrum maintained relationships with Epstein years after his 2008 conviction, including former Obama White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who exchanged emails with Epstein as late as 2017 and 2018.

Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial. Though his death was ruled a suicide by medical examiners, his relationships with prominent public figures from around the globe and across the political spectrum have driven widespread speculation about the circumstances of his death, and calls for transparency.

Responding to this outcry during his 2024 reelection campaign, Trump signaled an openness to releasing the Epstein case files publicly. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that an Epstein “client list” sat on her desk under Trump’s orders, but the DOJ later said that no such list exists, prompting a new wave of public concern over transparency in the case.

In an unusual move amid the outcry, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell over two days in July. As Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin wrote in a November 9 letter to Trump: “DOJ and BOP arranged this transfer after Deputy Attorney General Blanche interviewed Ms. Maxwell over a two-day period in July and pronounced himself satisfied with her answers.” Maxwell was subsequently transferred to a minimum-security facility despite being ineligible due to her sex offender status, according to Raskin’s letter, raising questions about whether she received favorable treatment in exchange for testimony exonerating Trump.

In his letter, Raskin described a series of perks Maxwell now enjoys in prison and wrote: “As the trial judge stated at her sentencing, Ms. Maxwell ‘directly and repeatedly and over the course of many years participated in a horrific scheme to entice, transport, and traffic underage girls, some as young as 14, for sexual abuse by and with Jeffrey Epstein.’ … Your Administration should not be providing her with room service, with puppies to play with, with federal law enforcement officials waiting on her every need, or with any special treatment or institutional privilege at all.”

Raskin added: “The question now is precisely what did Mr. Blanche promise or suggest Ms. Maxwell might receive for this false testimony. Her own lawyer cogently captured the situation: ‘there’s always a quid pro quo.'”

Trump has declined to rule out pardoning Maxwell.

Congressman Robert Garcia, a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, wrote: “The more Donald Trump tries to cover-up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. … The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately.”

More than three-quarters of Americans support releasing all Epstein files with victims’ names redacted, according to polling conducted by Marist Poll and released last month.