Takeaways from new emails about Trump and his late friend Epstein

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a series of emails Wednesday revealing new insight into President Donald Trump’s relationship with deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Soon after, the Republican-led committee released a tranche of 20,000 documents it received from the Epstein estate in response to a congressional subpoena, including additional private email correspondence between Epstein and his associates — some of which was unflattering to the GOP president.

As BLN continues to sift through the new records for additional revelations, here are some emerging takeaways. BLN has not independently verified claims made in the emails. Epstein’s emails are quoted exactly as they were written, without correcting grammar or punctuation.

Epstein implies he spent Thanksgiving with Trump

Epstein claimed he was spending Thanksgiving in 2017 with Trump. In an email exchange with Epstein on Thanksgiving morning on Nov. 23, 2017, Manhattan modeling management guru Faith Kates asked the disgraced financier where he was spending Thanksgiving, to which Epstein replied, “eva” — a likely reference to his former girlfriend Eva Andersson-Dubin, who would later testify at Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial in late 2021.

Kates mentions Andersson-Dubin’s husband, Glenn Dubin, by name in the exchange and asks Epstein: “who else is down there?” Epstein replied by naming Trump, hedge fund founder David Fiszel and someone he referred to as Hanson. According to White House records, Trump spent Thanksgiving of 2017 — his first as president — at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. The White House did not disclose the guest list.

Epstein was invited to Jared Kushner’s New York Observer 25th Anniversary party in 2013

In a sign of both Epstein’s societal status and his ties to Trump’s inner circle, among the emails released by the House Oversight Committee was an invitation from Jared Kushner for Epstein to attend a party celebrating the New York Observer’s 25th Anniversary. Kushner at the time was the newspaper’s publisher, a role he held until 2017, when he sold his stake to join his father-in-law’s first administration. According to a copy of the invitation cited in the congressional documents released Wednesday, the outlet sought to celebrate New York’s “best, brightest and most influential in culture, media and finance.”

Epstein and his associates repeatedly mocked Trump’s mental acuity

Epstein joked about Trump’s mental stability, referring to him as “borderline insane” in a Dec. 22, 2018, email to former Treasury Security Larry Summers, who replied, “Will Trump crack into sanity?” Epstein wrote back a few minutes later, saying: “this is not a new phenomenon for him. In the past he was told not to come out of his apt. thats how he got through new personal bankruptcy.”

Summers declined to comment to The New York Timeswhich wrote an extensive story on the former Treasury secretary’s personal email communications with Epstein.

However, Epstein also appeared to credit Trump for his ability to withstand scandals, writing his “strength is remarkable.”

Epstein followed Trump’s election and scandals

Epstein shared and received news reports around Trump’s first presidential campaign and term as well as stories detailing accusations against Trump of business misdealing and sexual misconduct. Trump has repeatedly maintained his innocence on both fronts. In one email that appeared to belong to a former New York Times journalist, Epstein claims to have been in possession of a “photo of donald and girls in bikinis.”

Epstein offered “insight” to foreign contact ahead of Trump’s meeting with Putin

Epstein tapped his vast network of international connections to lay groundwork ahead of Trump’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in 2018. Epstein suggested in an email to the former prime minister of Norway, Thorbjorn Jagland, who was serving as secretary general of the Council of Europe at the time, that Russian officials contact him for “insight” ahead of Putin’s scheduled meeting with Trump. Jagland had asked Epstein in another exchange to help him “understand more about Trump and what’s going on in American society.” The late financier and convicted sex offender mentioned that he had already talked to Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin.

“Churkin was great. He understood trump after our conversations,” Epstein wrote. “it is not complex. he must be seen to get something its that simple.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday, “These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”

Nnamdi Egwuonwu is a reporter for BLN.