Donald Trump defended Bill Clinton during a Monday press conference after newly released documents linked the former Democrat president to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, calling the photo releases “a terrible thing.”
The bombshell tranche of documents released Friday showed Clinton in multiple photographs with Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
One image depicted Clinton and Maxwell taking a dip with an unidentified woman whose face was redacted from the files.
Trump expressed sympathy for Clinton during his remarks to reporters.
“I don’t like the pictures of Bill Clinton being shown, I don’t like the pictures of other people being shown, I think it’s a terrible thing,” Trump stated.
The president elaborated on his relationship with the former Democrat leader.
“I like Bill Clinton, I’ve always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I’ve been nice to him, he’s been nice to me, we’ve always gotten along with him, I respect him,” Trump said.
The released images included Clinton relaxing in a hot tub.
Photographs also showed an infamous painting of Clinton wearing a blue dress hung inside Epstein’s home.
Additional pictures captured Clinton, actor Kevin Spacey and Maxwell at the Churchill War Rooms in London.
Trump suggested others who encountered Epstein may face similar exposure.
“Bill Clinton’s a big boy, he can handle it, but you probably have pictures of people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago,” he said.
The president placed blame for the releases on political adversaries.
He attributed the document dump to “mostly Democrats” and “a couple of bad Republicans.”
Trump expressed concern about the impact on individuals photographed with Epstein.
“I know there are a lot of people that are angry about all the pictures of other people. I think it’s terrible,” he stated.
The president maintained the files serve as a distraction from his administration’s accomplishments.
“This whole thing with Epstein is a way to try to deflect from the tremendous success of the Republican Party. I thought that was finished, a lot of people are very angry that this continues,” Trump said.
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Clinton released a statement Monday addressing the document release.
“What the Department of Justice has released so far, and the manner in which it did so, makes one thing clear: someone or something is being protected,” Clinton stated.
The former president, married to Hillary Clinton since 1975, demanded transparency from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
He called for the immediate release of any remaining materials containing references or photographs of him.
Clinton accused the DOJ of selective releases designed to suggest wrongdoing about individuals already cleared by the department over many years.
He argued that withholding files would confirm suspicions about the DOJ’s true motives being “insinuation” rather than transparency.
The massive document release lacked dates and context for the materials.
Being named or pictured in the files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing related to Epstein’s criminal activities.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act received bipartisan support from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Trump acknowledged Epstein’s widespread social connections during the 1990s and 2000s.
“Everybody was friendly with this guy. He was around, he was all over Palm Beach and other places,” Trump said.
He referenced former Harvard President Larry Summers, claiming Summers was “forced to resign from every board he’s on” and calling him Epstein’s “best friend.”
Trump addressed questions about Epstein’s private island.
“I wasn’t, I never went there, by the way. Fortunately, it’s nice, but I never went there,” the president stated.
A coalition of 19 alleged Epstein and Maxwell victims accused the government of mishandling the file release. They claimed the DOJ violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act by “withholding massive quantities of documents” and “failing to redact survivor identities.”
