In a moment that quickly drew backlash and clarification, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki found herself walking back a striking remark made during a Thursday segment of The Briefing with Jen Psaki, in which she appeared to suggest that President Donald Trump was among the “predators” linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
During the segment, Psaki said, “You’re talking about the other predators out there, right, in addition to Trump.” But almost immediately, she pivoted, issuing a caveat: “And I’m not saying he is, we don’t know all the details on that. I’m just saying in addition to what we’ve learned about Epstein and others, there are other predators out there.”
The walk-back came as House Democrats released a new batch of emails from Epstein, including unverified claims that Trump was aware of Epstein’s conduct and was once present in the same room with one of Epstein’s victims. However, no evidence has surfaced linking Trump to any criminal behavior involving Epstein’s trafficking operation.
The email release—and Psaki’s comments—reignited a long-simmering debate over which high-profile figures were entangled with Epstein’s shadowy network. But in Trump’s case, multiple pieces of testimony and public records have, to date, pointed away from direct involvement.
Notably, Virginia Giuffre, the most prominent Epstein accuser, told reporters in 2011 that Trump never engaged in sexual acts with her or any other victims during her time with Epstein. Additional accusers reiterated to NBC News in 2023 that they never saw or heard of Trump doing anything illegal during his past friendship with Epstein.
Even Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidante and now-convicted accomplice, stated under oath in a 2020 deposition that Trump was a “gentleman in all respects” and that she never saw him behave inappropriately.
Trump himself has repeatedly distanced himself from Epstein, stating publicly in 2019 that he cut ties with Epstein “many years ago” after Epstein allegedly recruited female staffers away from Mar-a-Lago, including, Trump claims, Virginia Giuffre herself.
Despite the lack of evidence, the timing of Psaki’s comment raised eyebrows—particularly as House Republicans rally around a push for transparency. A bipartisan discharge petition has secured enough signatures to force a vote compelling House Speaker Mike Johnson to release the complete Epstein files. Among the petition’s supporters are Reps. Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert, all of whom say the full truth must come out—no matter who it implicates.
The White House responded swiftly, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemning the latest leak of documents as a political hit job: “These emails were selectively leaked by Democrats to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.”
