Breaking stories and in‑depth analysis: up‑to‑the‑minute global news on politics, business, technology, culture, and more—24/7, all in one place.
Unredacted portions of the Jeffrey Epstein files appear to contradict former President Donald Trump’s claims about his relationship with the convicted sex offender, according to Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat who has reviewed the documents. Frost stated that multiple witness statements within the files refute Trump’s assertion that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in 2007.
Frost, elected to Congress in 2022 as the first member of Generation Z, plans to elaborate on his findings in a speech on the House floor in the coming weeks, a venue offering protection from defamation lawsuits under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. “I read many documents that completely refute what Donald Trump has said in terms of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Frost told TIME. He specified that a “specific document” contained multiple witness accounts challenging Trump’s version of events.
Trump has previously stated he expelled Epstein from his Palm Beach club after learning the financier was recruiting young female spa workers. Although, The Novel York Times reported that Trump told associates he removed Epstein because of inappropriate behavior toward the teenage daughter of a club member.
Frost’s review also extended to materials he believes cast doubt on statements made by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick regarding his relationship with Epstein. He accused the administration of a “cover up” by redacting information beyond victim names. “This is obviously the administration engaged in some sort of cover up, because we said we don’t want any redactions unless it’s victim names,” Frost said. “That’s it, victim names—not to protect friends of Donald Trump, not to protect billionaires and elites in this country, the names of victims.”
The White House, responding to a request for comment, referred TIME to remarks made by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in which she asserted that Trump “kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago because, frankly, Jeffrey Epstein was a creep,” and that the President “cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and was honest and transparent about that for years and years.”
Frost is among numerous members of Congress with access to the unredacted Epstein files, released following a congressional law passed in November demanding their full disclosure. Congressional Democrats are coordinating document review, assigning specific files to different lawmakers to avoid duplication. “We need to essentially divide and conquer and attempt to figure out how we can position this picture together with the limited time that we have in there,” Frost explained.
The review of the documents has taken an emotional toll on Frost. “Reading about what happened to these girls, to these children, to these teens. It messes you up, it really does, and it shows you just how real this whole thing is,” he said. He has utilized Reddit to identify specific documents for review, leveraging the platform’s user base to sift through the 3.5 million newly released files, many of which were heavily redacted. Reddit users provided 11 pages of document numbers for his team to investigate, a practice Frost lauded as an example of politicians utilizing public crowdsourcing.
This past week, Frost focused on documents related to Florida, where Epstein was first convicted of child prostitution in 2008. He acknowledged that his review had barely scratched the surface, emphasizing that investigations rarely hinge on a single document. “You look through these documents, and you put the puzzle together to figure out who is involved, how were they involved? What do they know, and why have we been lied to?”
Frost has called for the impeachment of Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging excessive redaction of the Epstein files and surveillance of lawmakers’ search histories. This accusation stems from photographs of Bondi holding a document detailing Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s search history during a congressional hearing. “These pictures of having the search history of Pramila, I think it’s disgusting. And think about it this way. If they have nothing to hide, why are they spying on members of Congress?” he asked. “There’s a separation of powers for a reason, and we have to be able to do the work that we’re doing without being spied up on by this administration and without that information being used against us.”
The DOJ has limited lawmakers to two-hour review sessions, requiring appointments scheduled at least 24 hours in advance and prohibiting electronic devices. Despite these restrictions, Frost plans to return to the DOJ at least twice next week. He characterized the investigation as a reckoning for a nation where powerful individuals have historically evaded justice. “This is about people who have evaded justice for a long time. And the sad part is that it’s not new in this country. Billionaires, elites, politicians, people with power have been able to do whatever they want without facing the consequences forever in the United States,” he said.
Frost also highlighted ongoing investigations, including House Oversight Committee subpoenas to JP Morgan and Deutsche Banks for financial records related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, five additional depositions scheduled in the coming months, and further investigations into the Epstein estate. “This investigation into not just the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, but the crimes of many people, I think are not just going to bring a lot of them down, but it’s a reckoning for this nation,” he said. “It goes deep, and every single one of them needs to be held accountable.”
