Donald Trump’s name reported to feature in DoJ files about Jeffrey Epstein

Donald Trump faced a fresh crisis on Wednesday as it was reported that his name appears in US justice department files about Jeffrey Epstein and the Congress subpoenaed testimony from the sex offender’s partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell.

The US president’s spokesman denied an account in the Wall Street Journal newspaper that Trump was told in May by the attorney general, Pam Bondi, that he is named in the now notorious Epstein files.

Citing senior administration officials, the Journal said Trump was also informed that many other high-profile figures were named and the department did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation.

The White House sought to downplay the relationship between Trump and Epstein. Spokesperson Steven Cheung said in an emailed statement: “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”

Related: New photos and videos highlight close ties between Epstein and Trump

Trump filed a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, last week over an article about an alleged sexually suggestive letter bearing Trump’s name that was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s birthday. The president has denied writing the letter and has since sued the Journal.

The White House subsequently banned one of the Journal’s reporters from Air Force One for an upcoming trip to Scotland.

The justice department concluded earlier this month that there was not a basis to continue the Epstein investigation, triggering a fierce backlash among Trump’s support base over what they have long seen as a cover-up of Epstein’s crimes and high-level connections.

It has also fuelled speculation about Trump’s 15-year friendship with Epstein. In June Elon Musk, a billionaire friend-turned-foe of the president, tweeted that Trump is “in the Epstein files”.

The Journal reported on Wednesday: “When justice department officials reviewed what attorney general Pam Bondi called a ‘truckload’ of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year, they discovered that Donald Trump’s name appeared multiple times.”

Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, said in a statement: “Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts. As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.”

This came shortly after a federal judge in south Florida denied a justice department request to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, the first ruling in a series of attempts by Trump’s administration to release more information on the case.

The request stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents. US district judge Robin Rosenberg found that the justice department’s request in Florida did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret.

The justice department has pending requests to unseal transcripts in a Manhattan federal court related to later indictments brought against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

In 2008 Epstein cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution.

The wealthy financier later was arrested in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. His former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was charged with helping him abuse teenage girls.

Related: US judge rejects Trump administration’s bid to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City about a month after he was arrested. Investigators concluded he killed himself. Maxwell later was convicted at trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The justice department has asked lawyers for Maxwell if she would be willing to speak with prosecutors, and Blanche said on Tuesday he expected to meet with her in the coming days.

Democrats and about a dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives are also pressing for answers. On Wednesday the powerful House oversight committee subpoenaed Maxwell for a deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on 11 August.

The committee chair, James Comer, wrote in a subpoena cover letter to Maxwell: “While the Justice Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to your and Mr Epstein’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of you and Mr Epstein.

“In particular, the Committee seeks your testimony to inform the consideration of potential legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations.”