President Donald Trump’s critics aren’t buying his latest claim about the files related to his former friend, the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I have nothing to hide. I’ve been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday evening. “They went in hoping that they’d find it and found just the opposite. I’ve been totally exonerated.”
He used the phrase “totally exonerated” at least two more times during the exchange.
The files do not offer new evidence of wrongdoing by Trump. However, Trump ― who was once close to Epstein ― is mentioned frequently, and the documents are so heavily redacted that critics say many questions remain.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) last week said he searched the unredacted files available to lawmakers for “Don,” “Donald” and “Trump” and received more than 1 million results.
Trump on Monday also insisted that ”[Bill and Hillary] Clinton and many other Democrats have been pulled in” by the documents.
However, those same documents have also raised new questions about members of his own administration and inner circle.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz and former White House strategist Steve Bannon have all been named in the documents, often suggesting closer ties to Epstein than previously known.
Several other prominent members of the administration also appear in the files.
One of Trump’s fellow Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), on Sunday even gave the Trump administration a new name as a result.
“This is the Epstein administration,” Massie said on “This Week” as he accused Trump and Trump’s allies of working to protect the names in the files instead of seeking justice for the victims.
Trump’s critics on X also didn’t buy his “totally exonerated” claim:
