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In a dramatic turn of events on Wednesday, the White House leveled allegations against congressional Democrats for selectively leaking emails involving Jeffrey Epstein. In response, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released a sweeping trove of documents, encompassing thousands of pages, which included correspondences between Epstein and several high-profile journalists.
A significant portion of these emails featured exchanges with Michael Wolff, a writer known for his magazine contributions and biographical works. Wolff frequently contacted Epstein, sometimes advising him on strategies to improve his public reputation, including suggesting he criticize Trump.
One notable email from Wolff to Epstein, dated February 2016, reads, “The New York Times reached out regarding you and Trump. Additionally, the Hillary campaign is conducting an in-depth investigation. You might want to consider taking a proactive approach.”
Jeffrey Epstein, who was photographed in New York City on February 23, 2011, remains at the center of a bipartisan investigation by the House Oversight Committee. (Photo by David McGlynn)
Jeffrey Epstein, pictured in New York City Feb. 23, 2011, is the subject of a bipartisan House Oversight Committee investigation. (David McGlynn)
A month later, they discussed strategy ahead of the release of James Patterson’s “Filthy Rich,” a true-crime book about Epstein, who was the author’s neighbor in Palm Beach. He suggested to Epstein that “becoming an anti-Trump voice gives you a certain political cover which you decidedly don’t have now.”
Wolff, who has a history of publicly disparaging Trump, also took a swipe at the bestselling crime novelist.
Read some of the emails between Epstein and Wolff:
“Patterson can be counted on to produce a bestseller, and while he isn’t regarded as a serious writer, he’ll surely be unloading a lot of tabloid copy,” the emails continue. “Because this will be tied to the election, the Trump-Clinton angle will amp up the attention 10-fold, in fact, possibly, a hundred fold. Possibly more than anything you’ve encountered before.”
When asked by Epstein what he should say about his relationship with Trump, Wolff appeared to tell him to “let him hang himself.”
“If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency,” another email reads. “You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.”
Michael Wolff speaks at the former Newseum in Washington, D.C., April 12, 2017, as he moderates a conversation with Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, during “The President and the Press: The First Amendment in the First 100 Days” forum. (The Associated Press )
At another point, Wolff asked for introductions to two people, Tom Barrack, a business leader and chair of Trump’s first inaugural committee, and Kathy Ruemmler, a former federal prosecutor, while researching his book about Trump’s first 100 days in office. He said he needed an “off-the-record perspective on White House procedures.”
He also asked whether former President Bill Clinton would confirm he had never been to Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little St. John.
Clinton has publicly denied ever going there, and Epstein’s longtime companion and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has also denied seeing him there.
The two planned to meet as recently as May 2019, months before Epstein died in a federal jail cell while awaiting trial.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Wolff’s team for comment.
Some of the new documents included a short video of a dog and what appeared to be chew toys modeled after Trump and 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton. Others appear to be slides from an advisor who was looking to generate positive search engine results about Epstein after his child trafficking conviction.
Ghislaine Maxwell holds her umbrella high enough over her head to expose her face. Maxwell left for her prison job before sunrise and was still walking with an umbrella covering her face. During her lunch break, she walked back to her cell carrying some folders and a clear backpack with headphones dangling down Sept. 20, 2025. (Matthew Symons/Mirrorpix/Mega)
House Democrats’ earlier release included a short but cryptic email from Epstein to Maxwell, who is in prison for helping him groom and traffic girls. The disgraced financier mentioned Trump by name.
“I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump,” Epstein wrote in a message dated April 2, 2011. “[VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him…he has never once been mentioned. Police chief. etc. I’m 75% there.”
The released document had a name redacted and replaced by the word “VICTIM” in all capital letters. Officials later revealed the victim to be prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died of suicide earlier this year.
Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks at a press conference following a hearing where Jeffrey Epstein victims made statements at Manhattan Federal Court Aug. 27, 2019, in Manhattan, New York. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Giuffre was Epstein’s most outspoken victim but had not accused Trump of wrongdoing. She had previously worked at Mar-a-Lago, where Epstein allegedly poached her before he and Maxwell trafficked her for years.
“The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. “The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre.”
Trump weighed in on Truth Social, accusing the Democrats of trying to draw attention away from their role in the standoff over a government shutdown.
Ghislaine Maxwell told federal prosecutors she doesn’t believe Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
“The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price,” he wrote. “There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!”
Epstein got a sweetheart deal in 2008 for child sex crimes but was arrested again in 2019 on more serious trafficking charges. He died before the case went to trial. Maxwell was convicted of grooming and procuring girls and young women for him but is appealing and continues to claim her innocence.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.