A December 2016 email released as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s unprecedented disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein files reveals the convicted sex offender telling an associate he was spending Christmas Day in Palm Beach with “all the Trump boys,” a message that has ignited new questions about the timing and scope of his reported connections with powerful figures.
The brief message, unearthed by media outlets from the more than 3.5 million pages made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, was sent to technology adviser Boris Nikolic, a former associate of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, on December 25, 2016. In it, Epstein wrote: “im in palm with all the trump boys. . = fun.”
Nikolic’s reply came early the next morning: “Have fun!!”
The terse exchange offers few specifics. Epstein didn’t explain what “palm” referred to, though both he and then-president-elect Donald Trump owned luxury properties in Palm Beach, Florida. Nor did he specify who he meant by “the Trump boys.”
It’s not known whether the gathering ever happened or who was present if it did. Public reporting, including pool coverage from The Washington Post, places Trump spending the Christmas period at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, attending Christmas Eve services with family before returning to the property after midnight.
The email’s emergence comes amid the latest wave of documents released under the new transparency law, which requires the Justice Department to make Epstein-related materials publicly available. That law, passed with bipartisan support in 2025 and signed by Trump himself, aims to shed light on Epstein’s crimes and social circle — though officials have cautioned that some statements in the files may be unverified or sensational.
In a government press release accompanying the January 30 batch of documents, the Justice Department noted that some materials include “untrue and sensationalist” claims, especially those involving high-profile figures, and stressed that the files span a wide range of submissions collected by law enforcement and members of the public.
Nevertheless, the existence of the “Trump boys” email has drawn attention because it appears to suggest Epstein was in proximity to individuals connected with Trump shortly after his 2016 election victory and just weeks before his inauguration in January 2017. The timing stands in contrast to Trump’s public statements distancing himself from Epstein; after Epstein’s death in 2019, Trump said, “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him in 15 years, I wasn’t a fan.”
Trump has previously described his relationship with Epstein as distant, asserting he cut ties in the early 2000s after Epstein allegedly recruited spa workers from Mar-a-Lago, including Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s later accusers. In a 2002 magazine profile, Trump called Epstein a “terrific guy” who was “a lot of fun to be with,” remarking that many of the women around him were “on the younger side.”
The White House has responded to the new email by dismissing it as an unfounded claim by a convicted criminal. A spokesperson said, “Epstein is a known liar and only the hacks at the Daily Beast … would believe his wild allegations.”
The newly released files also contain other references to Trump, including an unverified FBI memo alleging a 2015 lunch at Epstein’s home, which the White House emphatically denied, calling it “nothing more than a false allegation that has no basis in reality.”
Epstein died in August 2019 by apparent suicide in a New York jail while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Before that, he had pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges involving underage girls.
Critics of the Justice Department’s release process argue that major portions of the files remain heavily redacted and that key documents may still be concealed, but supporters say even partial transparency offers valuable insight into the breadth of Epstein’s networks, even if some entries are ambiguous.
The “Trump boys” email adds another chapter to a continuing public conversation about Epstein’s relationships with wealthy and influential people, illustrating how even a single line of text from millions of pages can reignite scrutiny and debate.