Epstein files Fox News

Andrea Austria / Media Matters

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After right-wing media spent weeks insisting the Epstein files “exonerate” Trump, new reporting says missing pages allege Trump committed sexual abuse

So far, Fox News has ignored the new reporting on its airwaves

Written by Gideon Taaffe & Reed McMaster

Research contributions from Tyler Monroe & Rob Savillo

Published

Fox News and other right-wing media figures rushed to the defense of President Donald Trump after the Department of Justice last month released additional documents pertaining to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, insisting the president was “totally exonerated” and that reporters “cannot get Trump anywhere near” Epstein. 

However, new reporting shows multiple pages missing from the release, including notes from an interview with one woman who reported that Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor. 

So far, Fox News has ignored this new reporting from NPR, according to a Media Matters review of Fox’s programming from when the news broke through 1 p.m. ET on February 25.

The January 30 document release featured millions of pages, but many were heavily redacted and they did not include everything the department had on Epstein. It also followed months of right-wing media infighting over the president’s handling of the Epstein documents, with many angered by the lack of transparency. 

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  • The Department of Justice released millions of files related to Jeffery Epstein after a congressional battle and right-wing media infighting

    • Right-wing media have been at odds over Trump’s handling of Epstein. A Newsmax host attacked Fox News for not talking about Epstein, Daily Wire Ben Shapiro has attacked War Room host Steve Bannon for working with Epstein, and Bannon has attacked the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal over its reporting on Trump and Epstein. [Media Matters, 7/7/25, 7/18/25, 11/18/25, 7/23/25]
    • Fox News largely has backed the president on his handling of the Epstein files by limiting discussion of the story. Fox News host Jesse Watters told viewers to not “take the bait” on the Epstein story, and fellow Fox host Will Cain said the files are “something that apparently not very many people are interested in.” In November, Fox News barely covered emails from Epstein about Trump, and a July Media Matters study found Fox covered Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad for 85 minutes while mentioning Epstein for just 3 minutes. [Media Matters, 10/1/25, 11/12/25, 7/31/25]
    • Amid backlash to the lack of information released, Congress passed a law in November that compelled the Department of Justice to release millions of pages related to Epstein. The DOJ finally released a batch of files at the end of January, with “extensive redactions.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ is withholding files that depict violence as well as those that involve attorney-client privilege. [NPR, 1/30/26]

  • Trump has claimed the Epstein files “exonerated” him of wrongdoing, but new reporting suggests the DOJ withheld files that allege Trump sexually assaulted a minor

    • Trump has claimed he has been “100% exonerated” by the latest release of the Epstein files. Following the DOJ document dump, he posted to Truth Social, “AG Pam Bondi, under intense fire from the Trump Deranged Radical Left Lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday’s Hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein, where the one thing that has been proven conclusively, much to their chagrin, was that President Donald J. Trump has been 100% exonerated of their ridiculous Russia, Russia, Russia type charges.” [MSNOW, 2/13/26]
    • An NPR investigation found the DOJ withheld files that include “50 pages of FBI interviews, as well as notes from conversations with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago when she was a minor.” Following a report by independent journalist Roger Sollenberger, NPR noted: “The woman who directly named Trump in her abuse allegation claimed that around 1983, when she was around 13 years old, Epstein introduced her to Trump ‘who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis  which she subsequently bit. In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out.’” NPR also found unreleased files that involve a “key witness for the prosecution in the criminal trial of Epstein's co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.” Outlets including CNN and The New York Times later corroborated NPR's investigation. [The Memo, 2/15/25; NPR, 2/24/26; CNN, 2/24/26; The New York Times, 2/25/26]

  • Right-wing media figures spent weeks after the January 30 document release claiming the Epstein files “exonerated Donald Trump"

    • Fox News host Laura Ingraham claimed there is “zero criminal wrongdoing alleged against President Trump or anyone in his inner circle.” Ingraham further defended Trump, saying, “If anything, the Epstein files, by the way, tarnished the reputations of Trump foes and political adversaries, from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Bill Gates.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 2/11/26]
    • Fox News contributor Hugh Hewitt claimed the documents “exonerated Donald Trump.” He added, “It's absolutely, completely exonerated Donald Trump. He got nothing to do with the misdeeds of Jeffery Epstein. But a lot of people who were palsy-walsy with Jeffrey Epstein, even though they weren't involved with the horrific crimes that he committed, they’re too close for comfort.” [Fox News, America Reports, 2/19/26]
    • Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher reacted to a reporter asking Trump about Epstein by saying, “They’re still asking about something that they just cannot -- they cannot get Trump anywhere near it. It just kills them.” Fox contributor Kaylee McGhee White responded, “I think that Trump is understandably frustrated with these sort of gotcha questions that are at best a distraction from the actual issues that Americans are facing on a daily basis.” [Fox News, Fox News @ Night, 2/3/26]
    • Podcaster Benny Johnson insisted that an email Epstein sent to himself saying “Trump never got a massage” showed Trump was innocent. He said, “In the same email exchange, Jeffrey Epstein says Trump's innocent. I got nothing on Trump. Julian Assange has said the same thing. If there was dirt on Trump, they would have found it. They would have released it. In fact, if anything, President Trump is here in Jeffrey Epstein's own hand saying he never touched the girls.” [YouTube, The Benny Show, 2/2/26; BBC, 11/14/25]
    • During an appearance on The Benny Show, Infowars host Alex Jones claimed Trump is “totally innocent.” Jones added that Trump must lead the country on a crusade against the “satanic pedophiles.” [YouTube, The Benny Show, 2/4/26]
    • SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly claimed, “One thing’s clear: President Trump says he's been exonerated and that it’s the Clintons who have been wrapped up further in this scandal – and he's not wrong.” Kelly also called the reaction to the Epstein files “Salem witch hunty.” [SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, 2/18/26]
    • Newsmax host Carl Higbie said, “If I had seen a sliver of evidence that Trump was implicated in any wrongdoing, I would be the first one to call him out, but I haven't seen that,” adding, “In fact, I have seen the opposite.” He continued, “I keep saying, you know that if Democrats had any evidence whatsoever that Trump did anything wrong, they would have brought it all out in 2016. But they don't. This is all theater.” [Newsmax, Carl Higbie Frontline, 2/10/26]
    • Newsmax host Rob Finnerty claimed, “Donald Trump has been totally exonerated by the Epstein files.” Finnerty: “We learned once again that Donald Trump had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Is he in the files? Is his name in the files? Yes, it appears in the files. But if there was anything in there that could hurt Donald Trump politically or legally in any way, guess what? We'd know about it by now. Donald Trump has been totally exonerated by the Epstein files. Donald Trump has been exonerated, while Democrats keep getting embarrassed.” [Newsmax, Finnerty, 2/20/26]
    • Right-wing journalist Liz Wheeler wrote that “Trump is totally exonerated” by the Epstein document release. Wheeler also wrote, “Not a whiff of wrongdoing in 3M documents.” Right-wing commentator Brett Cooper reacted to Wheeler’s post on her show, saying, Wheeler “summed up a lot of this really well, especially regarding Trump.” [YouTube, The Brett Cooper Show, 2/7/26]