Police Chief Said Trump Called Him About Epstein in 2006
President Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Newly released Justice Department records indicate that when Palm Beach detectives began investigating Jeffrey Epstein, one of the first calls to the police chief came from Donald Trump, according to accounts documented years later by federal investigators.
Then–Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter told the FBI in a 2019 interview that Trump had contacted him in 2006 after learning about the investigation. According to an FBI memo cited by The New York Times, Reiter recalled Trump saying, “Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this.” Reiter also said Trump described Epstein as “disgusting” in New York circles and urged investigators to scrutinize Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, telling him “she is evil and to focus on her.”
Reiter told investigators that Trump also described a time he had been around Epstein when teenagers were present and said he “got the hell out of there.” The FBI interview with Reiter took place two months after Epstein was found dead in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The account adds complexity to Trump’s public statements over the years about his knowledge of Epstein and his relationship with both Epstein and Maxwell. When asked by reporters in July 2019 whether he had suspected Epstein was abusing underage girls, Trump said, “No, I had no idea.” He has also said he removed Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for inappropriate behavior and for allegedly recruiting staff, and has described Epstein as having “stolen” young women who worked there.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said this week that other documents from the same group of files, including notes from Epstein’s lawyers, quote Trump as saying Epstein had been a guest at Mar-a-Lago and “had never been asked to leave.” In contrast, Reiter’s account to the FBI said Trump told him he had ejected Epstein from the club.
Trump’s past social ties to Epstein have drawn political attention for years, including a 2002 comment to New York magazine calling Epstein a “terrific guy” who liked “beautiful women … on the younger side,” as well as photos and reports showing the two men together at events over many years. House Speaker Mike Johnson previously said Trump had “assisted” the original Palm Beach investigation, at one point using the word “informant” before later clarifying his remarks.
Reiter told the Miami Herald that the call from Trump occurred in July 2006. When asked about Reiter’s statements, the White House referred questions to the Justice Department. An FBI official told the Herald, “We are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the President contacted law enforcement 20 years ago.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “This call, if it did happen, corroborates exactly what President Trump has said from the beginning.”
In his 2019 interview, Reiter also described frustrations with the handling of the case by then–state attorney Barry Krischer, who declined to pursue charges at the time. Reiter said that after the case was transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami in 2007, Epstein hired private investigators who followed Palm Beach officers working on the case and searched through their trash in an effort to find material that could discredit them.
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