Jeffrey Epstein’s brother says the ‘Bubba’ mentioned in Trump oral sex email is not Bill Clinton
The brother of late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Mark Epstein, moved Saturday night to shut down one of the most explosive interpretations circulating around newly released Epstein estate emails, issuing a statement to The Advocate insisting that the now-viral “Bubba” reference in a 2018 exchange with his brother Jeffrey had nothing to do with former President Bill Clinton.
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The conversation in question was part of a March 2018 back-and-forth between Jeffrey Epstein and Mark Epstein, released this week under subpoena by the House Oversight Committee. In the exchange, Mark asked Jeffrey, who had written that he was with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, to “ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba.” Because Clinton was known by the nickname “Bubba,” questions arose about who the Epsteins were speaking of.
Related: Bizarre Epstein files reference to Trump, Putin, and oral sex with ‘Bubba’ draws scrutiny in Congress
In the statement, Epstein said the exchange was being misread entirely. “They were simply part of a humorous private exchange between two brothers and were never meant for public release or to be interpreted as serious remarks,” he wrote. He added, “For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to ‘Bubba’ in this correspondence is not, in any way, a reference to former President Bill Clinton.”
Ali Clark, a spokesperson for Mark Epstein, told The Advocate in an email that Bubba is “a private individual who is not a public figure.”
Mark Epstein warned that attempts to graft political meaning onto a nickname “misrepresents both the purpose and the tone of the original correspondence.” A spokesperson added that “misinterpretations of formal language or nicknames in email correspondence” distract from “the serious questions that remain unanswered.”
When asked for additional context, including what the reference was about and whether Bubba knows Trump, Mark Epstein declined to provide more details.
“Mark has asked me to convey that the press release will be his final statement on this matter,” his spokesperson told The Advocate Sunday afternoon.
Related: Out Rep. Robert Garcia leads Dems in Epstein email release, which appears to reveal more Trump connections
However, the broader email release extends far beyond fraternal joking.
Other messages now public paint a darker and more politically treacherous picture. In a 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Jeffrey Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” Another email, sent in 2011 to Ghislaine Maxwell, alleges Trump spent hours at Epstein’s house with one of his sex-trafficking victims.
Out California Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told The Advocate on Friday that the tranche of documents raises “serious new questions” about Trump’s ties to Epstein and accused the Justice Department of obstructing the committee’s work. “There’s a massive cover-up at the White House and the DOJ right now over the files,” Garcia said, adding that the former president “is clearly panicked.”
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, told The Advocate, “These emails prove literally nothing.”
Related: Trump yanks support for ‘lunatic’ Marjorie Taylor Greene in unhinged rant as Epstein scandal squeezes him
Trump’s own behavior has reinforced that impression. On Friday night, he launched into a caustic Truth Social tirade, complete with anti-transgender rhetoric, pulling his endorsement for and attacking Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of his staunchest allies, after she joined a bipartisan move to force a House vote compelling the DOJ to release all unclassified Epstein files.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with Mark Epstein’s spokesperson’s response to The Advocate’s request for additional information.
