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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The claim is an allegation recorded in a later FBI interview summary, not a proven transcript of Trump’s words. Reporting in February 2026 said former Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter told FBI agents in October 2019 that Trump called him in July 2006 during the Palm Beach investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Reiter reportedly said Trump approved of the investigation, said people knew what Epstein was doing, described Ghislaine Maxwell as Epstein’s operative, and called her evil.
The account is newsworthy because Reiter was the police chief involved in the investigation and because it appears to conflict with Trump’s later claim that he had no idea about Epstein’s abuse of underage women. But the public account does not establish a recording, contemporaneous transcript, or independent eyewitness corroboration. It should be treated as a significant reported recollection, not as proof that Trump participated in Epstein’s crimes or knew the details of particular offenses.
What the reported FBI summary says
The account comes from a 2019 interview with Michael Reiter, the former Palm Beach police chief who led the department during its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. According to reporting in February 2026, Reiter told FBI agents that Trump called him in July 2006, while the investigation was under way.
Reiter reportedly said Trump approved of the investigation and remarked that people knew what Epstein was doing. He also told agents that Trump described Ghislaine Maxwell as Epstein’s “operative,” called her “evil,” and encouraged police to focus on her.
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Those details are significant, but the source must be described precisely. The public record is an FBI interview summary of Reiter’s recollection, not a contemporaneous transcript or recording of Trump’s alleged words. The available public account also does not establish that another witness independently corroborated the call.
The evidence chain matters
There are several steps between the alleged conversation and the public story:
- Trump allegedly made a telephone call in July 2006.
- Reiter recalled that call during an FBI interview in October 2019, more than 13 years later.
- The FBI summarized Reiter’s account in an interview document.
- February 2026 reporting described the contents of that document.
That does not make the account irrelevant. Reiter was reportedly the person who received the call and was the police chief involved in the Palm Beach investigation. His position gives the recollection news value. But it also means the public should not treat the reported language as a verified contemporaneous quotation from Trump.
A phone record, if one were found, could potentially support the existence of contact; it would not by itself prove what was said. A recording, contemporaneous notes, an independent witness, or other records about the conversation would provide a different level of corroboration. The public account described in the reporting does not establish that such evidence is available.
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Trump and Epstein: the documented chronology
Trump’s connection with Epstein was not limited to a single disputed account. Their social association in New York and Palm Beach is documented through photographs, public comments, and reported travel records. None of those items, standing alone, proves that Trump participated in Epstein’s crimes. They are relevant because they establish that the two men knew each other and help explain why the reported 2006 call has attracted attention.
| Period | What is documented or reported | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Late 1980s | Trump later said he had known Epstein for roughly 15 years by 2002, which would place their acquaintance around this period. | The statement establishes Trump’s claimed timeline, not the nature of every interaction. |
| 1992 | Archival footage and later timeline reporting place Trump and Epstein together at a Mar-a-Lago party. | Being seen together is evidence of social contact, not evidence of criminal conduct. |
| 1993–1997 | According to ABC’s timeline reporting, flight logs released by the Department of Justice record at least eight flights by Trump on Epstein’s private jet. | Travel documentation does not by itself prove knowledge of, or participation in, abuse. |
| February 2000 | Trump, Melania Knauss, Epstein, and Maxwell were photographed together at Mar-a-Lago. | The photograph demonstrates proximity, not what any person knew or did. |
| October 2002 | Trump publicly praised Epstein and discussed Epstein’s attraction to beautiful women, including younger women, in a New York Magazine interview. | A public social comment does not establish knowledge of particular crimes or victims. Exact quotations should be checked against the original interview before publication. |
| 2004 | Timeline reporting places a reported falling-out around a competition over a Palm Beach mansion. | This is a reported explanation for the deterioration in the relationship, not an adjudicated finding. |
| 2005–2006 | Palm Beach police investigated Epstein after a minor reported alleged abuse. Epstein was indicted in 2006 on a state felony solicitation charge. | The investigation and indictment provide the setting for the alleged call; they do not verify Reiter’s later account of it. |
| July 2006 | Reiter reportedly told the FBI that Trump called him during the investigation, approved of the inquiry, and made the comments about Epstein and Maxwell. | The call and its contents remain an allegation based on a later recollection as publicly described. |
| 2007 | Later reporting says Epstein was banned from Mar-a-Lago after allegedly behaving inappropriately toward a member’s daughter. The White House has also said Trump removed Epstein for being a “creep.” | The reported reason for the ban should be attributed; it should not be presented as an independently established account of what happened. |
| 2019 | Trump said he had no idea about Epstein’s abuse of underage women and had not spoken with Epstein for many years. Reiter gave the FBI the interview that later became the source of the reported 2006-call account. | The two accounts create a clear tension, but the interview summary alone does not resolve every factual dispute. |
Why the alleged remarks conflict with Trump’s later account
If Reiter’s recollection was accurately summarized, the alleged call would be difficult to reconcile with Trump’s later statement that he had no idea about Epstein’s abuse of underage women. In the reported account, Trump was not merely said to have discussed Epstein socially: he allegedly expressed approval of an active police investigation, indicated that people knew what Epstein was doing, and identified Maxwell as a central figure.
