Epstein Report Renews Scrutiny Of Trump Over Beatrice Keul’s 1993 Rape Allegation Ahead Of US Midterms

A report released by Democrats on the US House Judiciary Committee has renewed scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The 53-page report details accounts involving 11 women, including a rape allegation dating back to 1993, and accuses federal authorities of withholding evidence and failing to adequately investigate Epstein’s possible co-conspirators. Released on October 26, it comes just eight days before Americans vote in the November 3 midterm elections.

The report returns Trump’s conduct and the handling of the Epstein investigation to the political spotlight as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress. It raises questions about the disclosure of evidence and the administration’s response to Epstein’s network.

The report reflects the findings and arguments of Democratic committee staff, not a bipartisan congressional finding or a judicial determination. The White House has rejected the allegations, and no polling has yet established whether the report has affected voters’ preferences.

What does the Epstein report allege?

The 53-page report, released by Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, examines allegations concerning Trump’s relationship with Epstein and the handling of evidence by the Justice Department. It draws on survivor accounts, interviews, FBI records and other documents related to the investigation.

The report discusses accounts involving 11 women, five of whom directly accuse Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company or presence, according to Democratic committee staff. Three other women describe encounters in which Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly appeared to offer them to Trump or suggested he was involved in Epstein’s abuse. The remaining three women are discussed through other people’s accounts and documentary records. These are allegations and interpretations presented by Democratic lawmakers, not findings established by a court.

One of the most serious allegations concerns Beatrice Keul, a model and former Miss Switzerland, who alleged that Trump raped her in 1993, when she was 24.

According to the report, Keul met Trump at a press luncheon connected to the American Dream Pageant. She said Trump promised that his associate Paolo Zampolli would help arrange her US visa, while Trump himself would help secure her admission to New York University.

Keul alleged that she was subsequently invited to a suite at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, where Trump grabbed her from behind and raped her. The report says the alleged assault left her bleeding and bruised. She also claimed that Trump pressed her to remain silent while repeating promises concerning her visa and university admission.

Keul had previously described an unwanted sexual advance by Trump in a 2024 interview, saying she resisted him. Her account in the report released on October 26 alleges that Trump raped her during the same 1993 encounter. The report provides a more detailed account of the alleged assault, while TIME reported that it could not independently verify the details of her account.

Other accounts cited in the report include Stacey Williams’ allegation that Trump groped her in his Trump Tower office while Epstein stood beside them. Jill Harth, who filed a lawsuit in 1997, alleged that Trump forcibly kissed and fondled her at Mar-a-Lago during a gathering where Epstein was also present. Both allegations have been disputed and should be distinguished from findings established in court.

The report also cites allegations made to the FBI by a woman identified as Katie Johnson, who accused Trump and Epstein of repeatedly raping her at Epstein’s New York residence in 1994, when she was 13. The report separately discusses an allegation by a woman identified as Jane Doe 4, who told the FBI about alleged abuse in South Carolina in 1983, when she was 13 or 14. The committee says it has been unable to independently verify her allegation against Trump and notes unresolved questions about the account.

The report also describes accounts from three survivors whose encounters with Trump, according to Democratic committee staff, suggested that Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell was attempting to make women available to him. One woman identified as “Jane” told the FBI that Epstein introduced her to Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 14. The report says that, during a 2025 prison interview with Maxwell, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche repeatedly stopped Maxwell from discussing Jane. Another survivor, identified as “Kate”, told the FBI that Maxwell presented her to Trump at a New York party. Maria Farmer also said Epstein intervened when Trump approached her in a sexual and threatening manner. The report argues that these accounts warrant further investigation; they do not establish criminal wrongdoing by Trump or Blanche in themselves.

The report links the allegations to the modelling and beauty pageant networks of 1990s New York, where Trump, Epstein, Zampolli and modelling executive John Casablancas moved in overlapping circles. It argues that Trump and Zampolli may have been co-conspirators in Epstein’s alleged trafficking and abuse of young women. The report also cites an FBI account that Epstein introduced Melania Trump to Donald Trump, contradicting Zampolli’s account. Melania Trump has denied that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump. These are conclusions advanced by Democratic committee staff, not findings established in court.

The White House rejected the allegations, with spokeswoman Lauren Bis calling the report a “desperate attempt” by Democrats to distract Americans from what she described as Republican momentum.

Beyond the women’s accounts, the report accuses the Justice Department and FBI of shutting down investigations and withholding evidence relating to Epstein’s possible co-conspirators. It also challenges Trump’s previous statements about his relationship with Epstein. The report cites flight records showing that Trump travelled on Epstein’s private jet at least eight times in the 1990s, contradicting Trump’s claim that he had never been on the plane.

It also cites a 2009 account of a conversation involving Trump and lawyers for Epstein’s survivors that reportedly conflicts with the claim that Trump had expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Democratic lawmakers argue that these records warrant further scrutiny, although the report’s interpretations and allegations of a cover-up have not been established as judicial findings.

The report calls for an independent special counsel to investigate Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators, examine the Justice Department’s handling of the case and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors seeking evidence receive cooperation from federal authorities.

The allegations in the report have not been adjudicated in court. Separately, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in 2023 and awarded her $5 million. The jury did not find liability for rape under the definition used in New York law in the case. Judge Lewis Kaplan later clarified that the verdict did not mean Carroll had failed to prove rape in the broader, commonly understood sense of the term. Trump denied her allegations.

Can the report damage Trump’s image before the midterms?

The report arrives as Republicans face a challenging electoral environment. Voters are weighing the administration’s record on the economy, the cost of living, immigration and foreign policy, while Democrats are seeking to regain control of Congress.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on October 26 put Trump’s approval rating at 32%, one percentage point above the record low recorded a week earlier. The poll also found Democrats leading Republicans by 47% to 36% among registered voters on the generic congressional ballot. Separately, 73% of respondents said the cost of living was moving in the wrong direction.

The figures point to an already difficult electoral environment for Republicans, but the poll does not measure whether the Epstein report has affected Trump’s approval rating or voters’ choices.

The report gives Democrats another basis to demand the release of records, question the Justice Department’s decisions and press for an independent investigation.

Its political impact may depend partly on whether the controversy reinforces concerns voters already have about Trump. For those who distrust the President, the allegations and questions surrounding the Epstein investigation could deepen existing doubts. Others may dismiss the report because it was released by Democratic lawmakers, particularly in the absence of independently verified evidence establishing the allegations.

The report could give Democratic candidates an additional line of attack in closely contested congressional races. But without polling that specifically measures voters’ responses to the report, it would be premature to conclude that it will change the outcome of individual contests.