US President Donald Trump may appear in the sealed investigation files of the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to testimony from a former employee of the sex offender and pedophile published Monday morning in the New York Times.
Maria Farmer revealed that she had previously testified to the FBI about her former employer's relationship with the man who became president of the United States, following a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that he appears in Epstein's investigation files – and the president's lawsuit in response to those claims.
79% of Americans support releasing the Epstein files, but only 16 members of Congress have sponsored the legislation to do so.
After 7 legislative days, I'll be able to collect signatures to force a vote on my bill to release all the files. Cosponsors: https://t.co/Y9hj5s4PiZ pic.twitter.com/p74pD96x26
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 20, 2025
In summer 1996, Farmer approached law enforcement authorities to complain about Epstein, following a sexual assault she suffered from him and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell. Farmer, who was then in her mid-twenties, also shared with authorities the abuse her younger sister Annie, then a teenager, suffered at Epstein's New Mexico ranch, when Maxwell touched her exposed chest. Farmer described the threats she faced from Epstein after the incident.
Farmer revealed that during her conversations with New York police and later with the FBI, she urged them to examine Epstein's circle extensively, including Donald Trump, two decades before he was elected president. In 2006, she was questioned again by the FBI about Epstein and repeated the same message.
Her account represents one of the clearest indications yet about how Trump may have appeared in the unpublished investigation files in the case.
In interviews last week, Farmer said she has no evidence of criminal activity by Epstein's associates, but she expressed concern about what she saw as his pattern of pursuing teenage girls and young women while forming friendships with prominent figures like Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
Farmer's efforts to draw law enforcement attention to Epstein and his associates indicate how investigation files might contain embarrassing or politically problematic material for the president, even if he was never directly involved and never investigated.
"She's not here for you"
The encounter with Trump, Farmer said, occurred in 1996 when she was preparing to work for Epstein. She told authorities how late one night, Epstein unexpectedly called her to his offices in a luxury Manhattan building, and she arrived wearing short running shorts.
Trump then arrived dressed in a business suit and began walking around near her, as she described in her report to authorities. Farmer said she remembers feeling frightened when Trump stared at her exposed legs. Then Epstein entered the room, and she recalled him telling Trump, "No, no. She's not here for you."
Both men left the room, and Farmer said she heard Trump comment that he thought she was 16 years old. After she met with Trump, Farmer said, she had no other concerning interactions with him and didn't see him behave inappropriately with girls or women.
The White House disputed Farmer's account Friday night and cited Trump's decision to end his friendship with Epstein. "The president was never in his office," Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said, referring to the pedophile. "The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep."
Previously, Farmer said she wondered how law enforcement authorities handled her complaints about Epstein in 1996 and 2006. Among other things, she said she wondered whether they had taken any action regarding her Trump-related concerns. She said she mentioned his name both times because of meetings that appeared close with Epstein and because of that disturbing encounter at the New York office.
Her mother said she remembers hearing about the Trump meeting around the time it occurred. Sister Annie also shared that she remembers Maria's story to the FBI about Epstein's meetings with influential people like Trump and Clinton.
Escaped and barricaded herself
Farmer, an artist, worked for Epstein in 1995 and 1996. Initially, to purchase art in his name, but later to supervise the entry and exit of girls, young women, and celebrities at the entrance to his Upper East Side home.
In 1996, she traveled to Epstein's estate in Ohio, at a compound developed by Leslie Wexner, then-CEO of Victoria's Secret. Epstein and Maxwell also came to the location.
Among other things, Farmer described being asked to massage Epstein's feet, after which he and Maxwell touched her violently until she escaped from the room and barricaded herself in another part of the building. Her artwork included nude figures, and she described how partially nude photos she had of her two younger sisters disappeared from her locked storage box.
Throughout subsequent years, Farmer faced criticism from individuals questioning her credibility. Notably, she wasn't summoned to testify during Maxwell's 2021 trial and conviction for conspiracy with Epstein involving sexual exploitation and abuse of girls.
