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| - Rumors circulated online in November 2025 that an uncovered email exchange between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell showed Epstein described U.S. President Donald Trump as the "dog that hasn't barked" and said the president "spent hours" at Epstein's home with a sex-trafficking victim.
The rumor spread on social media following the announcement that the Epstein estate had released more than 20,000 documents to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Users on social media platforms such as Facebook (archived), X (archived) and Reddit circulated the claim, along with purported screenshots of the email in question. The circulation of the rumor led to many Snopes readers reaching out to verify the authenticity of the email.
WOW! Trump is guilty! He's sick!
"I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him… he has never once been mentioned." - Jeffrey Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell
"I have been thinking about that ... " Maxwell replied. pic.twitter.com/pqu7NNomkn— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) November 12, 2025
The email exchange between Epstein and Maxwell calling Trump the "dog that hasn't barked" and claiming he spent hours alone with a victim was authentic.
The exchange occurred on April 2, 2011, according to the documents released Nov. 12, 2025, by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The email, along with thousands of other documents from the Epstein estate, can be viewed in a Google folder provided by the committee in its news release or read below.
(House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)
The full email exchange read:
EPSTEIN: i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump.. virignia spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 15% there
MAXWELL: I have been thinking about that…
"Virignia" referred to Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of trafficking her for sex with Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men. The initial release of the documents had Giuffre's name redacted, but Republicans on the committee later named her. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025.
Epstein killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, while Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein.
The email is one of many in the document drop that mentioned Trump and suggested the president had knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Snopes via email that Democrats "selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump."
Leavitt further claimed Giuffre "repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and 'couldn't have been friendlier' to her in their limited interactions" and that the "stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump's historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again."
Trump himself responded to the release of the documents on Truth Social, echoing Leavitt's assessment that it was a distraction.
"The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap," he wrote.
According to the Oversight Committee, the Epstein estate released 23,000 documents currently under review.
Ranking Democratic member Robert Garcia said in a news release:
The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President. The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately. The Oversight Committee will continue pushing for answers and will not stop until we get justice for the victims.
It appeared Democrats on the committee released three emails that indicated Trump's purported knowledge of Epstein's crimes, which was quickly followed by Republican members of the committee releasing the 20,000-plus documents.
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