Ex-Palm Beach Police Chief Says Trump Called Him About Epstein in 2006

President Donald Trump reportedly called police about Jeffrey Epstein in 2006, according to a newly-released document in the Epstein files.

The Document: The details stem from an FBI FD-302 form, which is an official document used to summarize interviews with witnesses, victims, or subjects. The FBI interview took place in 2019 with a former police chief of the Palm Beach Police Department (the name was redacted from the document, but reports have since uncovered the officer as Michael Reiter). Reiter claimed that Trump was "one of the very first people to call" when people found out that they were investigating Epstein. Trump, according to Reiter said "Thank goodness you're stopping him [Epstein], everyone has known he's been doing this." Reiter added that Trump told him once that he "got the he** out of" an situation with Epstein once he realized that teenage girls were present. Trump also allegedly told Reiter that Ghislaine Maxwell is "evil and to focus on her."

For Context: The account from Reiter aligns with Trump's assertions that he threw Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago in the mid-2000s after Epstein reportedly "poached" employees of his, including Virginia Giuffre who died in 2025. In 2019, however, Trump asserted that he "had no idea" whether he had any suspicions that Epstein was molesting young women.

The Files: Since the latest and largest release of Epstein files, some details have been unredacted, individuals are expected to testify before Congress, and many are still combing through the millions of documents, including us here at AllSides.

How The Media Covered It: Some outlets on the right like Breitbart (Right bias) and One America News Network (Right) framed the coverage around Trump's previous assertions over not liking Epstein and throwing him out, highlighting how the interview account corroborates this. Breitbart said, "This simple fact defies the president's opponents who have since spread lies and falsehoods about his relationship with Epstein and convicted associate Maxwell." Some outlets on the left like CNN (Lean Left) and The Guardian (Left), conversely, said the interview "undermines" Trump's claims that he lacked knowledge of Epstein's conduct. CNN cited the answer given by Trump in 2019 claiming he had no idea Epstein was molesting young women. The Guardian said Trump's promises while campaigning to release the Epstein files was "a clarion call to conspiracy-minded rightwing supporters," adding that he "then waffled on this promise."

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