(WPEC) -- President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he appears in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files because Epstein was "all over Palm Beach."
During a press conference announcing the U.S.'s plans to build a new class of battleship for the naval fleet, President Trump answered a reporter's question on the files, saying he had interacted with Epstein at "the hottest place in Florida," the Mar-a-Lago club, but insisted he had previously barred Epstein from the property.
So they give you their photos of me too. Everybody was friendly with this guy, either friendly or not friendly, but they, you know, he was around, he was all over Palm Beach and other places.
He added that many of the individuals captured in the photos "innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago" and are "highly respected bankers and lawyers," emphasizing that his own inclusion in the files was not indicative of wrongdoing.
The comments came as the Justice Department published hundreds of thousands of files with heavy redactions on Friday, including court records, flight logs, Epstein's client book, and thousands of photos, some never publicly released. Images include Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell with figures such as former President Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Mick Jagger.
Commenting on Former U.S. President Bill Clinton's appearance in the files, the President said:
"I've always gotten along with Bill Clinton He's been nice to me. I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans, are asking for."
The release follows the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed by Trump, which mandated that all records be disclosed by December 19. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that while hundreds of thousands of documents were made public, more releases are expected over the next few weeks.