By Muhammad Mamman
The United States Justice Department has released previously unpublished files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that include unverified claims against former President Donald Trump, igniting fresh political turmoil just months before the 2026 presidential election. 
On Thursday, the department made public additional FBI interview summaries from 2019 involving a woman who said she was introduced to Trump by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and later alleged sexual misconduct by both men when she was a teenager. The documents, part of the congressionally mandated Epstein Files Transparency Act releases, were withheld earlier after being mistakenly labelled as “duplicate” records. 
The newly disclosed files describe multiple interviews with the woman, who claimed Epstein brought her to meet Trump in either New York or New Jersey when she was between 13 and 15. She told investigators she bit Trump to resist an alleged attempt to force her into sexual acts, and said she received threatening calls over the years she believed were linked to Epstein. 
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, dismissed the emerging claims, and the White House press secretary characterised them as “baseless accusations, backed by zero credible evidence.” Justice Department officials have also warned that some released material contains “untrue and sensationalist claims” against the former president. 
Democrats and some Republicans have sharply criticised the handling of the Epstein files, accusing the Justice Department under Trump’s administration of concealing or delaying documents that could be politically damaging. A congressional committee recently voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions about the department’s management of the release process. 
The Justice Department has been under pressure to publish hundreds of thousands of pages related to Epstein’s crimes and connections to powerful figures, and tens of thousands of files remain under review. Officials say technical errors and the sheer volume of materials have complicated the process. 
The disclosures come at a politically sensitive moment in the United States, as Trump seeks the Republican presidential nomination while continuing to face scrutiny over his past ties to Epstein and now new, highly contested allegations drawn from decades‑old interviews. 
