Overview
- In an Oval Office gaggle after signing a bill to end the government shutdown, the president said he had not read the newly released Epstein materials.
- He downplayed the documents’ significance, saying mentions of associates such as Elon Musk and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were fine or there would have been major headlines.
- Pressed on justice for Epstein’s survivors, he cut off CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, calling her “the worst reporter” and saying he had “never seen you smile.”
- Analysts reviewing the millions of pages reported more than 40 instances where sensitive information about survivors was not properly redacted.
- He urged reporters to move on to other topics, saying the country should focus on something else rather than the Epstein files.