Podcaster Candace Owens reacted to a resurfaced video clip of Jeffrey Epstein answering a question about whether he ever “socialized” with Donald Trump in the presence of underage girls. In the July 25, 2025, episode of her eponymous podcast, Owens downplayed the implications of the clip, stating:“But right off the bat, this is not a smoking gun,” Owens said.The clip in question was posted by X user MeidasTouch on July 24, 2025. It was a segment from Epstein’s 2010 deposition.During the sworn testimony, when Epstein was asked whether he had a personal relationship with the US president, he said “yes.” However, when the questioning shifted to whether he and Trump had ever socialized with females under the age of 18, he refused to answer. Instead, he invoked his Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.Under U.S. constitutional law, the Fifth Amendment allows individuals to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination. The Sixth Amendment ensures the right to legal counsel, while the Fourteenth Amendment is typically used to safeguard individual rights and challenge state actions.In her podcast video, Owens pointed out that Epstein had no hesitation in admitting he knew the U.S. president. However, she found it “extremely odd” that he chose to “invoke the Fifth Amendment” when asked about minors being present.She suggested that Epstein may have been instructed by his legal team to remain silent on anything related to minors, in line with the charges he was facing at the time."I pointed out earlier though, it is very likely...his lawyers told him to just plead the Fifth all the way through...particularly on the topic of minors, since that’s what he was being charged with, right? Activity with minors," she said.Owens further added that Epstein’s decision to invoke his Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights when asked about socializing with minors in the U.S. president's presence did not explicitly mean “Trump was involved with those minors.”Reports reveal Trump’s name mentioned in Epstein files, White House pushes back against the claimPresident Trump Departs Washington For G7 Summit In Canada - Source: GettyThe Jeffrey Epstein morass surrounding President Donald Trump deepened further after a Wall Street Journal report dated July 23, 2025, reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi had briefed the president during a routine May meeting, informing him that the Epstein files contained hearsay about hundreds of individuals, including the U.S. president himself.As per the report, at the time, Bondi reportedly told Trump that the documents included sensitive material, such as child p*rnography and confidential victim information, that could not be made public.This briefing also appeared to contradict Trump’s earlier denial. When asked earlier this month whether Bondi had told him about his name appearing in the Epstein files, the U.S. president had answered, “No, no.”However, there was no evidence that the U.S. president was involved in any wrongdoing or that he was aware of Epstein's criminal activities when they moved in the same social circle decades ago. But intense speculation followed regarding the nature of his mentions in the investigative files.According to a BBC report dated July 23, 2025, three striking quotes from key figures illustrated the administration’s efforts to deflect scrutiny.Whitehouse spokesman Steven Cheung flatly dismissed the Wall Street Journal report, calling it:"Nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russia-gate scandal, which President Trump was right about."Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized that no actionable evidence had been found in the files, stating:"Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution."FBI Director Kash Patel echoed the sentiment, describing the controversy as a coordinated attempt to damage the president:"The criminal leakers and 'Fake News' media tries tirelessly to undermine President Trump with smears and lies, and this story is no different."Despite denials, the BBC reported that a White House official told Reuters they weren’t disputing Trump’s name being in the documents. The official added that previously released files in February included phone numbers of some of Trump’s family members, including his daughter.Trump had earlier admitted he was once friendly with Jeffrey Epstein but said their relationship ended in 2004.During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised transparency about Epstein’s network and vowed to release related files. However, his administration has since faced criticism, especially after the Justice Department and FBI said no official “client list” ever existed.To fulfill his promise of transparency, the U.S. president recently directed Bondi to pursue the release of all grand jury materials related to Epstein. This prompted the Justice Department to petition courts in Florida and New York to unseal relevant documents.However, on July 23, Judge Robin Rosenberg ruled against releasing grand jury documents from the sex offender's 2006 Florida case, citing strict state laws on grand jury secrecy."The court’s hands are tied," Rosenberg wrote in a 12-page decision.She also rejected a request to transfer the matter to New York, where separate judges are currently considering whether to unseal files from the disgraced financier's 2019 federal s*x-trafficking case.The renewed attention on the U.S. president's possible ties to the disgraced financier also coincided with a broader shift in public and legal focus toward Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and convicted accomplice.Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for s*x trafficking, is expected to meet with a senior Justice Department official to discuss her knowledge of Epstein's network, her attorney confirmed to the BBC.As per CNN, the controversy surrounding Epstein has increasingly overshadowed President Donald Trump’s recent political successes, including newly announced trade deals with Japan and the Philippines.Jeffrey Epstein, on the other hand, died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on s*x trafficking charges, following an earlier conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. His death was officially ruled a suicide.Yet even today, both his crimes and the circumstances surrounding his death continue to fuel widespread speculation and conspiracy theories.