President Donald Trump seems genuinely concerned about the impact the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy could have on him, according to Thursday’s edition of Politico Playbook.
The president recently complained that he would be accused “of some funny business” in connection with the disgraced financier, a GOP insider recounted to the newsletter.
Trump sought to distance himself from Epstein and his criminal activity, while conceding that the issue could raise serious problems for his administration.
“They’re going to fuck me anyways,” Trump reportedly said, according to the Republican source cited by Playbook.
Epstein died in federal prison in 2019, a month after he was arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors that same year during Trump’s first presidency.
The renewed interest in Epstein was prompted by a memo put out by the Justice Department and the FBI earlier this month stating that there was no evidence to suggest he was killed or that he held a client list to blackmail people.
Trump has unsuccessfully implored his supporters to move on from the issue, while his allies’ efforts to make the story go away have also fallen flat.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years,” Trump shot back at a reporter questioning the administration’s handling of the issue earlier this month. “Are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable.”
Trump’s apparent friendship with Epstein has been well-documented over the years as the president has repeatedly tried to separate himself from the disgraced financier.
In 2019, he told reporters he “wasn’t a fan” of Epstein.
“I had a falling out with him a long time ago,” he said at the time. “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”
Since the memo’s release, new reports, though, have invited fresh scrutiny into Trump’s ties to Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that he was named several times in the Epstein files. Trump’s team called the story “fake news.”
The report undercut Trump’s claim last week that Bondi had not told him his name appeared in the material.
“No, no. She’s given us just a very quick briefing,” Trump said last week.
Another Journal article detailing a “bawdy” birthday message Trump wrote to Epstein in 2003 frustrated the president, who sued the newspaper in response, alleging the piece was untruthful.
Trump last week claimed he was baffled that the Epstein controversy was garnering attention.
“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” he said. “It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring.”