Two weeks ago, the Justice Department released another batch of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files, and soon after, Donald Trump characterized the disclosures as great news for him personally. In fact, early last week, the president told reporters that DOJ officials had just “announced” that he had “nothing to do with” the late sex offender and former Trump associate.

There was no such an announcement. The Justice Department released previously undisclosed materials, as part of the congressionally approved Epstein Files Transparency Act, but officials didn’t characterize the nature of the disclosures as either good or bad for Trump.

On Thursday morning, the president went further, publishing an odd message to his social media platform that began:

AG Pam Bondi, under intense fire from the Trump Deranged Radical Left Lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday’s Hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein, where the one thing that has been proven conclusively, much to their chagrin, was that President Donald J. Trump has been 100% exonerated of their ridiculous Russia, Russia, Russia type charges.

For now, let’s skip the point that Bondi was not “fantastic” during her dreadful performance before the House Judiciary Committee. Let’s also brush past the fact that Trump’s Russia scandal remains entirely real, no matter how many times he pretends otherwise.

Rather, let’s consider the idea that it’s been proved “conclusively” that the incumbent president has been “100% exonerated” in the Epstein scandal.

No such proof exists. In fact, MaddowBlog reached out to Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, to ask for his reaction to Trump’s claim.

“‘I’m 100% exonerated’ will go down in history with ‘I am not a crook’ as one of the great criminal confessions of all time,” the Maryland Democrat said.

While the investigation into the Epstein scandal moves forward, it’s likely that Trump will continue to claim that he has been exonerated, reality be damned. With this in mind, it’s worth pausing to appreciate the fact that the president has an unfortunate track record when it comes to this specific word.

In March 2018, Trump claimed that the House Intelligence Committee had completely exonerated him in the Russia scandal. That wasn’t true.

In June 2018, Trump said the Justice Department inspector general’s office had “totally” exonerated him in the Russia scandal. That was both wrong and kind of bonkers.

In February 2019, Trump claimed that the Senate Intelligence Committee also had exonerated him in the Russia scandal. That also wasn’t true.

In March 2019, Trump claimed the judge in a Paul Manafort trial exonerated him, too. That also wasn’t true.

In June 2021, Trump claimed he had been “totally exonerated” by testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn, which was largely the opposite of the truth.

In February 2023, Trump insisted that a special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, had rewarded him with “total exoneration.” Not only didn’t that happen, the same special grand jury called for his criminal indictment. (He was later charged by a regular grand jury, which relied on the special grand jury’s findings.)

In June 2023, Trump published an item to his social media platform, declaring that he’d been “totally exonerated” in the classified documents scandal. That was also the opposite of the truth.

In June 2024, Trump claimed to have been “exonerated” for referring to the “very fine people” he saw protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia. That wasn’t true, either.

In July 2024, Trump claimed “total exoneration” in the hush-money-to-a-porn-star case — the one in which he was ultimately found guilty of multiple felonies — a claim that didn’t make any sense at all.

In October 2024, Trump claimed he had been “fully exonerated” in the classified documents scandal, which was completely wrong.

And now the president has added to the list.

There’s no great mystery as to the Republican’s motivations. He has faced a series of embarrassing controversies, each of which has caused significant political damage, and he’s been desperate to convince the public that he has been cleared — in every instance — of any meaningful wrongdoing.

But either (a) Trump doesn’t know what “exonerated” means; (b) he has spent years trying to deceive the public about his culpability in a variety of serious scandals; or (c) both.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.