White House chief of staff says Trump appears in Epstein files

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said Donald Trump appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files, contradicting the US president's repeated claims that the records are a "hoax."

"We know he's in the file," Wiles said in an interview published Tuesday by the magazine Vanity Fair, adding that Trump "was on (Epstein's) plane, … he's on the manifest," and describing the two as "sort of young, single playboys together."

Wiles also criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the records, saying: "There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn't on her desk."

The remarks prompted an immediate response from the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement that "even Donald Trump's chief of staff can't shield him from his Epstein nightmare," accusing Trump of misleading the public and failing to meet demands for accountability as pressure mounts to release the files.

In the same interview, Wiles said Trump has used the presidency for "score settling," described him as having an "alcoholic's personality."

Further, she labeled his close allies Vice President JD Vance a "conspiracy theorist," Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought as a "right-wing absolute zealot," and tech millionaire Elon Musk an "avowed ketamine" user.

Trump's tariffs had been "more painful than I expected," she also said.

Meanwhile, last week, Trump said of Wiles: "She's the great chief of staff. … Susie is the greatest."