Donald Trump personally phoned the Palm Beach police chief in 2006 to thank him for investigating Jeffrey Epstein, according to a newly released FBI document. During the call, Trump reportedly urged the chief to "focus on" Epstein's "evil" accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
A summary of an October 2019 interview with Michael Reiter — who was Palm Beach's police chief from 2001 to 2009 — says Trump was "one of the very first people to call" once word spread that authorities were investigating Epstein. At the time, Epstein was under investigation for allegedly paying girls as young as 14 to give him massages. The revelations are likely to bring some relief to the President.
Not Supporting Epstein
Trump recalled telling Reiter, "Thank goodness you're stopping him, everyone has known he's been doing this," and said he once "got the hell out of there" when he found himself around Epstein while teenagers were present, according to the interview summary.
The document, first reported by the Miami Herald, also notes that Trump told Reiter he had "threw" Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago and said that "people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting."
Trump also described Maxwell as "Epstein's operative," telling the police chief that "she is evil" and urging him to focus on her.
Although Reiter's name is blacked out in the interview summary, the details line up with what is publicly known about his involvement in the Epstein investigation.
Reiter said he first met Epstein after the financier contacted police to report one of his employees for theft. He recalled that Epstein later donated $40,000 to the department to help buy equipment for reviewing security footage.
Around the time the first victim came forward, Epstein also wrote a $90,000 check—never cashed—to purchase a fingerprinting machine. In addition, Reiter said Epstein contributed generously to a police scholarship fund for children, giving "more than others."
When Reiter began asking questions about Epstein, he said he was told that the financier "supports law enforcement and is an important guy."
The Palm Beach Police Department started receiving complaints about Epstein in the early 2000s, possibly as early as 2003. Reiter said his officers eventually built a wide-ranging case against him, which included "sexual battery cases against the co-conspirators," according to the interview summary.
Dismissed Case Despite Trump's Warning
Despite that work, Reiter recalled that state prosecutors dismissed the case. Reiter recalled the prosecutors "said the victims were not credible and would show their MYSPACE pages and such. They would refute minute details in the probable cause affidavit ... This case died at the state level."
The FBI interview summary with Reiter is part of the millions of documents released by the Justice Department related to Epstein's case. Epstein later pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges of soliciting a minor for sex under a controversial non-prosecution agreement, serving 13 months in jail, much of it on work release.
Epstein was arrested by the FBI in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges but was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell the next month while awaiting trial.
The document surfaced just hours after Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a closed-door virtual deposition before the House Oversight Committee. The 64-year-old, UK-born socialite refused to answer questions about her relationship with Epstein or her alleged role in trafficking young women and girls.
After the testimony, Maxwell's attorney said she would be willing to speak openly if she were granted clemency by Trump. The White House has said no such move is being considered.