That apparent conflict is the core news value of the document. It is not, however, the same as a judicial finding that Trump knew about specific victims or criminal acts in 2006. Reiter’s account does not explain whether the alleged comments came from firsthand knowledge, general rumors circulating in Palm Beach, information supplied by another person, or some combination of those sources.
What Maxwell’s conviction establishes—and what it does not
Ghislaine Maxwell’s federal conviction supplies important legal context. In 2021, a unanimous federal jury found Maxwell guilty of facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
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The same distinction applies to other material that may appear in document releases. An allegation recorded in an investigative file is not automatically an adjudicated fact. The legal status of each claim depends on the evidence supporting it and, where applicable, on what a court has actually determined.
What remains unknown
- Whether the July 2006 call occurred exactly as Reiter recalled it.
- Whether the full FBI file contains phone records, contemporaneous notes, recordings, or independent witness accounts that are not visible in the public summary.
- Whether Trump had specific knowledge of particular victims or criminal acts at the time.
- Whether the alleged remarks reflected firsthand information, general Palm Beach knowledge, or information Reiter believed Trump had received from someone else.
- Whether a later Department of Justice release adds less-redacted material or corroborating evidence.
- Whether Trump, Reiter, or another relevant person has issued a new statement addressing the reported document.
Those questions are not technical footnotes. They determine whether the document is best understood as a significant but uncorroborated recollection, or as one part of a larger body of independently supported evidence.
What can responsibly be said now
The most defensible description is this: a 2019 FBI interview summary, reported in February 2026, says former Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter told agents that Trump called him in July 2006 during the Epstein investigation. Reiter said Trump approved of the investigation, described Maxwell as Epstein’s operative, and called her evil.
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It is not responsible to rewrite that account as “Trump admitted he knew about Epstein’s crimes,” to call the alleged remarks proof that Trump participated in those crimes, or to present the FBI summary as a contemporaneous transcript. Based on the information publicly described, Trump has not been criminally charged or judicially found liable in connection with the alleged call.
Further reading and viewing
For a deeper account of Epstein’s exploitation of underage girls, powerful associations, investigative reporting, and institutional failures, see Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story by Julie K. Brown. It is useful background reading, but it should not be presented as confirmation that the alleged 2006 call occurred.
Further viewing: Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich offers a broader documentary overview of the Epstein case and the experiences of survivors. Streaming availability can change by country and date, so check the current U.S. listing before publication or viewing.
How to check the underlying reporting
For primary-source research, begin with the Department of Justice disclosures repository and official DOJ materials concerning Maxwell. Those repositories are the appropriate place to check whether a relevant document has been released or updated. They do not, by themselves, validate every interpretation made in secondary coverage.
TIME, Forbes, and ABC News have been identified in the reporting and chronology surrounding this account. Their descriptions should be read with the source chain in mind: the central allegation is what Reiter reportedly told the FBI in 2019, not a publicly established recording of a 2006 conversation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a recording or transcript of Trump’s alleged 2006 call to Michael Reiter?
No public account described in the February 2026 reporting establishes a recording or contemporaneous transcript of the alleged call. The reported source is a 2019 FBI interview summary documenting Michael Reiter’s recollection of the conversation.
Does the alleged call prove that Trump knew about Epstein’s crimes?
No. The reported account may create a conflict with Trump’s later statement that he had no idea about Epstein’s abuse of underage women, but it does not by itself establish what Trump knew about specific victims or crimes.
What is established about Trump’s relationship with Epstein?
No. Trump and Epstein’s social relationship is documented through photographs, public comments, and reported flight records, but social association and travel documentation are not, by themselves, proof of criminal conduct.
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How does Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction relate to the alleged remark?
Maxwell’s federal conviction establishes her criminal responsibility for facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. It does not independently prove that Trump made the alleged remark or establish what he knew in 2006.
Was Trump charged or found liable because of the alleged 2006 call?
Based on the information publicly described in this account, Trump was not criminally charged or judicially found liable in connection with the alleged call. The article should not describe the FBI summary as a judicial finding.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: The reported FBI summary makes the alleged 2006 call an important new account of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, especially because it appears to conflict with Trump’s later claim that he knew nothing about Epstein’s abuse. But it remains a later recollection summarized by the FBI, not a proven transcript, and it does not establish Trump’s participation in Epstein’s crimes or resolve what he specifically knew.
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