A 2011 email sent by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein says that United States President Donald Trump “spent hours” with one of the victims – an allegation that is likely to further fuel calls for releasing files relating to the late, disgraced financier.

The email, made public by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, was sent to Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence for sex trafficking.

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“i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned,” Epstein wrote according to the email, which was shared with the victim’s name redacted.

It is not clear what Epstein was referring to. The email was sent to Maxwell two years after Epstein had spent 13 months in prison for his sex crimes.

Maxwell responded, “I have been thinking about that…”

In another email, sent in 2019, Epstein says Trump “knew about the girls”.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed the emails on Wednesday, saying that they were “selectively released”.

“The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions,” Leavitt said in a statement.

“The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre.”

Trump has previously acknowledged that he had issues with Epstein because the late sex offender recruited – or as the US president put it, “stole” – young women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

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The US president had personal ties to Epstein – a millionaire who was connected to powerful figures in politics, popular culture, finance and academia – and later became known for his rampant sex abuse against girls and young women.

Epstein first pled guilty to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor in 2008 and was given a lenient sentence that critics describe as a sweetheart deal that did not match the severity of the offence.

After the Miami Herald investigated the prosecution against Epstein, federal authorities reopened the case against him, arrested him and charged him with sex trafficking of minors in 2019.

Two months later, he was found dead in his jail cell in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide.

Epstein’s associates included former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew, and former US President Bill Clinton.

The scandal and the manner in which Epstein died have fuelled conspiracy theories and speculations that he may have been working for foreign or domestic intelligence services.

Some activists – including many Trump supporters – have been calling for years for the release of all government documents relating to Epstein.

But the Trump administration has refused to make the so-called Epstein files public, citing the privacy of the victims.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department and FBI also dismissed claims that Epstein may have used his sex trafficking operation to blackmail people who frequented his home and private island, reasserting that he died by suicide.

“Through this review, we found no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography,” they said in a memo in July.

“One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.”

The US president also scolded commentators who are focused on Epstein, calling the issue a “waste of time”.

But many of the president’s supporters were not satisfied with that explanation, especially after leaks and allegations raised questions about Trump’s own relationship with Epstein.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal published what it said was a birthday card with sexual connotations that Trump sent to Epstein with a message written inside of a drawing of a naked woman.

Trump denied writing or drawing the card and sued the newspaper over the allegation.

In June, after former White House billionaire aide Elon Musk fell out with the US president, he said, “the real reason” Trump has not released the “Epstein files” is that he is mentioned in them.

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