Fact-checking falsehoods about Epstein’s client list, island and involvement with Trump

Six years after his death, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein still makes headlines. 

He stars in conspiracy theories and falsehoods — about what government files reveal about him, the island where he trafficked girls and women, important men he knew, including Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.

Social media users and politicians across the political spectrum engross themselves in stories — true and imagined — about Epstein’s world of sex, power, connections and wealth. 

Epstein received lenient treatment from the criminal justice system until the Miami Herald published a 2018 extensive investigation into his case. He was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges for recruiting dozens of underage girls to his New York City mansion and Palm Beach, Florida, estate from 2002 to 2005 to engage in sex acts for money. He was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell Aug. 10, 2019, and investigators concluded he died by suicide.

In November, Congress passed and Trump signed a law that requires the Justice Department to release unclassified government investigative files related to Epstein. In the lead-up to the White House's anticipated Dec. 19 documents release, PolitiFact looked back at our coverage of Epstein-related falsehoods and conspiracy theories. 

Falsehoods about the Epstein files, Trump’s involvement

Trump told reporters in July that the Epstein files "were made up" by former FBI Director James Comey and former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. That’s Pants on Fire.

The files are not "made up" — they collectively represent investigative evidence and findings from law enforcement documents, victims’ testimonies and court cases.

Neither Obama nor Biden were in office when the FBI investigated Epstein; George W. Bush and Trump were. Comey worked in the private sector during those investigative periods. Epstein was arrested on federal charges during Trump’s first administration. 

Some Trump critics have pointed to his past links to Epstein. Trump’s former adviser Elon Musk wrote on X that Trump "is in the Epstein files." Being mentioned in the files is not akin to criminal wrongdoing. It is well-documented that Trump and Epstein knew each other although they had a falling out some time between 2004 and 2007.

The 2024 release of court documents in an Epstein-related lawsuit led to false social media claims about a 166-name list that alleged Epstein was connected to famous politicians, musicians and actors.

Seventy-eight percent of the people on the list were not mentioned in the court documents. Looking through other documents, including Epstein’s private jet flight logs and his address book, PolitiFact found that the majority of the names on the list were not in those records either. Although some of the people listed had well-documented relationships with Epstein, only two had been charged with crimes.

Falsehoods about Epstein’s island

After 2024 election results showed Trump won the presidency, an Instagram post falsely claimed Trump had visited the island Epstein owned. But there is no documented evidence that Trump visited Epstein’s Little St. James in the Virgin Islands. 

Flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane at least seven times in the 1990s between Palm Beach and New York, but there’s no documented evidence showing Trump visited the island. A supposed photo of a teenager dancing with Trump on the island was fabricated.

Social media posts previously said Clinton was photographed with young women on the island and appeared in 26 Epstein flight logs. In November, Trump made a similar statement, saying, "Bill Clinton went there supposedly 28 times." 

Clinton took four trips in 2002 and 2003 on Epstein’s airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with Clinton Foundation work, a Clinton spokesperson said.  It’s unclear how many individual flights Clinton took for those trips.

Vanity Fair in December published an article based on multiple 2025 interviews with Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff. Wiles said "there is no evidence" that Clinton visited the island. Wiles said in an X post that "significant context was disregarded" in the article but included no examples and cited no errors of fact.

Additional falsehoods about Trump

Social media posts this summer falsely said Trump "made 4,725 wire transfers" to Epstein, totaling nearly $1.1 billion. The posts included as proof a clip of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., talking about 4,725 wire transfers, but he wasn’t referring to Trump. Wyden said Senate Finance Committee investigators reviewed a Treasury file on Epstein and found 4,725 wire transfers "flowing in and out of just one of Mr. Epstein’s bank accounts." 

In November, a Democrat used newly-released documents from Epstein’s estate to assert that Trump and Epstein remained friends after Trump was elected in 2016. 

Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., highlighted one email exchange and said in an X post: "Trump spent his first Thanksgiving after getting elected President with Jeffrey Epstein. 2017." That exaggerates what records show.

In an email exchange dated Nov. 23, 2017, Epstein discussed his Thanksgiving plans with Faith Kates, cofounder of the New York-based modeling agency NEXT Management. When Kates asked who else was "down there," seemingly referring to Florida, Epstein mentioned several names including Trump.

It is possible Epstein was not foretelling a specific Thanksgiving Day plan but commenting about who else would be in the Florida area at that time. 

News reports, photos, videos and White House news releases show Trump spent Thanksgiving 2017 at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. PolitiFact found no proof he met with Epstein that day.