Epstein audio sparks controversy over Trump’s White House views in Michael Wolff’s podcast

Author Michael Wolff has released an audio recording on his podcast, Fire and Fury, in which Jeffrey Epstein discusses former President Donald Trump’s White House staff.

The tape, reportedly recorded in 2017 at a SoHo restaurant, captures Epstein speaking candidly about Trump’s management style. “His people fight each other,” Epstein is heard saying, “and then he [Trump] poisons the well outside.” According to Epstein, Trump would disparage staff, calling Steve Bannon a “scumbag” and claiming that Reince Priebus “is not doing a good job.” Epstein also mentioned Kellyanne Conway as a “wildcard,” despite Trump having hired her husband, George Conway.

Wolff, who has written multiple books on Trump, claims to have “100 hours of Epstein talking about the inner workings of the Trump White House” and a longstanding relationship with the former president. He noted on the podcast that Epstein had approached him to write a biography, though Wolff declined to elaborate further on their discussions.

The release comes just days before the election, prompting a response from Trump’s campaign. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, issued a statement to The Daily Beast, saying, “Michael Wolff is a disgraced writer who routinely fabricates lies in order to sell fiction books.” She further accused Wolff of attempting to interfere in the election, calling his claims “outlandish” and “false smears.”

Wolff’s initial book on Trump, Fire and Fury (2018), reportedly generated over $13 million in sales. His subsequent books, Siege (2019) and Landslide (2021), focused on the latter years of the Trump presidency.