Vice President JD Vance has denied hosting a strategy dinner to discuss the Epstein crisis as Donald Trump dismissed the ongoing scandal as “bulls--t.”
Hours after reports emerged that Vance was expected to meet on Wednesday night with top Trump officials to coordinate a plan to deal with the ongoing firestorm over sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the vice president rebuked the story as “fake news.”
The denial came during an Oval Office event with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, where Trump touted billions of dollars of new investment from the tech company.
Asked by a reporter if the meeting was taking place, Trump replied: “I don’t know.
“I could ask you that question,” he said, looking at Vance, who also happened to be in the room.
“It’s completely fake news,” Vance said. “We’re not meeting to talk about the Epstein situation, and I think the reporter who reported it needs to get better sources.”
The president added: “The whole thing is a hoax that’s been put out by the Democrats because we’ve had the most successful six months in the history of our country. And that’s just a way of trying to divert attention to something that’s total bulls--t.”
News of Wednesday’s dinner between Vance, Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI director Kash Patel, was first reported by CNN.
Vance’s communications director, William Martin, told the Daily Beast earlier: “The CNN story is pure fiction. There was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the Vice President’s residence to discuss Epstein strategy.”
It came as the administration weighs up whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of Blanche’s recent conversation with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted to 20 years in prison for her role in recruiting and abusing young girls as Epstein’s accomplice.
Another option reportedly being considered is whether Blanche, who was previously Trump’s personal attorney, should hold a press conference or conduct a high-profile interview to give the increasingly skeptical public more information about the case.
The prospect of Vance intervening was immediately criticized on Wednesday, given that, since the Watergate scandal, the DOJ has traditionally operated at arm’s length from the White House in criminal investigation matters to avoid the perception of political interference.
Epstein was a known associate of Trump for years, long before the disgraced financier died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
In 2022, his former girlfriend and associate, Maxwell, was sentenced on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy for helping Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls.
But the issue has become a political headache for the president, who came to office promising his MAGA base he would release the criminal files involving the case but is now trying to dismiss the issue, prompting fears of a cover up.
The president has also refused to rule out pardoning Maxwell, who was last week transferred to a lower security prison after a secret meeting with Blanche to discuss what she knew.
Asked about the meeting on Wednesday, Trump insisted he had not been briefed.
“I didn’t know about it at all,” he told reporters.
Vance, Bondi and Patel are also in a bind, as they too have repeatedly promised more transparency surrounding the matter.
“Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list,” the vice president said on the Theo Von podcast ahead of last year’s election. “That is an important thing.”
And amid the politics, Epstein’s victims and their families are demanding accountability for his and Maxwell’s heinous crimes.
“Their voices must be heard, above all,” said the siblings of Virginia Giuffre, who was one of Epstein’s most high profile victims before she died by suicide this year.
