Musk Teases Trump About Epstein Documents—Here’s His Take

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Perhaps prophetically, Elon Musk alleged President Donald Trump was “in the Epstein files” back on June 7—not long after Attorney General Pam Bondi gave that same news to Trump, according to a blockbuster report in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday—and while the world’s richest person deleted his initial X post with that allegation, he’s continued to press Trump on the issue since.

Musk alleged Trump was in the files in a since-deleted tweet from June. (Photo by Kevin … More Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

On Wednesday—before the report of Bondi’s meeting with Trump—Musk questioned why a judge would refuse a Trump request to unseal grand jury testimony from Jeffrey Epstein’s indictment, responding to the news with a simple “why?” that prompted many of his followers to suggest it was to protect Trump.

Musk also reacted Tuesday to the news of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., shutting down a House voting session before Democrats could again force a vote on the release of the Epstein files, saying there is “only one reason” to avoid the vote, likely insinuating Trump’s alleged appearance in the files.

The tech billionaire tweeted several times in mid-July about the files, asking X’s AI chatbot, Grok, various questions about Epstein and potential co-conspirators of the late sex offender.

On July 16, he called the Trump administration’s actions around the files a “cover up (obviously),” writing in a separate post, “many powerful people want that list suppressed.”

Musk also targeted the administration this month through a meme, pointing out its conflicting information about the existence of an “Epstein list” after the Justice Department claimed Epstein did not have a list of clients—despite Attorney General Pam Bondi telling Fox News months earlier she had a list “on her desk.”

Musk’s continued criticism of Trump comes amid reports linking the president to Epstein, including another from The Wall Street Journal alleging he had sent Epstein a “bawdy” birthday message in 2003.

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Why Did Musk Accuse Trump Of Being In The Epstein Files?

It was during their very public fallout over Trump’s spending bill. Musk had called the bill a “disgusting abomination” of legislation, and in response, Trump threatened to pull government subsidies and contracts provided to Musk’s many companies. Less than an hour later, Musk accused the government of not releasing the full Epstein files because Trump was allegedly implicated in them. Musk deleted the tweet days later, taking a reconciliatory tone with Trump for a few weeks, though disputes between them sparked once again at the start of July (see a timeline of their feud here).

Who Else Has Musk Implicated In The Epstein Files?

Trump strategist and convicted felon Steve Bannon. Bannon said in July he is “totally and completely focused on” Musk’s destruction, prompting Musk to accuse him of being in the Epstein files, and suggest that he should go back to prison after having served a four-month sentence last year. Bannon suggested Musk should be deported.

Tangent

The Wall Street Journal report alleging Trump was informed of his name being in the Epstein files noted the president was also told the files contained what senior officials believed to be unverified hearsay about people including Trump. The briefing with the president did not focus on the appearance of his name in the files, which does not explicitly mean he committed any wrongdoing. Officials described the briefing to the Journal as routine.

Key Background

Trump, who was friends with Epstein before the late financier’s first arrest, said last year he would possibly declassify the Epstein files in an interview with Fox News. But by this month, Trump was telling supporters to “not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.” Trump was shielding Bondi from a wave of backlash over her claim she had the Epstein client list on her desk, while she faced immense blowback over a DOJ memo announcing no further information in the Epstein investigation would be released. Johnson, who has called for “transparency” around the files, blocked Democrats from forcing the vote Tuesday and has said he will shut down further votes next week. However, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., have pushed a bipartisan discharge petition that could force a floor vote when the House returns from recess.