An FBI affidavit unsealed in federal court on Monday has revealed that Cole Allen, the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, referred to him as a "pedophile, rapist, and traitor" in a manifesto sent to family and friends shortly before the incident.
The document, filed in support of a criminal complaint against Allen, quotes the suspect as writing: "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes." The affidavit uses this statement as evidence of Allen's intent to assassinate Trump.
Trump's reaction
During an interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump was asked about the manifesto. He responded angrily, telling Norah O'Donnell that only "horrible people" would ask such a question. "I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody," Trump said. He also denied being a pedophile, adding, "You read that crap from some sick person?"
Trump claimed he was "totally exonerated" and suggested that Democrats were involved with Jeffrey Epstein, the late child sex offender. However, this claim is false; many documents from the Epstein investigation remain unreleased, and several Republicans, including Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, have faced questions about their ties to Epstein.
Legal context
Despite Trump's denials, a judge in a 2023 civil trial found that Trump had sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, and wrote that the jury's finding amounted to rape in "common modern parlance." No evidence has emerged linking Trump directly to Epstein's crimes, but Trump himself acknowledged in a 2002 interview that Epstein "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
The White House later posted a highlight reel of the interview on its YouTube channel, including the exchange with O'Donnell, suggesting Trump was satisfied with his response.
