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Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Jeffrey Epstein, Crime
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Jeffrey Epstein, Crime
The US Department of Justice has released a number of previously withheld Epstein files.
Several of these files are FBI interviews with a woman who alleged she'd been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi previously insisted all information held on Epstein's case had been made public, following staggered releases that came after the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act back in November.
An NBC report found that 15 documents that should have been released had been held back.
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In response, a spokesperson for the department claimed that these files had been 'incorrectly coded as duplicative', and had therefore been withheld.
Following an internal review in light of the allegations, however, they were released on Friday morning (6 March).
"All 20 of these documents are now live in the library in data set 12," a department representative said. "We will also make available all files coded as duplicative in unredacted form for Members of Congress to review in the Congressional Reading Room."
Among the newly-released files is a handful of recordings made by FBI officials. In the recordings, a woman is being interviewed about allegations she'd made about being sexually assaulted by Trump.
They contain straight notes on the accuser's claims, and no additional commentary from the bureau.
The first conversation dates back to July 2019, weeks after Epstein was arrested for a second time on sex trafficking charges. He took his own life in jail while awaiting trial in August.
The alleged victim claimed then that she'd first met Epstein in the 1980s in South Carolina, and that he'd abused her sexually when she was just 13.
She alleged that Epstein had then driven her 'to either New York or New Jersey', where she first met Trump, who she claimed asked everyone in the room to leave, and 'mentioned something to the effect of, "Let me teach you how little girls are supposed to be"'.
The woman alleged that the then-businessman 'unzipped his pants' and put her 'head down to his penis', only for her to 'bite' him in response. She claimed Trump then hit her, saying 'words to the effect of, "Get this little bitch the hell out of here"'.
In another FBI interview, the same woman claimed she was subjected to threatening phone calls and was 'almost run off of the road' - alleged incidents she believed Epstein or Trump to be behind.
In another conversation, the alleged victim expressed her doubts over the point of coming forward with such claims, given that the statute of limitations on the incidents she'd described had long passed.
The woman was told 'to go home and take as much time as she needed to think about speaking with the agents further'.
Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
The president has consistently claimed he ended his prior association with the late paedophile in the early 2000s following a falling out - long before Epstein's first 2008 charge for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Addressing the claims being made by the woman in the recordings, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed them as 'completely baseless accusations'. She also insisted the woman's allegations had been 'backed by zero credible evidence'.
"[This] is also supported by the obvious fact that Joe Biden’s Department of Justice knew about them for four years and did nothing with them - because they knew President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong," she added.
The DOJ previously warned that the collection of files contains a number of false or unverified claims - many of which, it said, centre on the US president.
"This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the act," a spokesperson explained.
"Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.
"To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already."