Epstein labeled Trump a ‘maniac’ showing signs of ‘early dementia’, released emails show

WASHINGTON, DC: Newly released emails reveal that Jeffrey Epstein privately referred to President Donald Trump as a “maniac” exhibiting signs of “early dementia.”

Epstein, once a friend of the president, had grown increasingly critical of Trump after he entered the White House, saying there was “not one decent cell in his body.”

Private emails reveal Epstein's strong criticism of Trump

Emails released by the House Oversight Committee reveal that Epstein repeatedly criticized Donald Trump during his first presidential term, often in exchanges with Thomas Landon Jr, a former New York Times finance reporter. 

In January 2018, referring to a statement Trump issued after a Michael Wolff book, Epstein emailed, “No questions donalds statement was goofy,” then asked, “Early dementia?” This comment came amid broader questions being raised about Trump’s health, including his mental capacity.

Epstein’s criticism grew even sharper in emails with Kathryn Ruemmler, the former principal deputy White House counsel to Barack Obama.

In a December 2018 email, Epstein advised Ruemmler: “You might want to tell your dem friends that treating trump like a mafia don, ignores the fact that he has great dangerous power. Tightening the noose too slowly, risks a very bad situation. Gambino was never the commander in chief there was little Gambino could do as the walls closed in. Not so with this maniac.”

Epstein also claimed in another email that Trump was distant from everyone, echoing what he told Michael Wolff earlier. In a 2018 email to Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, he wrote: “Donald is close to no one. He talks to many people. He tells each one something different.”

Democrats and Republicans refuse to let Epstein issue die

While the released emails suggest Epstein became critical of Trump’s political agenda in his later years, he had been photographed smiling alongside Trump numerous times in earlier decades.

Meanwhile, Trump has asked the public and his supporters to stop demanding the release of documents concerning Epstein, describing their association as distant and irrelevant.

But many of his supporters, Democrats, and some Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, have refused to let the issue fade. New details have continued to emerge piecemeal, including the latest emails obtained from Epstein’s estate by House Democrats.

Those communications alleged that Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s home with one of the individuals involved in the situation.

Another email alleged Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,” referencing Ghislaine Maxwell, who was also entangled in how the organization operated. Trump has not ruled out a possible pardon for Maxwell.

Trump dismisses new bipartisan email release as hoax

Less than four hours after Democratic lawmakers first released the emails, Republicans released a tranche of more than 20,000 documents of private correspondence between Epstein and his associates.

None of these were emails between Epstein and Trump, but among the mundane topics were Epstein coordinating his private jet travel around Trump’s frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago, which triggered airspace restrictions. Importantly, some of the Republican-released emails offered insight into Epstein’s former friendship with Trump.

Epstein offered Landon, the journalist, a photograph of Trump in his kitchen with young women wearing minimal clothing. Epstein asked the reporter, “would you like photos of Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen.”

The reporter responded, “Yes!!!” Epstein then identified one of the women as “Hawaiian Tropic girl Lauren Petrella.” In another exchange, Epstein shared a link to an article about Norwegian businesswoman Celina Midelfart, describing her as “my 20-year-old girlfriend in ’93, that after two years I gave to donald.”

Trump responded to the latest release of emails, which originated from a bipartisan probe, by labeling it a Democrat-induced “hoax” on Truth Social. “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” he posted.

It is also worth noting that since early 2019, Landon Thomas Jr has not been working with The New York Times after editors uncovered his failure to comply with ethical standards.