Trump's 2006 Call: Did He Know About Epstein's Crimes?

Wed Feb 11 2026 02:48:45 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Former Palm Beach police chief claims Trump knew about Jeffrey Epstein's illegal behavior in a 2006 call, raising new questions about the president's past associations with the financier.

A recently released FBI document reveals a 2006 phone call in which Donald Trump allegedly told the Palm Beach police chief that 'everyone' was aware of Jeffrey Epstein's illegal actions. Trump denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes but suggested he had concerns about Epstein's dealings, including expressing that Ghislaine Maxwell was involved in problematic activities. This revelation comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Trump's relationship with Epstein, who faced serious allegations of sexual abuse before his death.

A former Florida police chief said he received a call from Donald Trump in 2006 in which the now-president told him everyone knows about the disgraced financier's behaviour, according to an FBI document released in the latest batch of Epstein files.

The document is a written record of a 2019 FBI interview with the former Palm Beach police chief, who alleges Trump called him after the department launched an investigation into Epstein and said: Thank goodness you're stopping him, everyone has known he's been doing this.

The officer's name is redacted, but the document identifies the interview subject as the Palm Beach police chief at the time of its Epstein investigation. That was Michael Reiter, who told the Miami Herald that he received the call from Trump.

The president has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has said he did not know about his crimes. The alleged call, however, is likely to raise further questions about what Trump knew and when.

According to the FBI summary of the interview, Reiter said Trump told him in a July 2006 call that he had thrown Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club and people in New York knew he was disgusting.

Reiter also claims Trump told him Ghislaine Maxwell was Epstein's operative, and she is evil and to focus on her. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in luring underage girls for Epstein.

In 2006, Palm Beach police were investigating the disgraced financier for the alleged sexual exploitation of underage girls. The case was later turned over to federal prosecutors, who in 2008 made a controversial plea deal with Epstein that included a non-prosecution agreement that protected him from more serious charges.

A justice department official said: We are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the president contacted law enforcement 20 years ago. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commented on the reported call, emphasizing Trump's stance on Epstein, stating: What President Trump has always said is that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club because Jeffrey Epstein was a creep.