Tucker Carlson told Vanity Fair’s Chris Whipple that President Donald Trump is “directly” responsible for covering up the Epstein files. Carlson described private conversations with Trump that took place before the two had a falling out. The remarks appeared in a lengthy piece about Vice President JD Vance that was published on Wednesday.
Carlson said he told Trump from the start that he did not understand why any of the material would stay secret. He said Trump gave him a bunch of different answers. Carlson said those explanations did not convince him that the files should have been withheld. “I don’t feel any need to cover for Epstein. So I said, ‘You shouldn’t either.’ In the end, it came from Trump directly.”
Whipple asked Carlson what exactly came “directly” from Trump. Carlson replied, “The order to cover it up came from Trump. I asked him why. And he gave me this long, very emotional explanation that this was all a plot against him, like Russiagate.”
White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said Trump has been totally exonerated on Epstein matters
According to Mediaite, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis issued a statement pushing back on Carlson’s account. She said Trump has been totally “exonerated” in connection with his former friend Jeffrey Epstein.
The statement reads: “Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein. And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.” The administration’s defense comes amid other high-profile claims, such as when JD Vance admitted the Trump administration messed up with Epstein files while discussing Israel and Iran.
Carlson had been a staunch supporter of Trump. That stance changed after the Epstein files were released following a congressional vote and after strikes on Iran. The handling of the Epstein files has drawn criticism from various quarters, such as when Nancy Mace pushed for transparency before Trump endorsed someone else. Carlson then became one of Trump’s most vocal critics on the right. He and others objected to how the files were handled and to the heavy redactions in the released documents.
Epstein was a registered sex offender facing sex trafficking charges when he died of an apparent suicide in 2019. His longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving 20 years for sex trafficking.
The Department of Justice said she carried out that conduct in coordination with Epstein. Victims have also made statements alleging a broader conspiracy, and critics have accused the administration of covering up prominent figures Epstein may have been sex trafficking for.
Trump has repeatedly called those theories a “hoax.” “This is a Democrat hoax that never ends! You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave him everything, over and over again, more and more, and nobody’s ever satisfied,” he said earlier this month.
Published: Sep 17, 2026 06:45 am