Veteran business journalist Charlie Gasparino ignited debate this week after posting an unusually personal message on X in which he stated unequivocally that President Donald Trump had no involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's criminal or inappropriate behavior.
Gasparino, a longtime New York Post columnist and Fox Business contributor, said his own familiarity with Epstein dates back years and gives him a unique perspective.
In his detailed X thread, Gasparino argued that recent efforts by some Republicans — including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — to unseal congressional materials related to Epstein have produced more internal party turmoil than substantive revelations.
He called the issue "an absurd distraction," asserting that neither Trump nor the individuals whose names appear in recently circulated congressional emails displayed any awareness of Epstein's predatory conduct.
"The great internal debate among Republicans isn't over tariffs [or] regulation. … No, it's over the cretinous Epstein and Trump," Gasparino wrote, emphasizing his view that the pair's association ended "decades" before Epstein's first conviction.
According to Gasparino, Epstein's public persona in elite social circles — not just around Palm Beach but also in Manhattan — projected the image of a wealthy eccentric who dated adult women.
Gasparino said those who interacted with Epstein in those years had little insight into the scope of his hidden criminal activities.
The journalist further claimed that, based on the latest batch of emails released to congressional investigators in the past two weeks, "there is strong evidence that when Trump heard about Epstein's dark side, he broke off his relationship.”
Gasparino contrasted Trump's actions with the lengthier institutional ties Epstein maintained with major financial firms like JPMorgan, arguing that Trump "wanted nothing to do with him" long before others distanced themselves.
While the newly surfaced congressional emails have fueled speculation online, lawmakers reviewing the material have not publicly indicated that the documents contain evidence of illegal or unethical conduct by Trump.
According to people familiar with the email review process, the communications primarily show social or philanthropic interactions common within Palm Beach and New York donor circles in the early 2000s, not criminal complicity.
None of the newly reviewed emails examined by congressional committees in the past two weeks, according to multiple members, have suggested ties between Trump and Epstein's sex-trafficking operations.
Gasparino argued that continued focus on Trump-Epstein speculation serves political rather than investigative ends.
"Epstein is being used to destroy the Trump presidency," he wrote, describing what he sees as repeated "dead ends" that circle back only to Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Gasparino's remarks arrive during an increasingly fraught Republican split, aggravated by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's push to unseal more Epstein-related records.
Greene, once one of Trump's most loyal allies, has criticized the president for withdrawing his support for her 2026 reelection.
Trump, on social media, accused her of veering "Far Left"and becoming "a ranting lunatic.”
The Fox Business contributor ended his X post with a plea for Republicans to redirect energy toward economic debates that predate the current feud.
"Time to get back to the efficacy of tariffs before the affordability crisis destroys a political party distracted by garbage," he wrote.
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