WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Friday said Jeffrey Epstein is a “Democrat’s problem,” dismissing newly released documents related to the late disgraced sex offender as a partisan attempt to damage him and divert attention from the ongoing government shutdown.

“The Democrats are doing everything in their withering power to push the Epstein Hoax again … especially the SHUTDOWN EMBARRASSMENT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, accusing his opponents of being in “total disarray.” He said some Republicans had fallen for the effort because they were “soft and foolish.”

His remarks followed the House Oversight Committee’s release of more than 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate, including emails in which Epstein claimed he had damaging information about Trump.

In the messages, sent between 2011 and 2018, Epstein asserted Trump “knew about the girls,” claimed to have photos of him with girls in bikinis, and wrote that he was “able to take him down.” Epstein also monitored Trump’s business dealings and exchanged comments about the president with figures including Kathryn Ruemmler and Steve Bannon.

Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Authorities ruled the death a suicide, a finding reaffirmed by the Justice Department in July, though many Americans, including Trump’s supporters, continue to allege a cover-up.