Analysis: Epstein files are dangerous terrain for Trump's truth-teller reputation

 By David Blevins, US correspondent, in Washington DC

The newly released files have dragged Donald Trump's name back into one of the darkest scandals of modern American life.

Emails from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, released by a Congressional Committee, don't allege any criminal activity by the president.

But the Democrats say they raise fresh questions about what he knew about the paedophile and when he knew it.

The key emails concerning Trump

The key detail comes from two Epstein emails, one sent to his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and another to author Michael Wolff.

In 2011, he wrote to Maxwell:

i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump.. [REDACTED NAME] spent hours at my house with him,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75% there

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Democrats had redacted the name because the victim in question was Virginia Guiffre, who never accused the president of wrongdoing.

In a 2019 exchange with Wolff, Epstein wrote:

[REDACTED NAME] mara lago. [REDACTED] . trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. . of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop

Those words are ambiguous, and we don't know the context in which they were written. But earlier this year, Trump said he had fallen out with Jeffrey Epstein after he"stole" young women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and it could be a reference to that dispute.

Can Trump again turn scandal into proof of persecution?

For years, Trump promised to declassify all Epstein-related files - a pledge positioning him as a truth-teller exposing elite corruption.

Now that others are releasing those materials first, the image that helped return him to the White House takes a hit.

Instead of leading the charge, he's reacting to it. Among his base, there are many who remain convinced of an Epstein-related cover-up.

Legally, there is nothing new here pointing to liability, but reputationally, this is dangerous terrain for the president.

The mention of a"victim" spending hours with him at Epstein's home, without clear context, invites headlines and speculation that could linger for months.

But he has weathered much worse - his survival often relies on turning scandal into proof of persecution.

That explains why the White House is doubling down on its claim that Democrats are releasing selective documents to"liberal media" to smear Donald Trump.