Senior Trump administration officials met Wednesday with Rep. Lauren Boebert as a House of Representatives petition to release Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein reached the 218-signature threshold, CNN reported.
The meeting coincided with the release of thousands of pages of Epstein’s private emails and messages, which show he repeatedly invoked US President Donald Trump in personal communications, years after their ties had reportedly ended.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the meeting, saying the administration was engaging with lawmakers’ concerns, but declined to provide details of the Situation Room discussion. A source told CNN that Boebert attended the meeting as momentum grew around the petition.
The petition passed the required threshold when newly sworn-in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva added her name, setting in motion the procedural steps that could lead to a full House vote. Boebert later posted on X, thanking officials for the meeting and stating both sides were committed to transparency. She also told CNN that Trump had not asked her to remove her name from the petition.
Trump and Rep. Nancy Mace, another signatory, had reportedly been trying to reach each other by phone over the previous day. Mace conveyed her continued support for the petition in a message to Trump, according to the report.
'The ultimate translator of Trump'
The newly disclosed documents, obtained from Epstein’s estate by court order and released by a congressional committee, comprise over 20,000 pages of emails and messages. The communications reveal that Epstein frequently referenced Trump and claimed to have deep insight into him.
Epstein described himself in one message as “the ultimate translator of Trump” and claimed to be “the only one who can bring him down.” The records suggest that various public figures turned to Epstein for interpretations of Trump’s behavior and motives.
In 2012, Epstein proposed to a lawyer that Trump’s financial records be examined. In 2015, he offered New York Times journalist Landon Thomas Jr. “pictures of Donald and the girls in bikinis in my kitchen,” though according to Maariv, there was no evidence such images existed.
He also referred to Trump in derogatory terms in messages to journalists and acquaintances, using phrases such as “dopey Donald,” “demented Donald,” and asserting that Trump’s finances were “all a sham.” In a separate message to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Epstein wrote that Trump was “borderline insane.”
In 2018, after The Miami Herald published its investigation into Epstein, an associate told him the coverage was intended to “bring down Trump.” Epstein replied, “I’m the only one who can bring him down.” Three weeks before his 2019 arrest, his accountant reportedly reviewed Trump’s financial disclosures and described them to Epstein as “a hundred pages of nonsense.”
GOP divisions surface amid document fallout
According to the original report, the Epstein case has exposed divisions within the Republican Party. Additional documents were released on Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee. Leavitt dismissed emails referencing Trump, saying they “prove absolutely nothing.” Trump, in comments reported by The New York Times, accused Democrats of using “the Jeffrey Epstein hoax” to divert attention from political issues.
Two women who identified as Epstein survivors were reportedly expected to attend Grijalva’s swearing-in ceremony.
Even if the House votes to release the Justice Department files, the measure would still need to pass the Republican-controlled Senate and receive Trump’s approval.
Eli Leon contributed to this article.