Trump ally dragged into Epstein scandal after shocking document dump

The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released more than 20,000 pages of documents connected to Epstein, the notorious financier convicted of child sex trafficking.  The files show he had a vast network of wealthy and influential acquaintances he could rely on — including Donald Trump, who, according to Epstein’s emails, was not only aware of the young girls Epstein abused but once spent hours with one of them.

Beyond figures like Trump and Prince Andrew, whose names have frequently surfaced in connection with Epstein, one email points to a personal relationship between Epstein and Tom Barrack, a private investor who served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey under Trump.

In one March 2016 email, Epstein wrote to Barrack, referring to an unidentified child: “Send me some pictures of you and the kid — make me smile.”

According to U.S. media reports, this message followed Epstein telling Barrack he had been receiving numerous calls about his friendship with Trump but wasn’t responding to them — after which Barrack suggested they meet in person.

Barrack, who made headlines in September for calling journalists “animals” during a trip to Lebanon, also served as Trump’s special envoy for West Asia.

The massive release of Epstein-related records by Republicans came after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee had selectively published a smaller set of emails and files. Republicans said their broader release was intended to prevent Democrats from cherry-picking information.

However, the move has angered Donald Trump, who posted on his social media platform Truth Social: “Democrats are trying once again to bring up the fake Jeffrey Epstein story to distract from their disastrous handling of the government shutdown and many other failures. Only a very bad or stupid Republican would fall for this trap.”