Newly released FBI documents show that Donald Trump personally called the Palm Beach police chief in 2006 to discuss Jeffrey Epstein, urging authorities to focus on Ghislaine Maxwell.
The information comes from a summary of an October 2019 FBI interview with Michael Reiter, who served as Palm Beach police chief from 2001 to 2009.
According to the document, Epstein had also ingratiated himself with the department by making substantial donations, which allegedly led to earlier cases against him stalling.
Highlights
- A recently released FBI interview referenced a 2006 phone call between Trump and a Palm Beach police chief.
- Former Chief Michael Reiter described how Epstein gave tens of thousands to the department.
- Reiter said state prosecutors discredited victims, stalling an early case against the financier.
New FBI documents revealed details of a call Donald Trump made to police in 2006 about Jeffrey Epstein
Image credits: Getty/Al Drago
According to the documents, Donald Trump personally called the Palm Beach police chief in 2006 to thank him for investigating Jeffrey Epstein, distancing himself from the disgraced financier.
“Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this,” Trump told the chief during the phone call.
He also urged them to focus on Maxwell, describing her as “evil.”
Image credits: Getty/Davidoff Studios Photography
According to the document, Trump was “one of the very first people to call when people found out” that local authorities were investigating Epstein for s*x with underage girls as young as 14, hired under the guise of providing massages.
During the call, Trump described his own history with Epstein and made clear he wanted no association with him once he became aware of his behavior.
According to Reiter’s account, Trump said he “got the hell out of there” on one occasion when he encountered Epstein while teenagers were present.
The future president also told the police chief that he had “thrown” Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago and that “people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting.”
Although Reiter’s name is redacted in the FBI document, the summary includes specific details that align with publicly known facts about his tenure and role in the Epstein investigation, confirming his identity as the Palm Beach police chief who oversaw the early probe.
Reiter revealed Epstein had ingratiated himself with law enforcement through sizable donations
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Reiter told federal investigators that his first interaction with Epstein came after the financier reported one of his own employees for stealing from him.
Over time, Epstein cultivated relationships with local law enforcement and made several large donations to the department.
Image credits: DOJ
According to the interview summary, Epstein donated $40,000 for the purchase of a machine to review security footage, wrote a $90,000 check, which was never cashed, to buy a fingerprinting machine around the same time his first victim came forward, and gave “more than others” to a police scholarship fund for children.
Image credits: DOJ
When Reiter sought background information about Epstein, he said he was told the financier “supports law enforcement and is an important guy.”
The Palm Beach Police Department began receiving reports about Epstein “[i]n the early 2000’s, maybe 2003,” according to the document.
Reiter said his officers eventually assembled a wide ranging case that included “s**ual battery cases against the co-conspirators.”
Image credits: Getty/Sonia Moskowitz
Reiter recalled that prosecutors dismissed the victims’ credibility, telling police they would point to “their MYSPACE pages” and refute minor details in the probable cause affidavit.
“This case di*d at the state level,” Reiter said.
Ghislaine Maxwell said she would speak freely in exchange for clemency
The FBI interview summary is part of millions of documents released by the Justice Department in connection with Epstein’s case.
Epstein ultimately pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges of soliciting a minor under a controversial non prosecution agreement. He served 13 months in jail, much of it on work release.
Image credits: DOJ
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on federal trafficking charges. He was found lifeless in his Manhattan jail cell the following month while awaiting trial.
Image credits: DOJ
The document surfaced just hours after Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination during a closed door virtual deposition before the House Oversight Committee.
The 64-year-old socialite declined to answer questions about her relationship with Epstein or her alleged role in the trafficking of young women and girls.
Image credits: DOJ
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at a medium security facility in Texas. After the deposition, her attorney said she would speak freely if granted clemency by Trump.
The White House has said no such action is under consideration. Asked about the possibility in July, Trump told reporters, “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider it. I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.”
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