A new document in the Jeffrey Epstein files shows that his brother Mark, who has long been public in his belief that his sibling was murdered, once tried to tell the FBI about his hunch — and also brought Donald Trump into the conversation.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice released a new batch of Epstein files, including Mark Epstein's tip from Feb. 22, 2023. In it, Mark said Trump okayed his brother's killing.
“Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in his jail cell,” the tip says. “I have reason to believe he was killed because he was about to name names. I believe Presient [sic] Trump authorized is [sic] murder.”
There has never been any evidence linking Trump to Epstein's death — which was ruled a suicide, not a murder, by New York City's chief medical examiner.
It’s unclear if the FBI interviewed Mark after he made this claim.
The Epstein files first became available to the public on Dec. 19, after Trump signed off on their release in November via a bipartisan bill called the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
When releasing the new collection of files on Tuesday, the DOJ issued a statement, seemingly attempting to absolve Trump of any wrongdoing.
“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made 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 had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”
For months, the Trump administration has stalled the release of the files, and Trump has repeatedly denied his involvement in Epstein’s crimes. The president is mentioned several times in the new batch of files.
According to Time, the references consist of a rape allegation and correspondence that says Trump used Epstein’s private jet “many more times than previously had been reported,” among other notable inclusions.
Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging after he was discovered in his Manhattan jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, just a month after being arrested on sex trafficking charges.
