President Donald Trump reportedly criticized his ex-friend Jeffrey Epstein and referred to Epstein’s procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell, as “evil” during a phone call with a Florida police chief two decades ago, as recalled by the now-retired officer to FBI agents in 2019, based on a document released by the Department of Justice.
Trump contacted then-Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter to express his gratitude for stopping Epstein, stating, “thank goodness you’ [are] stopping [Epstein], everyone has known he’s been doing this,” according to Reiter’s account to the FBI in October 2019, as noted in a 302 report.
While Reiter’s name is redacted in the 302, the document indicates the interviewee was the Palm Beach police chief during the investigation into Epstein, which was Reiter.
Reiter disclosed to the Miami Herald, the first to report on the document, that Trump called him in 2006, shortly after the police investigation of Epstein was made public.
The document surfaced shortly after Maxwell’s attorney urged Trump to grant her executive clemency, enabling her to speak “honestly” about her knowledge. Earlier on Monday, Maxwell declined to testify before a House committee.
Trump informed Reiter that he had expelled Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, according to the summary.
“Trump mentioned that individuals in New York were aware of how repulsive Epstein was,” based on the FBI’s summary of its discussion with Reiter.
“Trump asserted that Maxwell was Epstein’s accomplice, stating ‘she is evil and to focus on her,’ ” the FBI noted in the 302.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor, in return for avoiding federal prosecution.
Reiter’s FBI interview in October 2019 occurred two months after Epstein committed suicide in a New York federal jail while facing child sex trafficking allegations.
During the 2006 phone call, “Trump informed [Reiter] that he had once been around Epstein when teenagers were present and he quickly left,” as detailed in the summary.
“He was one of the first individuals to reach out when the investigation into Epstein became known,” according to the summary.
In an April 2019 email released by House Democrats, Epstein wrote to author Michael Wolff that Trump “knew about the girls,” according to a copy of that message allegedly exchanged between the two.
The exact meaning of “knew about the girls” remains unclear.
Trump has not faced allegations of misconduct in relation to Epstein.
In November, the White House stated, “The reality is that President Trump expelled Jeffrey Epstein from his club many years ago due to his inappropriate behavior towards female employees.”
When CNBC sought comments on the FBI summary later on Monday, the White House directed inquiries to the Department of Justice.
The DOJ remarked, “We have no knowledge of any corroborating evidence regarding the President reaching out to law enforcement two decades ago.”
The summary is part of millions of documents released by the DOJ in late January concerning Epstein and Maxwell, who is presently serving a 20-year sentence for facilitating the abuse of underage girls.
On Monday, Maxwell appeared virtually before the House Oversight Committee examining the Epstein case but opted not to respond to any questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Her attorney, David Oscar Marcus, issued a statement saying that Maxwell is prepared to “provide a complete and frank account” if Trump grants her executive clemency. Clemency could encompass a pardon, erasing her conviction, or commuting her sentence for an earlier release from prison.
“Only she can deliver the full account. Some may not appreciate what they hear, but the truth is significant,” Marcus stated. “For instance, both President Trump and President [Bill] Clinton are blameless of any misconduct. Ms. Maxwell alone can elucidate why, and the public deserves that clarification.”
Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been summoned to testify before the Oversight Committee regarding Epstein. They are slated to provide their depositions in late February.
