Explosive new emails reignite an old scandal and deepen Washington’s political divide
For years, former US President Donald Trump has tried to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier whose sex-trafficking network shook the global elite. But this week, newly released emails have reopened that dark chapter and placed Trump back in the uncomfortable spotlight he’s been trying to avoid.
The emails, made public by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, suggest that Epstein claimed Trump “spent hours” with one of his victims, Virginia Giuffre, the same woman who later became the key accuser in Epstein’s criminal saga.
Epstein, writing to longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2011, said: “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is Trump… he has never once been mentioned.” Maxwell’s cryptic reply: “I have been thinking about that.”
Another email to journalist Michael Wolff from 2019 reads: “Of course he knew about the girls, as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
The revelations have unleashed a political storm that is as much about old ghosts as it is about current power dynamics in Washington.
@thedailyshow Epstein’s emails make Trump look so guilty, it’s crazy we still have to say “allegedly” at this point #DailyShow #Trump #Epstein @Joshjohnsoncomedy ♬ original sound – The Daily Show
House Democrats push for Epstein file release
The timing couldn’t be more contentious. Following the email leak, House Speaker Mike Johnson a Republican announced plans to hold a vote compelling the Justice Department to release the remaining Epstein files.
Democrats argue the documents could shed light on years of alleged complicity and cover-ups. “The public deserves the truth,” one committee member said, “no matter how uncomfortable it is.”
Republicans, meanwhile, are split. Some fear the move could backfire politically, especially with Trump once again seeking the White House. Others want the files made public to “end the speculation” once and for all.
Inside the White House, Trump allies moved quickly to contain the fallout. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Democrats of “selective leaking” to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.”
She added that Giuffre, who reportedly died by suicide in April, had previously described Trump as “nothing but polite” during their interactions.
A scandal that refuses to die
The Epstein saga has long haunted both sides of the political divide, but few figures have been more entangled in its shadow than Trump.
Photographs from the late 1990s and early 2000s show the two men laughing together at Mar-a-Lago parties a 15-year friendship that reportedly ended in 2004 over a property dispute. Trump later claimed he “wasn’t a fan” of Epstein and barred him from his clubs.
Still, the resurfacing of Epstein’s emails adds new weight to lingering questions about what Trump knew and when.
Democrats see this as a test of accountability, while Trump’s supporters view it as a recycled smear. “This is just another attempt to distract from the Democrats’ failures,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling it “the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”
The MAGA divide: betrayal and disbelief
Perhaps the most striking reaction hasn’t come from Trump’s opponents, but from within his base. MAGA loyalists who spent years claiming that Epstein’s “client list” would expose powerful Democrats now face an uncomfortable twist: the suggestion that their own leader might not be as distant from the scandal as once believed.
Online forums that once buzzed with conspiracy theories about a “deep state” cover-up are now filled with anger and confusion. “We were told Epstein was their problem,” one user posted on X. “Now it looks like it was everyone’s problem.”
The sense of betrayal runs deep, particularly after Trump’s Justice Department reaffirmed that Epstein’s death was a suicide and that the much-rumored “client list” didn’t exist. That finding sparked outrage among supporters who believed Trump would “expose the truth.”
A moment of reckoning?
The political implications of the leaked emails are still unfolding. While nothing in the correspondence proves criminal conduct by Trump, the optics, Epstein’s insinuations, Maxwell’s responses, and the timing. have revived doubts about a relationship the former president insists was superficial.
It’s a reminder that the Epstein case, even five years after his death, continues to cast a long shadow over the world’s most powerful circles.
And as Congress moves toward a full vote on releasing the remaining Epstein files, both Trump’s critics and his defenders are bracing for what those files might reveal and for whom.
For now, one thing is clear: the “dog that hasn’t barked,” as Epstein once put it, is barking again.
Source: Joburg ETC
Featured Image: X{@TMZ}
