Do Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs list Donald Trump's name or aliases?
Executive summary
Jeffrey Epstein’s publicly released flight records and related DOJ materials list Donald Trump by name on multiple occasions; reporting based on those documents counts at least seven to eight flights with Trump as a passenger between the early 1990s and 1997 [1] [2] [3]. The Department of Justice flagged new mentions of Trump when it released additional Epstein documents, and federal prosecutors concluded in 2020 that Trump appeared on Epstein’s jet more often than previously known [4] [5].
1. What the flight logs actually contain: names, dates, and trips
Multiple news organizations that reviewed flight manifests and DOJ releases report Donald Trump’s name appearing on Epstein flight logs for trips mostly between 1993 and 1997, with specific counts in reporting ranging from at least seven to at least eight documented flights; outlets including NewsNation, Newsweek, and Mediaite cite FAA or DOJ-supplied records that list Trump as a passenger on Epstein’s planes [1] [2] [3].
2. The Department of Justice release and prosecutors’ notes
When the DOJ released a tranche of Epstein-related materials, prosecutors specifically flagged mentions of Trump in flight records and related emails, saying they did so so lawyers “didn't want any of this to be a surprise down the road,” and internal DOJ material stated Trump’s name appeared more often than the department had previously believed [4] [3] [5].
3. Independent reconstructions and counts vary but point the same way
Different outlets arrive at slightly different totals—some reporting four flights in 1993 plus others in 1994, 1995 and 1997 (Newsweek), others citing seven or eight trips overall (NewsNation, Mediaite)—but all cite the same underlying fact that flight logs and related unsealed documents include Trump’s name as a passenger multiple times [2] [1] [3].
4. Denials, minimizations, and political spin
Trump and some allies have denied being on Epstein’s plane or have downplayed the significance, while others—such as Trump Jr. and media supporters—have pushed alternative narratives about omission from “lists”; fact-checking outlets and contemporary reporting counter those claims by pointing to the flight logs and court document releases that include Trump’s name [6] [3]. Campaign aides later acknowledged using a jet formerly owned by Epstein for campaign travel in 2024 but framed that as incidental and unrelated to the historical flight-log entries [7] [8].
5. What the logs do and do not prove—limits of the evidence
Flight logs show names, dates and passenger manifests, which establish presence on specific flights, but they do not by themselves prove criminal conduct or the nature of interactions on those trips; prosecutors’ and media disclosures note presence without making evidentiary claims about participation in Epstein’s crimes, and reporting cautions against conflating travel records with proof of wrongdoing [4] [5].
6. Why counts changed over time and what that implies
Counts shifted as documents were unsealed and DOJ reviewers flagged additional entries; prosecutors’ later determinations that Trump appeared more often than initially believed reflect that some names were buried in voluminous files and that incremental releases can alter public tallies—this underlines both the reliability of the core fact (Trump’s name appears) and the practical reason totals vary across reports [4] [5].
Conclusion
The available, sourced public record compiled by news organizations and DOJ releases shows Donald Trump listed by name on Jeffrey Epstein flight logs multiple times in the 1990s; exact tallies reported range from about seven to eight trips depending on which documents and redactions a reporter used, and while the logs establish presence on those flights they do not on their face establish criminal behavior [1] [2] [3] [4].