On November 12, Democrats released several emails suggesting that President Trump might have been aware of the misconduct of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and may have spent time with one of Epstein’s victims.
During the press briefing at the White House shortly after the emails were made public, a reporter asked:
“Did President Trump ever stay at Jeffrey Epstein’s residence to spend time with one of his victims?”
Leavitt responded,
“The newly released emails prove nothing—except that President Trump did nothing wrong. As the President has previously stated, he and Epstein lived in the same town, Palm Beach. Epstein was once a member at Mar-a-Lago until President Trump banned him because he was a sick and abusive man.”
When another reporter requested that the White House release all documents related to Epstein to end years of speculation about Trump’s past association with him, Leavitt replied:
“This administration has been more transparent than anyone else regarding the Epstein case.”
She explained that the Department of Justice has already released thousands of pages of documents, and the White House has been fully cooperating with the House Oversight Committee.
“That’s why you’re seeing these newly released emails,” Leavitt added.
She further argued that the renewed focus on Epstein was politically motivated:
“This is a fabricated narrative pushed by political opponents who don’t care about the victims—they’re exploiting this case to attack President Trump. Nothing in Washington happens by coincidence. The timing of this email leak, right before the government reopens, is no accident.”
According to Leavitt, the move was designed to distract the media and public, forcing the White House to respond to questions about Epstein instead of focusing on restoring government operations after the shutdown.
When asked about a recent meeting between the White House and Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who supports full disclosure of Epstein-related records, Leavitt countered:
“Isn’t the fact that we’re willing to meet with any member of Congress on this issue the clearest sign of our transparency?”
Later, when a reporter shifted the discussion to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Leavitt smiled and said:
“Thank you—finally, someone’s asking about that.”
Her poised and confident handling of the press conference has been praised by international media as a demonstration of her crisis management skills and ability to steer the narrative under pressure.