President Donald Trump yesterday accused the Democrats of 'using the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures', and the White House said some of the threads had been 'selectively leaked' to 'create a fake narrative to smear President Trump'. Photo: BBC

The private messages are part of the more than 20,000 files obtained from the disgraced financier's estate and released by US lawmakers yesterday, including several that mention the US president and other prominent figures.

The White House has dismissed the significance of these files, with deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson telling the BBC: "These emails prove literally nothing".

Trump and Epstein knew each other for years in Palm Beach, Florida, but the president has said they fell out two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Other documents in the files include an exchange in which Epstein says that Trump "knew about the girls

The House of Representatives is set to vote next week on forcing the Justice Department to release more files related to the investigation into Epstein.