NEED TO KNOW
Elon Musk has taken down his explosive claim that President Donald Trump’s name is in the Jeffrey Epstein files — a move which may be a step toward de-escalation in the public feud between the two men.
In the since-deleted post, which Musk shared on X on Thursday, June 5, the tech billionaire claimed that Trump appears in the high-profile case files, writing that it was the “real reason” the files had not been made public.
“Have a nice day, DJT!” he added sarcastically.
Trump responded to the claim on Friday, June 6, by reposting a statement on Truth Social that was originally written by Epstein’s former lawyer, David Schoen, on X. In the statement, Schoen claimed that his client “had no information to hurt President Trump.”
“I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein’s defense as his criminal lawyer 9 days before he died,” the statement began. “He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!”
Trump’s name has previously been publicly linked with Epstein. His name was mentioned in flight logs released earlier this year by Attorney General Pam Bondi a total of seven times.
However, the appearance of Trump’s name in the flight logs does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, as many of the individuals named could have been on Epstein’s plane for legitimate reasons.
The president was friends with the disgraced financier and pedophile for many years, but the two had a falling out in the mid-2000s, Trump told reporters shortly before Epstein died by suicide in 2019.
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Musk’s deleted claim came on the heels of a number of verbal jabs with the president following the release of a controversial new budget bill.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk posted to X — which he owns — on Tuesday, June 3. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
During an Oval Office press conference on Thursday, June 4, Trump responded to Musk’s criticisms.
“Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anyone sitting here,” Trump told reporters. “He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the [electric vehicle] mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars.”
Trump also predicted Musk’s attacks would get personal after saying he was “very disappointed in Elon.”
The war of words also came just days after it was announced Musk would be leaving the Trump administration.
