Former Police Chief Says Trump Acknowledged Epstein’s Conduct in 2006 Call, FBI Record Shows
February 11, 2026: A former Florida police chief has claimed that Donald Trump acknowledged widespread awareness of Jeffrey Epstein’s conduct during a phone call in 2006, according to an FBI interview record made public in the latest release of documents related to the Epstein investigation.
The claim appears in a summary of a 2019 FBI interview with the former Palm Beach police chief, conducted as part of a broader federal review of the Epstein case.
In the document, the former officer stated that Trump contacted him shortly after local police began investigating Epstein for the alleged sexual exploitation of underage girls.
According to the interview record, Trump allegedly told the police chief: “Thank goodness you’re stopping him—everyone has known he’s been doing this.” The officer further claimed that Trump said Epstein had been expelled from his Mar-a-Lago club and that people in New York were aware of Epstein’s behavior.
Although the FBI document redacts the officer’s name, it identifies him as the Palm Beach police chief during the Epstein investigation. That role was held at the time by Michael Reiter, who later confirmed to US media that he received the call from Trump.
Trump has repeatedly denied having prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has said he had no involvement in Epstein’s illegal activities.
In 2019, following Epstein’s arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges, Trump told reporters that he had no suspicions about Epstein and had not spoken to him in years.
However, the FBI summary quotes Reiter as saying Trump also described Ghislaine Maxwell as Epstein’s “operative” and urged investigators to focus on her. Maxwell was later convicted in 2021 for recruiting underage girls for Epstein and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The former police chief further claimed that Trump told him he had been present when Epstein was around teenage girls but left the situation immediately. The document also notes that Trump was among the first individuals to contact local police after learning of the investigation.
Palm Beach police began investigating Epstein in 2006 before the case was transferred to federal prosecutors. In 2008, Epstein entered into a controversial plea agreement that shielded him from federal prosecution, a deal that later drew widespread criticism.
Responding to the newly released document, a US Justice Department official told the BBC that authorities were not aware of any corroborating evidence confirming such a call took place.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing that the reported call “may or may not have happened,” adding that Trump has consistently stated he removed Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because he found his behavior unacceptable.
Trump and Epstein were photographed together in social settings during the 1990s, though Trump has said their relationship ended around 2004 following a dispute involving staff at his Florida resort.
The renewed attention comes as Maxwell recently appeared virtually before the US House Oversight Committee, where she declined to answer questions and invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Her lawyer later said she would be willing to testify if granted clemency, an idea Trump has said he has not considered.
The FBI document has added new scrutiny to longstanding questions about who knew what about Epstein’s activities—and when—though no new allegations of criminal wrongdoing against Trump have been made by investigators.
