Newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate show the disgraced financier claimed former President Donald Trump knew about his operation and even confronted Ghislaine Maxwell and asked her to stop the practice, a bombshell revelation made public Wednesday by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The late convicted sex offender made the claim in 2019 emails obtained by congressional investigators, part of a cache of material handed over by Epstein’s estate. The Oversight panel, led by Democrats, has spent months digging into Epstein’s web of connections and how the Justice Department handled his case.
Democrats on the committee allege the administration is withholding nonpublic documents as part of what they call a “cover-up.”
“Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” Epstein wrote to author Michael Wolff in one of the emails, referring to his ouster from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, before lending Trump a “vindication” of sorts.
The message appeared to be a desperate bid for relevance from Epstein, who was under growing scrutiny at the time. Wolff, believed to be the journalist who chronicled Trump’s rise and presidency in several books, was the recipient of the email.
Epstein’s reference to “ghislaine” points to British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime associate and convicted accomplice now serving a 20-year prison sentence for aiding Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls.
In another message from 2011, Epstein wrote to Maxwell that Trump was “a dog that hasn’t barked,” apparently suggesting that the future president had not exposed or discussed Epstein’s illicit activities. Epstein added that one victim, whose name was redacted in the materials, had spent “hours with Trump.”
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein and has said the two had a falling out years before the financier’s arrest. The former president has maintained that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after a dispute and has dismissed any suggestion he was involved in Epstein’s crimes.
No evidence has ever emerged linking Trump to Epstein’s trafficking ring, though Democrats have repeatedly tried to connect him to the late financier. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges — a death ruled a suicide but one that has fueled years of speculation and suspicion.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.
When 26-year-old Yuki told her friends she was marrying a 70-year-old man named Mr. Kenji, jaws hit the floor. The group chat exploded. Comments ranged from:
But Yuki wasn’t budging. She’d met Kenji on a beach in Okinawa during what she called her “quarter-life breakdown.” She’d just quit her job, found out her ex was now dating her former boss (ouch), and was ready to become a hermit who spoke only to sea turtles. Instead, she met Kenji, who offered her a cold lemonade, a listening ear, and a chair in the shade. Not a bad trade.
Kenji, a retired physics professor with a love for gardening, grilled fish, and surprisingly spicy memes, made her laugh. “I’ve lived long enough to know that most people are full of it,” he said with a shrug. “You’re not. That’s rare.”
They talked. They walked. They even danced barefoot in the sand to old Elvis songs played from his phone speaker. Ten days later, they were married.
That’s when it happened.
Yuki found something.
It wasn’t a secret family. It wasn’t a hidden fortune. It wasn’t even a long-lost child from a 1980s love affair.
No, what Yuki found was…
Yep. That’s it. Boring? Maybe. But in a world where everyone’s chasing something — likes, clout, abs, a man who texts back — she found someone who made her feel calm, seen, and safe.
Kenji wasn’t flashy. He wore socks with sandals and still used a flip phone. But he cooked breakfast every morning, asked about her dreams (not just the ones with goals, but the weird ones with purple elephants and floating pizza), and remembered the names of her friends — even the one with six cats and a superiority complex.
“Age is just a number,” Yuki would later say in an interview that went viral. “Unless it’s your cholesterol — that number matters.”
What the Internet Thought
Naturally, social media had a field day.
But the truth was simple. Yuki and Kenji weren’t trying to prove anything. They were just two people who met on a beach, didn’t expect to fall in love, and did anyway.
Fast Forward: One Year Later
Yuki started a blog called “Love, Lemonade & Kenji”, where she writes about their life together — from misadventures in gardening to how they binge-watch ‘Bridgerton’ together (Kenji’s favorite character is Lady Danbury, of course).
They now split their time between Japan and a small cottage in Oregon. Yuki paints. Kenji writes letters to his old university pals. Every Friday, they host “Pajamas & Pancakes Night” with their neighbors.
Moral of the Story?
Sometimes the most unexpected relationships bring the greatest joy. Life doesn’t always follow a script — and thank goodness for that.
So the next time you see a headline like:
…just know: it might not be scandal.
It might just be a soft landing in a world that’s often too loud.