Trump defends ‘big boy’ Bill Clinton as he blasts Epstein files | US | News
US President Donald Trump today criticized the recent release of multiple photos linked to Jeffrey Epstein as a “terrible thing”. The leader even defended Bill Clinton and other political rivals featured in the published footage.
Thousands of photos published online in recent days feature prominent figures such as Michael Jackson, Mr Clinton, Sir Mick Jagger and politician Lord Mandelson.
Although named in the files, Mr. Trump maintained that many of the celebrities had innocent encounters with Epstein over the years.
However, it is also worth noting that Epstein was a convicted child sex offender who molested girls as young as 14 years old. Speaking after the photo dump today, Mr Trump, 79, said: “I know there are a lot of people who are offended by other people’s photos.
“I think it’s very bad… What happened with Epstein is a way to deflect from the tremendous success of the Republican Party. I thought this was over, a lot of people are very angry that this is continuing.”
Of the former Democratic president, Mr. Trump added: “I love Bill Clinton, I always got along well with Bill Clinton.
“I’ve been nice to him, he’s been nice to me, we’ve always gotten along well, I respect him. Bill Clinton is a big boy, he can handle it, but there are probably photos of people innocently meeting Jeffrey Epstein years ago.”
According to the Daily Mail, the world leader first pointed to Democrats in Congress to provoke the latest statement.
But Mr. Trump acknowledged that Epstein had extensive contacts in the 1990s and 2000s.
The release of the information followed a statement by assistant U.S. attorney Todd Blanche emphasizing the need to protect sex offender Epstein’s victims, which soon led to the release of hundreds of thousands more documents.
Following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the U.S. Department of Justice was legally obligated to make all files related to the Epstein investigation public by Friday midnight.
Financier and convicted pedophile Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal prison in Manhattan, New York, in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was officially declared a suicide.
Both guards assigned to watch Epstein fell asleep and falsified records during their shifts. This glaring surveillance was further exacerbated when it was revealed that the cameras in the waiting area were either malfunctioning or broken.
