Is Donald Trump 'Doe 174' in Jeffrey Epstein Documents? What We Know

Court documents related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released over the last week, naming dozens of high-profile figures, including former President Donald Trump.

The papers were originally filed in a defamation lawsuit brought by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against the financier's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of conspiring with him in his sex-trafficking operation.

The documents were initially sealed on potential privacy grounds and on what could be made public about some people mentioned.

However, in December 2023, New York Southern District Judge Loretta Preska ordered that documents listing individuals mentioned within the lawsuit, referred to as "Doe" in court documents, should be unsealed.

Business Insider has suggested one of those, Doe 174, "checks all the boxes" to be Trump.

There have been no accusations of wrongdoing by Trump and he has not been implicated in any of the crimes committed by Maxwell or Epstein.

Newsweek has contacted a media representative for Trump for comment. In a statement last week, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said that any claims involving Trump and Epstein were "thoroughly debunked."

Is Donald Trump Doe 174?

Preska's order included a table with 187 individuals and docket entries where their names appeared.

Details of victims of sexual abuse, individuals whose identity could help identify victims, and one individual who was mistakenly included and not introduced to the case by the plaintiff, remain sealed.

Doe 174 was described in Preska's list as a person whose "association with Epstein and Maxwell has been widely reported in the media already, and his or her name came up during Maxwell's public criminal trial."

Trump's name appeared in all nine docket entries that Doe 174 is mentioned in.

Doe 174's docket entries were unique, so it could not be confused with any of the other Does listed in the lawsuit.

What Do the Unsealed Documents Say?

None of the papers that Doe 174 was mentioned in includes any allegations of wrongdoing toward Trump.

Two of Doe 174's documents are part of Epstein accuser Johanna Sjoberg's deposition, in which she testified Epstein planned to call Trump and go to one of his casinos. Sjoberg later testified that she never massaged Trump.

Another, released Tuesday evening, was a deposition of Virginia Giuffre in which she was asked whether Donald Trump was a witness to the "sexual abuse of minors."

Giuffre replied: "I don't think Donald Trump participated in anything. That would have to be another assumption.

"I never saw or witnessed Donald Trump participate in those acts, but was he in the house of Jeffrey Epstein. I've heard he has been, but I haven't seen him myself so I don't know."

Another paper contained a deposition from Epstein house manager Juan Patricio Alessi, who worked for Epstein from around 1990 until 2002. Alessi said Trump had never stayed the night at a mansion Epstein owned in Palm Beach, Florida, less than 2 miles from Trump's residence, Mar-a-Lago.

Alessi said Trump visited Epstein's mansion for dinner and sat with him in the kitchen. Alessi said Trump did not receive any massages there, noting "he's got his own spa."

One other document contains email extracts from Sarah Ransome, who has accused Epstein of sexual assault, to columnist Maureen Callahan, regarding incidents that allegedly involved Epstein and others, including former presidents Trump and Bill Clinton.

Ransome later retracted claims she made about Trump and others in these emails.

"I have spoken to my family at some length this morning and I would like to retract everything I have said to you and walk away from this," she told the New York Post columnist in one email included in the unsealed document.

The other papers mentioning Trump only do so in passing or were already public record.

No further documents are scheduled to be unsealed. Some of the details in the Doe 174 documents remain redacted.

What Trump Has Said About Epstein

A 2002 profile about Epstein in New York magazine quoted Donald Trump saying Epstein was a "terrific guy," adding details about their shared interest in "beautiful women."

Trump made the comments well before police began investigating Epstein in 2005 after a teenage girl's parents complained she had been molested at his house.

In 2019, Trump distanced himself from Epstein. Speaking to the press, the then-president said he knew Epstein only because "everybody in Palm Beach" did, noting: "I had a falling out with him. I haven't spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you."

On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found hanged in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.