Michael Wolff, the bestselling author known for his reporting on Donald Trump, has revealed he possesses “hours and hours and hours” of recorded conversations with the late Jeffrey Epstein—tapes that he claims detail Epstein’s deep, complicated friendship with Trump. Yet despite the explosive potential of the material, Wolff says no media outlet has been willing to touch it.
“I have had discussion after discussion after discussion with media outlets about these tapes,” Wolff said on The Court of History podcast, hosted by Sidney Blumenthal and historian Sean Wilentz. “And it always comes to, you know, ‘Life is too short and this is too hot to handle.’ And these are … a list of major media organizations.”
The conversation comes amid renewed controversy over Trump’s ties to Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently sparked outrage among Trump supporters when she denied the existence of a so-called Epstein “client list,” contradicting her earlier claim that such a list was on her desk, as told to The Wall Street Journal.
Prominent Trump allies, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, have long claimed the files would expose Democrats. But Trump’s own long association with Epstein casts a shadow that complicates these narratives. Critics point to Trump’s latest outburst as revealing potential fear.
“I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump raged Saturday.
He went on to suggest the Epstein story was being weaponized by political enemies: “Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan … and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration?”
Wolff, who interviewed Epstein for past books on Trump, said the financier described Trump as “charming” but also claimed he “loved to f— the wives of his best friends,” and that Trump had “no scruples.” Epstein also said, “I was Donald’s closest friend.”
Despite sharing a snippet of the tapes with The Daily Beast last year, Wolff said he’s yet to secure a publishing deal. “I can’t believe that people would not want it told, even from a commercial perspective,” he said. “Maybe now, it feels like something is changing.”
Wolff remains convinced: “Trump and Epstein’s long friendship is a central story of our time.”