Reports that US President Donald Trump was told his name appeared in files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has deepened a political backlash within his support base.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump in May that his name appeared in investigative files related to Epstein, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The White House has sent mixed signals following the story — first dismissing it as “fake news”, while an official later said the administration was not denying Trump’s name appears in some files.

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The official noted that Trump was already included in materials Bondi assembled in February for conservative influencers.

In another development, a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee has approved a subpoena seeking all Justice Department files on Epstein.

Three Republicans joined five Democrats to back the effort, in a sign that Trump’s party was not ready to move on from the issue.

Trump, who was friendly with Epstein up to the 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.

Epstein’s longtime pilot testified that Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane multiple times. Trump has denied being on the plane.

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.

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

Under political pressure last week, Trump directed the Justice Department to seek the release of sealed grand jury transcripts related to Epstein.

US District Judge Robin Rosenberg has denied one of those requests, finding that it did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret.

Last week, the Journal reported that Trump had sent Epstein a bawdy birthday note in 2003 that ended, “Happy Birthday, and may every day be another wonderful secret”.

Trump has sued the Journal and its owners, including billionaire Rupert Murdoch, asserting that the birthday note was fake.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, to which he had pleaded not guilty.

In a separate case, Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a prostitution charge in Florida and received a 13-month sentence in what is now widely regarded as too lenient a deal with prosecutors.

His connections with wealthy and powerful individuals prompted speculation his death was not a suicide.

The Justice Department said in its memo this month that it had concluded Epstein died by his own hand.

In a sign of how the issue has bedevilled Trump and divided his fellow Republicans, US House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday abruptly said he would send lawmakers home for the summer a day early to avoid a floor fight over a vote on the Epstein files.

Trump, stung and frustrated by the continued focus on the Epstein story, has sought to divert attention to other topics, including unfounded accusations that former President Barack Obama undermined Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Obama’s office denounced the allegations as “ridiculous”.