Donald Trump has responded after new photos of him and Jeffrey Epstein surfaced amid a wave of backlash over how he has handled recent developments.
CNN’s investigative unit, KFILE, published several black-and-white photos capturing Epstein attending Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel - more than three decades ago.
One photo showed Epstein at the reception, while another, taken by artist Dafydd Jones, shows Trump and Epstein side by side at the grand opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe the same year, with Trump’s two children in view.
Jones told CNN: “I must have recognized him going in [to the event],” referring to the wedding reception photo.
These images predate the first sex‑trafficking allegations against Epstein by more than a decade.
CNN further revealed Epstein and Trump laughing together at the 1999 Victoria’s Secret fashion show and attending a Mar‑a‑Lago charity event alongside Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Prince Andrew.
When pressed about these revelations, Trump called the story “fake news” and, after repeatedly dismissing the coverage, exclaimed: “You've got to be kidding me,” then hung up the phone, according to CNN’s report.
The photos emerged shortly after the Wall Street Journal claimed that Trump allegedly sent Epstein a suggestive birthday card in 2003.
The card, featuring an outline of a naked woman with Trump’s signature below the waist, reportedly read: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump dismissed the card as “fake” and promptly filed a defamation lawsuit against the Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion.
In response, Trump has called on Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, to release “any and all” grand‑jury documents from the Epstein investigation - though a Department of Justice memo this month stated it would not reveal more details and confirmed it lacks an “incriminating” list of clients.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended Trump, arguing to CNN that the new photos are simply “out‑of‑context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious.
"The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”
Adding to the turbulence, artist Maria Farmer - who first accused Epstein and Maxwell of sexual assault nearly three decades ago - has recounted a shocking incident allegedly involving Trump, detailed in The New York Times.
She claims that in 1995 she was summoned to Epstein’s Manhattan office while wearing running shorts, only to find Trump in a suit, hovering and allegedly staring at her bare legs until Epstein intervened.
According to Farmer, Epstein said: “No, no. She’s not here for you.” The two men then exited the room, and she claimed she heard Trump remark that “he thought she was 16 years old,” per CNN.
Farmer added she “had no further alarming interactions with him and never saw him engage in inappropriate conduct with other girls or women.”
She first reported the incident to law enforcement in 1996 and again in 2006, and told The Times she has “long wondered” how those complaints were handled.
The White House, however, has strongly denied her claims.