WASHINGTON(AP) —Elon Musk has posted without evidence that President Donald Trump is mentioned in still-secret Justice Department files related to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein and he suggests that’s why the records have not been released.
Musk provided no support for the claim on his social media platform X, but it came amid a spectacular and public disintegration of his once-close relationship with Trump.
Trump has been named in previously released Epstein documents
The material on Epstein that has already been released includes mentions of Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew and magician David Copperfield, as well as testimony from one victim who said she met Michael Jackson at Epstein’s Florida home but nothing untoward happened with him.
The previously released files included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Trump’s Atlantic City casino but didn’t say if she actually met Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing. Trump has also said that he once thought Epstein was a “terrific guy” but that they later had a falling out.
Musk’s latest claims about the Epstein files taps into long-standing conspiracy theories
Musk’s latest claim about Trump’s ties to Epstein taps into suspicions among conspiracy theorists and online sleuths that incriminating and sensitive files in the government’s possession have yet to be released.
Attorney General Pam Bondi fueled that speculation in February when she hyped the release of records by the department related to the case. Much of what was then distributed has for years been in the public domain.
Over the years, thousands of pages of records have been released through lawsuits, Epstein’s criminal dockets, public disclosures and Freedom of Information Act requests.