1. New Epstein documents released in 2026

• In 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of pages of “Epstein files” after the Epstein Files Transparency Act required them to be made public.
• A new batch of documents (March 2026) included FBI interview notes with a woman who alleged Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor in the 1980s.

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2. Trump appears many times in the files

• Trump is mentioned more than 1,000 times across the released Epstein-related documents.
• Many mentions are mundane (contacts, events, references) rather than accusations.
• Some include unverified claims or witness statements recorded by investigators.

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3. The documents were initially withheld

• The DOJ said about 15–20 documents were mistakenly labeled as duplicates and not released earlier.
• After media and congressional pressure, the department reviewed and added them to the public database in 2026.

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4. Known historical relationship between Trump and Epstein

Researchers already knew several things before these new files:

• Trump and Epstein socialized in the late 1980s–early 2000s in New York and Florida.
• Epstein attended events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
• Trump once said in a 2002 interview that Epstein was a “terrific guy” who liked beautiful women.

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5. Political controversy in 2026

The new releases triggered political conflict:

• Critics accuse the Justice Department of withholding or mismanaging documents.
• Some lawmakers want more investigation and additional missing pages released.
• Trump’s allies say the claims are politically motivated and unsupported by evidence.

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✅ Key takeaway:

• Newly released Epstein files contain allegations mentioning Trump.
• The releases mainly add more witness statements and investigative notes.

The Department of Justice released a batch of previously unreleased documents from the Epstein files that include notes from FBI interviews with a woman who says she was assaulted by President Trump when she was a minor. The woman alleges she was assaulted by Trump in the 1980s and that she was also a victim of Epstein. Justice correspondent Ali Rogin reports.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Geoff Bennett:

The Justice Department released a batch of previously unreleased documents from the Epstein files that include notes from FBI interviews with a woman who says she was assaulted by President Trump as a minor.

In interviews with the FBI, the woman alleged she was assaulted by Mr. Trump in the 1980s and that she was also a victim of Epstein’s. The documents were released after multiple news outlets discovered they were missing from the initial mass release of files.

For more, we’re joined now by our justice correspondent, Ali Rogin.

So, Ali, tell us more about what’s in these documents.

Ali Rogin:

Geoff, these documents are known as 302 files. There’s summaries of three interviews the FBI conducted with this accuser in which she alleges that Epstein brought her to meet Trump some time between when she was age 13 and 15.

She details in very graphic terms Trump’s sexual, alleged sexual assault against her and how she fought back. She also says she had two additional interactions with Trump, but before she expanded on that any further, she asked if she could go on to another subject.

During the last interview with the accuser, the FBI asked if she would be comfortable sharing more about her contacts with Trump. She said at the time that she didn’t know what the point would be when there was a strong possibility nothing could be done about it. And it’s unclear, Geoff, if there was any additional follow-up after that last interview.

Geoff Bennett:

Why weren’t these documents initially released?

Ali Rogin:

These three summaries are actually part of a set of four. And that other document was released as part of that initial major tranche we saw in late January.

That summary was an interview in which the accuser focused on Epstein and didn’t mention Trump. These others also — these others, of course, mention the Trump allegations. Reporters caught this discrepancy because descriptions of all four summaries of the interviews were included in a list that was given to attorneys for Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

In a statement released on social media, the Department of Justice said the interviews had been incorrectly deemed duplicative and were subsequently published. The DOJ also says that the unredacted versions of the documents will be available for members of Congress to review.

But reporters have noted that, even still, there are additional documents that remain missing. Independent journalist Roger Sollenberger has been following this closely. And he noted that there are at least 37 pages still missing. That includes notes that informed these summaries, as well as internal communication that would memorialize how the situation with the accuser was resolved.

Geoff Bennett:

What’s the White House saying about all of this?

Ali Rogin:

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put out a statement in which she calls the accusations completely baseless and she says they come from a — quote — “sadly disturbed woman who has an extensive criminal history.”

Geoff Bennett:

If the accuser is unidentified, how would she know that to be true?

Ali Rogin:

There are some details in the summaries of these interviews in which the accuser talks about her arrests as a minor.

While these allegations remain uncorroborated, there is new reporting Geoff tonight from Julie K. Brown of The Miami Herald, who’s broken much of the Epstein story, saying that DOJ officials who spoke to this woman found her to be credible and that they wouldn’t have interviewed her four times if they didn’t.

Geoff Bennett:

Ali Rogin, thanks so much for this reporting.

Ali Rogin:

You bet.