Redacted Epstein files undercut crucial Trump claim about relationship: lawmaker

One Democratic lawmaker in Congress made an eye-popping revelation about the Jeffrey Epstein files on Monday, one that appears to undercut a key claim from President Donald Trump.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said in a gaggle with reporters on Monday that there are some troubling redactions in the Epstein files that skew the relationship between Trump and the convicted sex offender. He pointed to one redaction in particular about Epstein's membership at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. Trump claimed he kicked Epstein out of the club after he learned Epstein was a convicted sex criminal, but some of the materials Raskin reviewed contradict that claim, he said.

"Epstein's lawyer quoted Trump as saying that Jeffrey Epstein was not a member of his club at Mar-a-Lago, but he was a guest at Mar-a-Lago, and he was never asked to leave," Raskin said. "And that was redacted for some indeterminate, inscrutable reason. I know it seems to be at odds with some things President Trump has been saying recently."

Raskin's comments happened at a time when Congressional lawmakers held a closed-door deposition with Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, and her lawyer. During the deposition, Maxwell said she would testify about Epstein after receiving clemency from Trump. Her lawyers invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during the deposition as well.