尽管唐纳德·特朗普总统最近声称前拜登官员篡改了与以下内容有关的文件杰弗里·爱泼斯坦，许多文件——包括提到特朗普和几位知名民主党人的文件——已经公开多年。
周三，总统在保守派网络“真实美国之声”的电话采访中声称，民主党人和前官员篡改了与这位名誉扫地的金融家和被定罪的性侵犯者有关的文件，但没有提供证据。
“但是你知道，这是由拜登政府管理了四年。我可以想象他们把什么放进文件，就像他们对其他人做的那样，”特朗普说。“我是说，斯蒂尔的档案完全是伪造的，对吗?人们花了两年时间才弄明白，你提到的所有东西都是假的。”
民事诽谤诉讼是关于爱泼斯坦“客户名单”的推测性理论的主要基础，由原告弗吉尼亚·吉弗尔对爱泼斯坦合伙人提起吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦2015年，2017年落户。
诽谤案的很大一部分记录在诉讼期间被封存，目的是保护第三方的隐私，这些第三方在文件和证词中被点名，但没有直接参与案件，或者面临未经证实的不当行为指控。
《迈阿密先驱报》在2018年介入了和解的诉讼，以解封记录。启封始于2019年8月9日，即爱泼斯坦在曼哈顿监狱自杀身亡的前一天，在接下来的4.5年里分阶段继续进行。文件的最终发布是在2024年初。
2017年5月后，除了与启封记录有关的动议之外，该案没有提交任何实质性的新文件。
其他提到特朗普的文件，包括爱泼斯坦飞行员的一些飞行日志和爱泼斯坦的通讯录，其中有特朗普和其他家庭成员的多个号码，公开的时间比这长得多。有些可以追溯到2006年爱泼斯坦第一次被捕后对他的民事诉讼。
特朗普的名字还出现在爱泼斯坦飞机的其他飞行日志上，这些日志在2021年麦克斯韦刑事审判期间公开。
作为这些民事诉讼或麦克斯韦尔审判的一部分而公开的文件中，没有一份包含对特朗普不当行为的指控。
几个人的名字杰出的民主党人包括前总统比尔·克林顿在内的一些人也在不同场合出现在已经公开的档案中。克林顿没有受到任何不当行为的指控，并通过发言人表示，他对爱泼斯坦的罪行一无所知。档案中提到的其他人也否认有不当行为。
就像现在一样，在那个案件的记录被公开之前，有很多猜测认为这些文件最终会透露所谓的客户名单。
它揭示的是Giuffre声称爱泼斯坦和麦克斯韦虐待她，并送她被几个杰出的男人虐待。记录还显示马克斯韦尔和所有被告都否认这些指控。因为那件案子已经解决了，没有一件在审判中被检验过。
马克斯韦尔目前因性交易和其他与爱泼斯坦有关的罪行被判20年监禁。
白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特(Karoline Leavitt)周四为政府对爱泼斯坦文件的处理进行了辩护，不断向司法部提出关于爱泼斯坦案件任何进一步行动的问题，声称特朗普不知道或不了解尚未公布的内容。
莱维特说，特朗普不赞成在爱泼斯坦案中推荐一名特别检察官。
Trump claims Epstein files are faked, but many documents have been public for years
Despite recent claims by President Donald Trump that former Biden officials doctored files related toJeffrey Epstein, many of the documents -- including those mentioning Trump and several prominent Democrats -- have been public for years.
The president, in a phone interview on conservative network Real America's Voice on Wednesday, alleged without providing evidence that Democrats and former officials doctored files relating to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
"But you know, that was run by the Biden administration for four years. I can imagine what they put into files, just like they did with the others," Trump said. "I mean, the Steele dossier was a total fake, right? It took two years to figure that out for the people, and all of the things that you mentioned were fake."
The civil defamation lawsuit that is the primary basis of speculative theories about Epstein's "client list" was filed by accuser Virginia Giuffre against Epstein associateGhislaine Maxwellin 2015, and was settled in 2017.
A substantial portion of the record of the defamation case was sealed during the litigation for the purpose of protecting the privacy of third parties who were named in the papers and depositions but were not directly involved in the case or who were facing untested allegations of wrongdoing.
The Miami Herald intervened in the settled lawsuit in 2018 to unseal records. Unsealing began on Aug. 9, 2019, the day prior to Epstein's death by suicide in a Manhattan jail and continued in stages for the next 4.5 years. The final release of documents was in early 2024.
No substantive new filings were filed in the case after May 2017, other than motions related to unsealing the record.
Other files that mention Trump, including some flight logs from Epstein's pilot and Epstein's address book, which had multiple numbers for Trump and other members of his family, have been public for much longer than that. Some date back to civil litigation against Epstein following his first arrest in 2006.
Trump's name was also included on additional flight logs of Epstein's planes that were made public in 2021 during Maxwell's criminal trial.
None of the documents made public as part of those civil lawsuits or Maxwell's trial contain allegations of wrongdoing by Trump.
The names of severalprominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, also appear in the already-public files in various contexts. Clinton was not accused of any wrongdoing and has said through spokespersons that he had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Others mentioned in the files have also denied wrongdoing.
Much like now, there was rampant speculation in advance of the unsealing of records from that case that these documents were finally going to reveal the so-called client list.
What it revealed was Giuffre alleging that Epstein and Maxwell abused her and sent her to be abused by several prominent men. The records also showed Maxwell and all the accused men denying the allegations. Because that case was settled, none of it was ever tested at trial.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Epstein.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday defended the administration's handling of the Epstein files, continually directing questions about any further action on the Epstein case to the Department of Justice, claiming Trump didn't have knowledge or an understanding of what hasn't been released yet.
Leavitt said Trump is not in favor of recommending a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.
