Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 10
Susie Wiles Halted Situation Room Debate Over 1 Discredited Trump-Epstein Claim
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 10

Susie Wiles Halted Situation Room Debate Over 1 Discredited Trump-Epstein Claim

2 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 10

Summary

  • A crisis meeting in the White House Situation Room last August turned to a discredited sexual allegation about Donald Trump after it surfaced near the top of search results in a prototype Justice Department database tied to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
  • JD Vance argued the material should still be released, saying Trump would accept it because doing so could show the administration was going further than necessary; Wiles ended the discussion, saying the president would not be fine with it.
  • Sarah Ransome’s allegation—drawn from a settled civil case and never independently verified—said a trafficked girl told her she had sex with Trump and described a nipple fixation; officials in the room largely viewed it as long discredited.
  • Trump communications director Steven Cheung had previously called Ransome’s claims baseless and fully retracted, while one official told the meeting the accusation was already public and likely to trigger a major reaction despite being untrue.

Insights

As powerful figures testify on Epstein ties, what secrets do the millions of unsealed government documents still hide from the public?