Newsom Posts 1992 Mar‑a‑Lago Footage After Trump Denies Ties to Jeffrey Epstein

California Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged former President Donald Trump on Monday after Trump sought to distance himself from convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump, 79, said his decision to reverse course on releasing the Epstein files stemmed from what he described as concerns that his political opponents had more to hide. “I believe that... some of the people that we mentioned are being looked at very seriously for their relationship to Jeffrey Epstein. But they were with him all the time. I wasn’t. I wasn’t at all,” he said. “What I just don’t want Epstein to do is detract from the great success of the Republican Party.”

Minutes after the clip circulated online, Gov. Newsom, 58, posted a screenshot from NBC News footage showing Trump and Epstein together at a Mar‑a‑Lago party in November 1992. The short segment shows the two men laughing at the event, countering Trump’s claim that he was not close to Epstein.

White House response

When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson reiterated an earlier line of defense, asking critics why media outlets are not focused on other figures allegedly connected to Epstein. Jackson said: “Why isn’t the Daily Beast concerned with their own employee – Michael Wolff – closely corresponding with Jeffrey Epstein?”

Other photos and public displays

Trump has been photographed with Epstein on multiple occasions, including at Mar‑a‑Lago in February 1997 and February 2000, and at two Victoria’s Secret events in New York in April 1997. Some images have since been used in public demonstrations — for example, projections of Trump and Epstein were displayed on the castle where the president stayed during a September visit to the U.K.

Epstein’s own words have been used in these displays as well. A January 2019 email attributed to Epstein that reportedly claimed Trump “knew about the girls” was placed on a Times Square billboard. The billboard, paid for by the anti‑Trump group Home of the Brave, remained on view for two weeks. A spokesperson for the group said Trump and his supporters were “working overtime to overlook the fact that he’s in the Epstein files, was friends with Epstein for decades, and has spent his first year in office trying to make this story go away.”

Background and protests

Epstein told interviewers before his death that he had once been Trump’s “closest friend,” though the two reportedly had a falling‑out in the mid‑2000s. In recent months, satirical statues depicting the pair holding hands have periodically appeared around Washington, D.C.; the U.S. Park Police have removed some of those installations.

Trump urges release of files

On Sunday night, at 9:15 p.m., Trump posted on Truth Social urging House Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files this week, saying the files should be made public because “we have nothing to hide” and arguing the issue was being used as a partisan attack. His post reiterated his earlier framing that calls to release the files were a political tactic by opponents.

Note: This article reports statements and images that have been publicly circulated; some claims (including the January 2019 email) are attributed to sources and have been described as allegations.