White House Comments on Reported 2006 Trump Call About Epstein

A newly released Department of Justice document has intensified scrutiny over former President Donald Trump and his knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes — even as the White House maintains the president’s long-standing narrative that he cut ties with Epstein decades ago.

The document, part of a massive release of files connected to Epstein’s criminal history — mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act — includes a summary of a 2019 FBI interview with former Michael Reiter, who led early investigations into Epstein’s alleged abuse of underage girls in Palm Beach, Florida. The summary states that Trump, in a July 2006 phone call, told Reiter: “Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this.”

That account, first reported by the Miami Herald and included in the FBI materials, portrays Trump as thanking law enforcement for investigating Epstein around the time criminal charges were first becoming public. The document also quotes Trump as warning investigators about Epstein’s close associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, calling her “evil” and urging a focus on her.

At a Tuesday briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded directly to questions about the alleged call. Leavitt said she could not confirm whether the phone call took place, but argued that if it did, it supports what Trump has repeatedly claimed for years.

“It was a phone call that may or may not have happened in 2006,” Leavitt said. “I don’t know the answer to that question. What I’m telling you is that what President Trump has always said is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep. And that remains true.”

Leavitt added that the alleged call, if confirmed, “corroborates exactly what President Trump has said from the beginning.” She also claimed the release of the FBI report undercuts what she described as a media narrative about Trump’s relationship with Epstein.

The alleged 2006 call contrasts with Trump’s long-repeated public statements over the years that he had minimal knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct and had distanced himself from the disgraced financier long ago. Trump has claimed that he once removed Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club after staff raised concerns and that he did not have ongoing contact with him.

Epstein ultimately struck a controversial plea agreement in 2008 after his initial arrest in Florida, and was later charged federally in 2019 before his death in custody. Maxwell was convicted in federal court for her role in recruiting and sexually abusing underage girls with Epstein.

The interview with Reiter is only one of millions of pages of FBI and DOJ files made public last year and this year following passage of the transparency act — a law signed by Trump in 2025 that requires the release of the government’s unclassified records related to Epstein. Wikipedia

The release has already triggered renewed political fallout, including public questioning of Trump administration officials like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over their reported connections to Epstein — even as lawmakers push new sex trafficking lawsuits and legislative reforms.

For now, the White House is arguing that the disputed document aligns with the president’s narrative that he cut ties with Epstein early, while critics contend the revelation raises fresh questions about what Trump knew and when.