Co-host of The View, Whoopi Goldberg, just revealed the dirty little secret about the Epstein files, one Democrats and figures like Congressman Massie are eager to ignore: being named in the files doesn’t automatically incriminate anyone. In fact, this was a key reason the Trump administration hesitated to release the full files in the first place. The hype surrounding them meant anyone mentioned would face intense scrutiny, justly or unjustly, so broadly releasing the documents was bound to cause more harm than good.
"Now, in the name of transparency, can you put up, uh, my name is in the files?" Goldeberg said. "Yes. And what does it say? It says, 'Whoopi needs a plane to get to Monaco. John Lennon's charity,' it should say Julian Lennon's charity, 'is paying for it. They don't, uh, they don't want to charter. So they're looking for private owners. Here's the info.' And they give all the information. And they're saying, do you want to offer your G2? Okay."
"And it looks like they said, no, thanks," another co-host chimed in.
"So in other words, anybody can be on this list," Joy Behar said.
"Well, this is my point because I'm telling you, when I tell you people are trying to turn me into... I wasn't his girlfriend. I wasn't his friend," Goldberg went on. "I was not only too old, but it was at a time, you know, where this is just not; you used to have to have facts before you said stuff."
This is the broader point of much of the Epstein files: the documents are a mix of verifiable facts, routine travel and logistics notes, and outright fabrications. Simply being mentioned in the files does not imply wrongdoing, yet the public release has created the opposite perception. Rather than clarifying what actually happened or helping authorities pursue justice, the files have fueled wild conspiracy theories, amplified misinformation, and allowed high-profile figures to be unfairly scrutinized, including President Trump. The release has turned legitimate reporting into spectacle, blurring the line between serious investigative work and sensationalized rumor. In effect, the files have done more to confuse the public than to hold anyone accountable, demonstrating the dangers of releasing sensitive information without proper context or verification.
But The View was happy to overlook their point when it came to the president.
"But Trump is on the list 38,000 times," Behar said.
"Well, I can't speak to him, but I'm speaking about me because I'm getting dragged," Goldberg said. "People actually believe that I was with him. It's like, honey, come on. Every man that I've ever been with, you've known about them because either the inquirer wrote about it. People wrote about this stuff. So no, I never had this, you know, and no, I didn't get on the plane because you know what I would have to do to get on the plane?"
"But the thing is, they dropped like 300 names," a co-host noted. "And it's like flood the zone because when you're looking, there are people like Marilyn Monroe, who was dead. Elvis."
"Because a lot of the reasons your name can be mentioned are news articles, third-party emails, and contacts. Again, wealthy, famous people often cross in professional and social circles. So that's not the surprising part."
If only they would apply that same principle to President Trump.
NEW: Whoopi Goldberg finally addresses her name appearing in Epstein documents and insists being listed does not mean guilt.
— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) February 17, 2026
Behar: “Anybody can be on this list.”
Whoopi: “Anybody. Well, this is my point. Because, I'm telling you when I tell you people are trying to turn me… pic.twitter.com/jw1bIgiwVN
This comes as the Department of Justice noted when releasing the files that some information could be entirely fabricated or sensationalized, designed to stoke conspiracy theories, including about the president’s alleged involvement. Alarmingly, some of these false claims have even been echoed by elected officials.
This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act. Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.
