White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has publicly confirmed that President Donald Trump is named in the files concerning the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In interviews with Vanity Fair, Wiles described Trump and Epstein as having been "young, single playboys together" but insisted the president did nothing "awful."
Confirmation of Connection and Flight Logs
Wiles, who also managed Trump's 2024 campaign, stated she has read what she termed "the Epstein file." She acknowledged that Trump's name appears on flight logs for Epstein's plane, the so-called 'Lolita Express'. The pair moved in the same social circles in New York and Palm Beach for years, with photographs together dating back to 1992 and 2000.
"They were, you know, sort of young, single, whatever — I know it’s a passé word but sort of young, single playboys together," Wiles said of the relationship. She claimed Trump had a falling out with Epstein decades ago and expelled him from his Mar-a-Lago club.
Scathing Critique of Bondi and Vance
In a wide-ranging discussion, Wiles launched a strong criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi's management of the Justice Department's Epstein investigation. She specifically highlighted Bondi's decision in February to distribute binders labeled 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' to conservative influencers, which contained no new information.
"I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this," Wiles said. She also dismissed Bondi's claim that an Epstein client list was on her desk, asserting "There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk."
Wiles also offered an assessment of JD Vance, describing the senator as having understood the gravity of the Epstein scandal early because he's "been a conspiracy theorist for a decade." She praised Kash Patel and FBI deputy director Dan Bongino for grasping the issue's significance, noting they "lived in that world."
Denial of 'Fake' Birthday Letter and Legal Action
The Vanity Fair interview also touched on an alleged 2003 birthday letter Trump sent to Epstein, reportedly written inside a silhouette of a naked woman. Wiles firmly denied its authenticity.
"That letter is not his," Wiles stated. "And nothing about it rings true to me, nor does it to people that have known the president a lot longer than I have." Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, which originally reported on the letter, claiming it is fabricated.
Wiles's comments emerge as the Epstein case faces renewed scrutiny. Last week, House Oversight Democrats released new photos from Epstein's estate featuring Trump and other prominent figures. Furthermore, the Department of Justice is required to release its Epstein files by Friday under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Trump signed into law last month.
Following the article's publication, Wiles took to social media platform X to denounce the Vanity Fair piece as "a disingenuously framed hit piece," claiming significant context was omitted to paint a negative narrative.
