By his own admission, President Trump was friendly for at least 15 years with Jeffrey Epstein, the multimillionaire financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.

Their relationship is now under scrutiny after the Trump administration decided to withhold parts of the files from the sex trafficking investigation into Mr. Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Mr. Epstein had many connections to rich and powerful people that both the right and the left suspect of being involved in the financier’s criminality. Attorney General Pam Bondi agreed to release some materials, including flight logs from Mr. Epstein’s private jets, but she held back others, including what officials described as child sexual abuse material.

The Department of Justice’s review of the files “revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” the department wrote in an unsigned July memo. “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

Mr. Trump has instructed Ms. Bondi to release only “credible” information, and suggested he is concerned that innocent people could be unfairly smeared if the full files are released. He has condemned questions about his handling of the case as a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats and called Mr. Epstein a “creep.”

Mr. Epstein was convicted of paying teenage girls money to perform sex acts. He hanged himself in his cell in 2019, according to local and federal authorities. Ms. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of conspiring with Mr. Epstein for nearly a decade to aid in his abuse.