Fresh disclosures in the Jeffrey Epstein file are colliding with a long-running argument in Washington: whether federal prosecutors mishandled the case in ways that damaged victims and fueled years of political crossfire.
Rep. Nancy Mace says newly public FBI material strengthens her contention that President Donald Trump acted earlier than many critics acknowledge — and that the Justice Department’s decisions and slow drip of information helped create a vacuum in which, she argues, opponents could “paint the President in a bad light.”
In a post on X, Mace framed the Epstein saga as a government failure with consequences far beyond a single investigation, saying the department’s approach undermined confidence in institutions and compounded harm to survivors. She ended her message with an all-caps rebuke: “SHAME ON THE DOJ.”
Mace’s comments came after the release of an FBI interview summary from 2019 documenting a conversation with a former Palm Beach police chief about events dating to 2006, when local authorities first examined allegations that Epstein sexually exploited minors. The former chief is not named in the memo, but the record describes him as the top official during the department’s Epstein probe; he has been widely identified in news reports as former chief Michael Reiter.
According to the FBI summary, the former chief told agents that Trump called him after hearing Palm Beach police were looking into Epstein. In that account, Trump expressed relief that investigators were involved and remarked that “everyone” knew about Epstein’s behavior. The memo further says Trump told the chief he had thrown Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago, used harsh language to describe him, and urged law enforcement to pay close attention to Ghislaine Maxwell, whom Trump allegedly characterized as integral to Epstein’s activities.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for recruiting underage girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence.
The FBI document also recounts the former chief’s claim that Trump had already pulled away from Epstein after seeing conduct he found disturbing, and that Trump reached out to authorities early once he learned an investigation was underway.
Mar 4, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; U.S. President Donald Trump embraces Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) as he arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump was expected to address Congress on his early achievements of his presidency and his upcoming legislative agenda. Mandatory Credit: Win McNamee-Pool via Imagn Images
Trump allies, including Mace, say those details fit their broader case that Trump cut ties with Epstein well before Epstein’s first arrest and did not try to protect him. They point to Trump’s repeated public insistence that Epstein was removed from Mar-a-Lago and that their association ended years before federal charges.
The Justice Department has said it has not found independent evidence verifying that the alleged 2006 call took place. At a White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the reported conversation “may or may not have happened,” while adding that if it did occur it would align with Trump’s past statements that he distanced himself from Epstein because he viewed him as a “creep.”
With the new FBI memo now part of the public record, the dispute is intensifying again. Supporters of President Trump argue the document points toward an early warning to law enforcement rather than indifference, while Mace says the government’s broader handling of the Epstein matter — and delays in transparency — helped drive competing narratives that continue to roil politics across party lines.
