Name: White House pushes back after reports Donald Trump is named in Epstein files | BBC News
Uploaded: 2025-07-24T17:23:31.000Z
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The White House has rejected a Wall Street Journal report claiming President Trump had been told that his name appeared in files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The U.S. newspaper alleges the Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Mr. Trump in May that he'd been identified in the documents.

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The BBC has not been able to independently verify the claim.

Earlier, a U.S. federal judge turned down the Trump administration's request to release additional grand jury documents from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

President Trump had asked for the evidence to be released after days of sustained pressure from some of his most loyal supporters.

Our North America correspondent Arunadaya Mukherjee reports from Washington.

For nearly two weeks, the Jeffrey Epstein saga has consumed the White House in a way that the President doesn't want.

Now the Wall Street Journal claims that the U.S.

Attorney General told Mr. Trump in May that his name appeared in Justice Department files about late convicted pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

This has been rejected by the White House and the BBC has not been able to independently verify the allegation.

As pressure continues to mount on the President, a U.S. judge has denied a bid to unseal grand jury material from the Epstein investigation.

During his campaign last year, Trump, who at one time had been the financier's friend, promised to release files relating to the case, hoping to pacify those who have been seeking more information.

Look, the President has made it clear that he wanted these documents to be declassified, he wanted the American people to see the truth, and now he wants those who perpetuated these lies and this scandal to be held accountable.

As for what accountability looks like, as the director said, it's in the Department of Justice's hands and we trust them to move this ball forward.

The attempt to draw a line under the case not going down well with many who have been loyal to Donald Trump.

President Trump is under an unprecedented amount of pressure right now.

It's different from other controversies he's faced during his political career because for the first time since he's gotten involved in politics over the last decade, we have seen that his conservative MAGA base appears to be splintering.

Polls suggest nearly two-thirds of Americans overall disapprove of his handling of the case.

Meanwhile, the focus now also shifts to Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker who is serving 20 years in prison for helping Epstein abuse young girls, has been approached by the Justice Department for a meeting.

She has also been subpoenaed to testify before a House of Representatives committee on the 11th of August.

The more Donald Trump has urged people to move on from this case, the more it has remained in public discourse.

Arunodhaya Mukherjee, BBC News, Washington.

Robert Moran is a partner of the Brunswick Group and former Republican pollster and strategist.

I asked him for his assessment on these developments.

We definitely have a sort of a low-level feeding frenzy in the media on this.

But if history is any guide, other world events will likely overtake this and push this at least to the side on the news at least for a time.

Is it enough for the pressure he's getting from his supporters, the MAGA crew as it were, to say, well, you know, we are trying to bring transparency here, we are trying to get these files in the public arena, but we're being blocked by the judges?

I mean, the fact is that his, Trump is very popular with, the president's very popular with his political base, the MAGA Republicans.

There is some polling that suggests about a third of Republicans are frustrated or unhappy with the way he's handling it.

That research just came out today or yesterday.

I suspect that his base will remain loyal and they will keep pressing forward.

But this persists because you have a decline in trust in American institutions.

And you see this all across Western democracies as well.

And so because there's a decline in trust in these institutions, people have a lot more questions.

But that's something that he absolutely played on, didn't he, in his campaigning to be elected as president.

He said that was something he also had as well, a huge distrust in institutions and what they know and what they're hiding.

And this was a fixture of his rhetoric on the campaign trail.

I don't know if he mentioned this on every stop, but he did mention it quite a bit.

And so they've kind of boxed themselves in a little bit on this issue.

So what you're saying then, Robert, is you believe eventually this will blow over?

Because, I mean, the midterms are not that far away.

And if this does not, I mean, he's trying to sue various press publications, et cetera.

If it doesn't go away, this could be very damaging, could it not, for him and the Republican Party in the midterms?

I mean, this is a classic example of all of the challenges that a president, many of our presidencies have had scandals.

And so part of being president is managing these.