Donald Trump Says He ‘Doesn’t Care’ About Epstein Files Getting Released

Donald Trump says he doesn’t care about the release of Epstein files.

The House Oversight Committee recently released a large amount of documents from the late Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, and the president — who was mentioned multiple times in the files — has since fallen under renewed scrutiny over his relationship with the convicted sexual offender.

On Friday, Nov. 14, Trump, 79, stated on Air Force One that he “doesn’t care” that additional documents may soon see the light of day, as seen in video shared online by the White House.

“You have to go into Epstein’s friends,” continued Trump. The politician, who was once friends with Epstein, then cited Reid Hoffman and Bill Clinton, but not himself.

Trump previously named the LinkedIn co-founder, 58, and the 42nd president, 79, while calling in federal investigators, after House lawmakers released the over 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate earlier in the week.

In a lengthy statement on Truth Social on Nov. 14, the president called the files a “hoax” and seemingly attempted to remove himself from the narrative entirely.

He also accused Democrats of using the emails that mention him to distract from the federal government’s reopening following a historic shutdown, and said he is ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to have the Justice Department investigate Epstein’s relationships with multiple other high-profile individuals and institutions, including Hoffman and Clinton.

Bondi, 59, later confirmed that an investigation is underway.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Among the collection of documents released earlier this week was an alleged February 2017 exchange in which Epstein called Trump “dangerous.”

In a conversation with Treasury Secretary Larry Summers nearly three weeks after Trump’s first inauguration, Epstein told Summers in the alleged email, per ABC News, “Recall ive told you,, — i have met some very bad people ,, none as bad as trump. not one decent cell in his body.. so yes- dangerous.”

When previously reached for comment by PEOPLE, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson echoed Trump’s claims that the revelation of the exchange is an effort by Democrats to distract from the government reopening.

“These emails prove literally nothing,” Jackson said in a statement on Nov. 13. “Liberal outlets are desperately trying to use this Democrat distraction to talk about anything other than Democrats getting utterly defeated by President Trump in the shutdown fight.”

She added, “We won’t be distracted, and the entire Administration will continue fulfilling the promises the President was elected on, including Making America Affordable Again.”

Epstein died by suicide in a jail cell in New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019.

Prior to his death, he pleaded not guilty to one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors in July 2019.

The Epstein-related files contain documents surronding to the late financier. Trump previously campaigned on releasing them prior to his recent backtracking.