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Tucker Carlson has told Vanity Fair that former president Donald Trump ordered a deliberate effort to withhold large swathes of material from the so‑called Epstein files. The allegation, made in an interview this year, raises fresh questions about who decided what remained secret and why.
Carlson says he warned Trump
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Tucker Carlson alleges Donald Trump was involved in cover-up of Epstein file
In the Vanity Fair interview, Carlson — described in reports as 57 years old — says he told Mr Trump in 2025 that keeping the documents hidden could have damaging political consequences. He said he did not want to defend Jeffrey Epstein and urged the president against secrecy.
Carlson told the magazine that Mr Trump “directly” issued the order to conceal material and later offered a lengthy, emotional account to explain his reasoning, which the presenter summarised as the president feeling he was being targeted.
What the files show and how they emerged
Many of the documents were made public last year after a political push in Congress that sought to compel the Department of Justice to release them. Journalists and campaigners say the papers shed light on a wide network of powerful people implicated in abuse.
According to reporting, Mr Trump’s name appears thousands of times across the millions of pages. The record notes that the 80‑year‑old former president has not been charged with crimes related to Epstein and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing linked to their relationship.
Official responses and the wider fallout
The White House, through media reports, has reiterated that Mr Trump was “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein” and has argued he has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before.
The Vanity Fair interview comes against a backdrop of a public split between Mr Trump and Carlson. The pair were once close, reportedly friends through the 1900s and 2000s, but their relationship later deteriorated. Carlson has publicly apologised in the past for his support of the former president.
Mr Trump has criticised Carlson on his Truth Social platform, calling him unable to finish college and describing him as a “broken man” after his exit from Fox News, comments noted in the reporting.
Claims remain assertions
These details are drawn from Carlson’s account to Vanity Fair and from subsequent media coverage. Carlson’s allegations that Mr Trump ordered a cover‑up are his own, and the wider questions about the files’ contents and the decisions around their release continue to be discussed by journalists and lawmakers.
