‘I have nothing to hide’: Trump insists he was ‘totally exonerated’ over Epstein links

US President Donald Trump again denied any association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, stating that he has been “totally exonerated” amid continuing scrutiny over his past links to the financier.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump dismissed allegations tying him to Epstein’s crimes. “I have nothing to hide. I've been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” he said. “They went in hoping that they'd find it and found just the opposite. I've been totally exonerated.”

He further claimed that Epstein had opposed his political ambitions. “In fact, Jeffrey Epstein was fighting that I don't get elected with some author,” Trump said, without elaborating.

The remarks come as renewed attention surrounds the release of additional records related to Epstein’s case. Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president during a press briefing, asserting that Trump had severed ties with Epstein years ago.

“The president has always remained consistent and that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep,” Leavitt said. She added that, unlike others named in the files, Trump “cut off his relationship” with Epstein and had been “honest and transparent about that for years and years”.

Leavitt also pointed to the release of more than three million documents linked to Epstein’s crimes, describing it as evidence of the administration’s commitment to transparency. She called the offences “heinous” and “disgusting”, and said making the records public demonstrated accountability.

Trump’s name has surfaced repeatedly in connection with Epstein, who moved in influential social circles that included politicians, business leaders and celebrities. However, the president has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has said he distanced himself from Epstein in the early 2000s after the financier allegedly recruited a staff member from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death and the subsequent investigations have continued to draw political and public scrutiny, with several high-profile figures facing questions over past associations.