A federal judge in the United States has issued a significant order compelling former President Donald Trump to hand over documents concerning his past interactions with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The directive is part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit that threatens to shed new light on the nature of their relationship.
Judge Orders Disclosure of Key Documents
In a ruling dated December 23, 2025, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan granted a motion to compel Donald Trump's legal team to produce a range of records. The subpoena specifically targets documents, communications, and flight logs related to Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The lawsuit was initiated by a woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, who alleges she was sexually abused by Epstein in the early 1990s. She claims that public comments made by Donald Trump in 2019, in which he praised Epstein as a "terrific guy" and cast doubt on the accusers, were defamatory and caused her significant harm.
The judge's order mandates the Trump legal team to search for and produce any materials mentioning or related to Epstein, Maxwell, or the plaintiff herself. This includes the highly scrutinised flight logs for Epstein's private jets, often referred to as the "Lolita Express," which have long been a subject of public speculation regarding who travelled with the disgraced financier.
The Core of the Defamation Claim
The heart of the legal action rests on statements Donald Trump made to reporters at the White House in July 2019. Following Epstein's arrest on sex trafficking charges, Trump was asked about his prior friendship with the man. He responded by saying, "I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him... He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I've spoken to him in 15 years. He was a great guy."
He went further, casting aspersions on Epstein's accusers, stating, "I do hear that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side, for sure." The plaintiff argues these comments were false, made with reckless disregard for the truth, and portrayed her and other accusers as liars, thereby damaging their reputations.
The case has been slowly progressing through the courts for several years, with this latest ruling representing a major procedural victory for the plaintiff. Judge Kaplan rejected arguments from Trump's lawyers that the document request was overly broad or irrelevant, finding the materials sought could be central to establishing the context and intent behind Trump's 2019 remarks.
Potential Implications and Ongoing Scrutiny
The compelled disclosure of flight logs and communications could have far-reaching implications. While Donald Trump has consistently denied ever visiting Epstein's private island or participating in any wrongdoing, his name has persistently surfaced in connection with Epstein due to their social circles in Palm Beach, Florida, during the 1990s and early 2000s.
This legal development ensures that the association between the former president and the convicted sex offender will remain under intense public and judicial scrutiny well into 2026. The documents, if they exist and are produced, may either corroborate Trump's long-held assertions of a distant and severed relationship or reveal previously unknown details about their contacts.
For the plaintiff, the order is a crucial step towards proving her defamation claim, potentially allowing her legal team to demonstrate that Trump's comments were made with knowledge of or indifference to Epstein's criminal activities. The case continues to underscore the long legal shadow cast by Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, even years after his death in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019.
