White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has publicly confirmed that President Donald Trump appears in investigative records connected to Jeffrey Epstein, a disclosure that has renewed scrutiny of Trump's past associations while exposing internal tensions over how the administration has addressed the long-running scandal.
In a wide-ranging interview with Vanity Fair, Wiles said she had reviewed what she referred to as "the Epstein file" and acknowledged Trump's inclusion in it, while emphatically rejecting any implication of criminal conduct. "We know he's in the file. And he's not in the file doing anything awful," Wiles said, drawing a sharp line between documentary presence and wrongdoing.
Wiles explained that Trump's appearance in the material stemmed from social overlap during earlier decades, including travel records. She said Trump "was on [Epstein's] plane ... he's on the manifest," and described the relationship in personal rather than legal terms. "They were, you know, sort of young, single, whatever - I know it's a passé word but sort of young, single playboys together," she said.
Epstein's private flight manifests, often referred to as the "Lolita Express," have been examined repeatedly by journalists, courts and investigators. Legal experts note that inclusion on a passenger list does not establish criminal liability, and Trump has not been charged or accused by prosecutors in connection with Epstein's crimes.
Trump has previously acknowledged knowing Epstein socially before their relationship ended, while maintaining that he was unaware of Epstein's criminal behavior at the time. No public court filings or sworn testimony have implicated Trump in Epstein's sex-trafficking offenses.
In the Vanity Fair interview, Wiles also addressed disputes over historical reporting related to Epstein, including a controversial claim published by The Wall Street Journal that Trump sent Epstein a birthday card in 2003 featuring a nude sketch. Wiles rejected that account outright. "That letter is not his, and nothing about it rings true to me," she said.
The administration has responded aggressively to that reporting. Trump's legal team has filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, seeking $20 billion in damages and challenging the authenticity of the alleged card.
Wiles further diverged from some of Trump's own public assertions, particularly regarding former President Bill Clinton. Trump has repeatedly alleged that Clinton visited Epstein's private island dozens of times. Wiles disputed that claim, stating, "There is no evidence," a rare public correction from a sitting chief of staff.
The interview comes as Congress prepares for a legally mandated release of additional unclassified Epstein-related materials. Under a recently enacted law, the Justice Department is required to publish as much nonclassified material as possible by Dec. 19, 2025, a move expected to reignite debate over elite accountability and transparency.
