Donald Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has been pushed back into the spotlight after several years-old emails were released by the US president's opponents.
The emails were obtained by a congressional committee that has been investigating the Epstein case and how it was handled by authorities.
They were published by Democratic members of that committee, who say the emails suggest the White House has been hiding the truth about Mr Trump's relationship with the late convicted sex offender.
But Mr Trump says the move is part of a "hoax" designed to distract from the "massive damage" caused by the US government's record-breaking shutdown.
Now, as US politicians move to end the shutdown, Democrats — with the crucial support of four Republicans — are trying to force a new vote on the release of the so-called Epstein files.
Here's what the newly released emails tell us, and what happens next.
Email #1: Epstein says Trump spent hours with his accuser
The first of the emails show an exchange between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his partner and co-offender, who is now in prison for helping him abuse underage girls.
The exchange is dated April 2, 2011 — years after Mr Trump and Epstein had purportedly ended their friendship.
In the first email, which contains multiple typos, Epstein wrote to Maxwell:
"i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump.. [Redacted victim's name] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75 % there."
Maxwell replied to Epstein that evening:
"I've been thinking about that…"
Though the victim's name was redacted in the published version of the email, she has been identified as the prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who killed herself in April in Western Australia, where she had built a new life.
Before her death, Ms Roberts Giuffre said she never saw Mr Trump take part in any abuse. Her memoir, released posthumously last month, does not accuse Mr Trump of any wrongdoing.
After the email's release, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement:
"The 'unnamed victim' referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and 'couldn't have been friendlier' to her in their limited interactions."
But Robert Garcia, the most senior Democrat on the congressional committee looking into the Epstein matters, said:
"The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the president."
Email #2: Epstein says 'of course' Trump 'knew about the girls'
On January 31, 2019, Epstein wrote to author Michael Wolff.
A year earlier, Wolff had released a book about the first Trump presidency. He has described Epstein as a source for that book.
In the email, Epstein wrote:
"[Redacted victim's name] mara lago. [Redacted text]. Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop"
This appears to be a reference to an earlier dispute between Mr Trump and Epstein, which the president spoke about earlier this year.
Mr Trump said he had banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after Epstein "stole" some of its workers, including Ms Roberts Giuffre.
"When I heard about it, I told him, I said: 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people," Mr Trump told reporters in July.
"And then, not too long after that, he did it again. And I said: 'Out of here.'"
Asked if one of those people was Ms Roberts Giuffre, Mr Trump said: "I think that was one of the people. He stole her." He later said he "didn't really know" why Epstein was poaching his workers.
Ms Roberts Giuffre had alleged that Maxwell recruited her, initially to give massages to Epstein, while she was working at Mar-a-Lago in 2000. She was 16 at the time.
According to her memoir, Epstein and Maxwell "lent me out to scores of wealthy, powerful people" who treated her as a sex slave.
One of them was the then-Duke of York, Prince Andrew, who was recently stripped of his royal titles amid the ongoing scandal.
Email #3: Epstein asks about 'crafting an answer' for a Trump TV appearance
The third email shows an earlier exchange between Epstein and Wolff, dated December 15, 2015.
In an email with the subject "heads up", Wolff wrote to Epstein:
"I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you--either on air or in scrum afterwards."
Epstein replied:
"if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?"
And Wolff replied:
"I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he'll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime."
After the email's release, Wolff told CNN he could not remember the context of the emails:
"I don't quite remember the context. But I was engaged then in an in-depth conversation with Epstein about his relationship with Trump and this seems to be part of that conversation."
CNN reported Trump was not asked about his relationship with Epstein during that 2015 appearance.
[tweet: oversight committee]How has Trump responded?
Mr Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. While they were friends in the past, they fell out about 15 years ago because — as the White House put it — Epstein was "being a creep".
Several hours after the emails were released, Mr Trump used his Truth Social platform to criticise Democrats for perpetuating a "hoax" to distract from "recent antics" that caused a US government shutdown.
He wrote:
"The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap. The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!"
At an earlier media conference, White House press secretary Ms Leavitt said the emails "prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong".
Ms Leavitt also criticised Democrats for redacting Ms Roberts Giuffre's name from the emails, given she had publicly said she had not witnessed any inappropriate behaviour by Mr Trump.
What happens next?
The release of the emails has increased the pressure on the Trump administration to release the so-called Epstein files, including Justice Department documents relating to its sex-trafficking case against Epstein.
The reopening of the US government could further intensify that pressure.
In part, that's because a new member of Congress, Adelita Grijalva, is joining the House of Representatives after winning a special election to replace her father, who died earlier this year.
Her swearing-in gives House Democrats the numbers they need for a "discharge petition" to force a vote on a bill to release the Epstein case files.
The petition, which needs 218 signatures to succeed, was already supported by 217 members of the House, including Republicans Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie.
Ms Grijalva's support gives it the final signature required. "Justice cannot wait another day," she said shortly after she was sworn in on Wednesday, local time.
Several US media outlets have reported that the White House is now pressuring Ms Boebert to withdraw her support for the petition.
The New York Times reported that Ms Boebert was summoned to a meeting with Justice Department and FBI officials.
Ms Leavitt appeared to confirm that meeting when she was asked about it, saying: "Doesn't that show the level of transparency when we are willing to sit down with members of Congress and address their concerns?"
CNN and Axios later reported that Mr Trump and Ms Mace were "playing phone tag".
Even if Ms Boebert and Ms Mace hold firm, the bill appears unlikely to become law. That's because it would require the support of the Republican-controlled Senate, as well as a signature from Mr Trump.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has described the move as "moot" because the House Oversight Committee's investigation is continuing.
