U.S. President Donald Trump denied on Friday that he had ever been told that his name appeared in files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"No, I was never -- never briefed, no," Trump told reporters in Scotland after the Wall Street Journal reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi told him in May about his name appearing multiple times.

The newspaper noted that Trump was also told that many other high-profile figures were named, and that the Justice Department did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation.

The disclosure of Trump's appearance in the Justice Department's records on the case threatened to deepen a political crisis that has engulfed his administration for weeks. For years, some Trump supporters have promoted conspiracy theories about Epstein's clients and the circumstances of his 2019 death in prison.

The White House sent mixed signals following the story. It released an initial statement characterizing it as "fake news," but a White House official later told Reuters the administration was not denying that Trump's name appears in some files, noting that Trump was already included in a tranche of materials Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers.

Trump, who was friendly with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, appears multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane in the 1990s. Trump and several members of his family also appear in an Epstein contact book, alongside hundreds of others.

Much of that material had been publicly released in the criminal case against Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after her conviction for child sex trafficking and other crimes.

During her trial, Epstein's longtime pilot testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied being on the plane.

Trump has faced intense backlash from his own supporters after his administration said it would not release the files, reversing a campaign promise.

The Justice Department said in a memo earlier this month that there was no basis to continue probing the Epstein case, sparking anger among some prominent Trump supporters who are demanding more information about wealthy and powerful individuals who had interacted with Epstein.

Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein and has said their friendship ended before Epstein's legal troubles first began two decades ago.

Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement that did not directly address the Journal's report.

"Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts," the officials said. "As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings."

(With input from AFP, Reuters)