Epstein Gave NY Times Journalist Tips About Trump. Why Did They Never Get Reported? [View all]

Exchanges about Trump between a reporter and Epstein raise questions about what the New York Times knew and when.

Donald Trump and financier Jeffrey Epstein attend a Victoria’s Secret event in New York City on April 9, 1997. Photo: Thomas Concordia/Getty Images

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In the emails, Thomas tipped off Epstein about inquiries by other reporters and claimed to have vouched for Epstein, whom he said he called “one hell of a guy.” In one exchange, Thomas coached Epstein on how to repair his reputation.

The relationship was a two-way street. Epstein, who died in a Manhattan federal jail in 2019 awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, was reportedly a valued source for Thomas. In the emails released Wednesday, one of the topics Epstein fed information to Thomas was about Donald Trump’s allegedly lecherous behavior. In the exchanges — through his trademark style of lowercase letters and abundant typos — Epstein alludes to Trump’s predilection for young women.

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Little Came to Light

In total, the exchanges about Trump between Thomas and Epstein amount to a series of tips about the president’s behavior. And these tips came from a known associate of the president, a convicted pedophile. Little of the information given to Thomas, however, ever saw the light of day — not in Thomas’s reporting, not in the New York Times, and not in any other outlets. The details are only now emerging with the release of Thomas’s cozy emails with Epstein.

“It would be useful for readers who have become aware of this to know more from the Times about who knew what, when,” said Margaret Sullivan, a media critic and a former public editor at The New York Times. “I think it’s really important for reporters to have their main constituency in mind, and that is the public.”

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https://theintercept.com/2025/11/14/epstein-new-york-times-trump/