Was Mark Epstein referring to a horse named "Bubba" in an email to his brother Jeffrey Epstein when he wrote "Ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba"? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Mark Epstein told Lead Stories in a phone call the 2018 message was not about a horse. The claim that it was a horse spread across social platforms soon after Mark Epstein gave a statement to Lead Stories ruling out viral claims that "Bubba" was a reference to former President Bill Clinton. Epstein also said it was a "humorous private exchange between two brothers."
The claim appeared on several platforms, starting on November 15, 2025, including in a post (archived here) published on X on November 15, 2025. The caption read:
#maga #trump
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Bill Clinton was not the only one called Bubba
Ghislaine Maxwell's Horse 🐎, was also named Bubba
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of X.com)
Social media claims that the "Bubba" reference was about Bill Clinton began spreading after the 2018 email thread between the Epstein brothers was discovered among the 23,000 emails released by the House GOP Oversight Committee in November 2025. It referenced "DONNI TEE," "your boy Donnie," as well as "Trump." Mark Epstein's spokesperson sent a statement from Epstein to Lead Stories on November 15, 2025, saying it was a "humorous private exchange between two brothers" and that the "Bubba" reference was not about Bill Clinton.
Immediately after Lead Stories fact-checked the Clinton claim, the speculation shifted to claims that Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors, had a horse named "Bubba" and that the email was a reference to the horse.
The spokesperson for Mark Epstein is with Sidereal Solutions (archived here), a communications strategy company. She asked that we only use her first name, Ali, for security reasons. Lead Stories asked her in a phone call on November 16, 2025, if she could clarify if the "Bubba" reference was to Maxwell's horse. She replied:
No, I can assure you that is not the case. I have not heard the horse rumor, but no, that is not the case.
The initial statement sent to Lead Stories from Mark Epstein on November 15. 2025, was "to clarify a point that has been misinterpreted in public discussion," Ali said. It read:
Recently, emails from 2018 between my brother and me were made public. They were simply part of a humorous private exchange between two brothers and were never meant for public release or to be interpreted as serious remarks.
For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to 'Bubba' in this correspondence is not, in any way, a reference to former President Bill Clinton.
Any attempt to conflate that reference with President Clinton, or to read sweeping implications into them, misrepresents both the purpose and the tone of the original correspondence. I want to be absolutely clear on this point so that the public record is not distorted and so that speculation does not unfairly implicate people who are not actually being referenced in those communications.
