Trump latest: Epstein wrote Trump 'knew about girls', leaked emails show - as Republicans hit back by releasing 20,000 pages

We can now bring you a little more information about what is in the huge batch of Epstein files that the Republicans have released, in response to the three emails leaked by Democrats earlier today.

Our US correspondent Mark Stone is among those currently trawling through the 20,000 pages.

"In effect, the Epstein files, as they have become known, appear today to have been released," he summarised. 

"Maybe not all of them, but a huge number."

Stone also summarised some of the findings so far:

• In terms of content, the files contain emails, publicly available articles that were sent to and fro between Epstein and his associates, images, and a few videos;
• There has been at least one email from former British ambassador Peter Mandelson that "certainly suggests again a close relationship" between him and Epstein;
• The former prince Andrew has been referenced, as well as Donald Trump;
• There are also other emails from and to the author, Michael Wolff. One carries the subject line "Heads up" and says: "If he [apparently referring to Trump] says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency."

Watch Mark Stone's full analysis below...

Donald Trump has always denied any wrongdoing, or knowing about any wrongdoing, in relation to Epstein.

Peter Mandelson was sacked by Keir Starmer as the UK's ambassador to the US earlier this year over his connections to Epstein. In May this year, Paste BN asked Lord Mandelson if he did stay at Epstein's flat, to which he replied: "I'm not answering any questions about him. My knowledge of him is something I regret, I wish I'd never met him in the first place." 

Andrew, the King's brother, continues to face scrutiny over his friendship with Epstein but has always vigorously denied all the accusations against him in relation to the deceased paedophile.

We're looking ahead to a busy rest of the day in US politics, which just got a bit busier after the House Republicans dropped a huge amount of files from Jeffrey Epstein's estate.

Here's a list of the events we're still expecting across the pond this evening, and who we're expecting to hear from later today (all timings below are UK) - it's currently just after 12.00 in Washington DC.

• 18.00: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds the regular government press briefing;
• 19.00: The US House of Representatives is expected to start voting on the funding bill that would end the longest shutdown in American history;
• 21.00: New Arizona representative Adelita Grijalva is to be sworn in after weeks of delays. She has pledged to support a bipartisan petition that wants to force a vote on the full release of the Epstein files;
• 00.30: Donald Trump hosts a private dinner. While no public engagement is scheduled, the White House Press Pool will be present.

The leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia from California, released a statement earlier to accompany the release of the emails.

It probably won't surprise you that he disagrees with what his Republicans said about (see our 16.01 post).

Garcia said: 

"The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. 

"These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President.

"The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately. The Oversight Committee will continue pushing for answers and will not stop until we get justice for the victims."

Meanwhile, the Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have followed up on their previous statement in which they accused the Democrats of "slandering" Trump (see our post at 16.01).

In a radical step, they have now publicly released a link to another 20,000 pages of documents to counter what they call the Democrats' "cherry-picking" of documents.

"You deserve the full truth," the Republican-controlled committee posted on X, with a link to the files.

This is all but certain to have started a race across newsrooms around the world, who will be digging into the files in search of new revelations...

The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have published three emails from Jeffrey Epstein on social media today, as we've been reporting.

Here is the text of the emails in full:

In the first exchange of emails, between Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, dated 2 April 2011, Epstein wrote:

i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump.. [REDACTED NAME] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75% there

Maxwell responded:

I have been thinking about that...

In the second exchange of emails, between Epstein and Michael Wolff, a journalist who has written several books about the Trump administration, dated 31 January 2019, Epstein wrote:

[REDACTED NAME] mara lago. [REDACTED] . trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. . of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop

The third email exchange, between Epstein and Wolff, dated between 15 and 16 December 2015 shows that Wolff wrote:

I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you--either on air or in scrum afterwards.

Epstein replied:

if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?

Wolff responded:

I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the plane or the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he'll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.

The Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have now also responded to the publication of the three Epstein emails today, by Democrats on the committee. 

The Republican members write on X: 

"Why did Democrats cover up the name when the Estate didn't redact it in the redacted documents provided to the committee?

"It's because this victim, Virginia Giuffre, publicly said that she never witnessed wrongdoing by President Trump.

"Democrats are trying to create a fake narrative to slander President Trump.

"Shame on them."

Here's a reminder of the key claims in Giuffre's posthumous memoir, released in recent months - including about the former prince Andrew...

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has now published a reaction to the latest file release.

Here is what she said in full:

"The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. 

"The 'unnamed victim' referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and "couldn't have been friendlier” to her in their limited interactions. 

"The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre. 

"These stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump's historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again."

Our US correspondent James Matthews has analysed the latest publications from the Epstein files.

"It asks questions certainly," he told Paste BN presenter Jayne Secker.

Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier, died by suicide in 2019 after he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking minors with his co-accused, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving 20 years in prison.

"There have consistently been questions about who was in their orbit and potentially involved in the crimes," Matthews said. 

"The name of President Donald Trump has been mentioned," he said.

But Donald Trump "emphatically denies any knowledge or involvement in their criminal behaviour or in the trafficking of underage girls, which was Epstein's crime", Matthews added. 

"We have three more documents today, amongst thousands of them, so we don't quite have the broader context," Matthews said, as he reported on the breaking story.

Watch Matthews speaking on Paste BN below...

Matthews also said Paste BN had asked the White House about the new emails but "nothing has come back so far".

"But it's a development clearly in the story, which rumbles on.

"He [Trump] has resisted, along with his administration, the release of the files in full.

"It will amplify calls for those files to be fully released for public dissemination."

Democrats in the US have released emails which they say link Donald Trump to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Members of the Oversight Committee have published three emails this morning, out of thousands the committee says it's reviewing from the Epstein Estate.

One email alleges that Donald Trump spent hours with a victim.

Epstein wrote in another that Trump "knew about the girls", according to the release by the Democrats.

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has previously called the allegations against him a "hoax".

We are still waiting to hear Trump's response to the emails.

People across the US have been suffering the effects of the 43-day shutdown, leading to dramatic scenes.

In Alaska, people have been stockpiling moose, caribou and fish for winter, even before government food aid (SNAP) was scheduled to shut off.

People in Maine have been filling up their home-heating oil tanks, while waiting for the federal subsidies that are nowhere in sight.

Reverend Ryan Stoess sought to capture the essence of the shutdown with comments during a prayer with religious leaders at the US Capitol.

"We are holding food over the heads of poor people so that we can take away their healthcare," he said.

"God help us," he said, "when the cruelty is the point."

In this explainer, we summarise some of the biggest impacts of the government shutdown so far...