Musk reignites conspiracy theory with Trump-Epstein claim

With one tweet linking Donald Trump with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Elon Musk reignites a long-running conspiracy theory beloved of the US president's far-right supporters.

The tech billionaire who exited his role as a top White House advisor just last week alleged Thursday that the Republican leader is featured in secret government files on rich and powerful former Epstein associates.

The Trump administration has acknowledged it is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, videos and investigative material that his "MAGA" movement says will unmask public figures complicit in Epstein's crimes.

"Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files," Musk posted on his social media platform, X, as a growing feud with the president boiled over into a vicious public spat.

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"That is the real reason they have not been made public."

Supporters on the conspiratorial end of Trump's base allege that Epstein's associates had their roles in his crimes covered up by government officials and others.

They point the finger at Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, however, not at Trump himself, and no official source has ever confirmed that the president appears in any of the material.

Musk did not reveal which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Thursday called Musk's behaviour "an unfortunate episode" adding the Tesla tycoon is "unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted."

But the allegation prompted fresh demands for a release of the material -- this time from Democrats keen on turning a MAGA conspiracy theory back on its proponents.

Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking.

Trump has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein sex trafficked underage girls.

The president said ahead of his election last year that he would have "no problem" releasing files related to Epstein.

The administration has made public over 63,000 pages tied to the JFK assassination, but Trump has not fully followed through on the Epstein files pledge.

'Terrific guy'

PolitiFact investigated Trump's denials and concluded that the president had flown on Epstein's jet at least seven times, and noted that the pair attended the same parties in the 1990s.

But it also said there was no evidence that Trump visited Epstein's island.

"Terrific guy," Trump, who was Epstein's neighbour in both Florida and New York, said in an early 2000s profile of Epstein.

"He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

One of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre -- who died by suicide in April, according to her family -- filed a lawsuit saying he had flown her to sexual encounters with royals, politicians and others when she was underage.

Thousands of pages of records from the case were released in 2019, and more in 2024, but they offered scant evidence of wrongdoing by famous figures.

Lawmakers in the opposition Democrats jumped on Musk's allegation to renew their calls for the release of more detailed files.

"I called for the full release of the Epstein Files a month ago because of my suspicion that (Attorney General Pam Bondi) was concealing the files to protect Donald Trump," New York congressman Dan Goldman posted on X.

"Now my suspicion has been confirmed."

His fellow House Democrat Ted Lieu of California said Musk's accusation had confirmed his own belief that Trump is "all over the Epstein files."

"I urge the Department of Justice to release all the Epstein files. What is the Trump Administration hiding?" he said.

Tim Miller, a former Republican National Committee spokesman turned fierce Trump critic, echoed the call.

"The American people deserve to know if our president is a pedophile," he posted on X.