Why was Landon Thomas Jr. fired from NYT? Epstein offered to show journalist photos of "Donald and girls in bikinis" during frequent email exchanges

On Wednesday, more than 20,000 Epstein documents were released by the Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The documents include a number of text messages and emails that Epstein shared with reporters, friends, and attorneys during the period between 2015 and 2016.

One notable exchange that he had with a reporter was that with Landon Thomas Jr., a then reporter at The New York Times. In December 2015. In one of the emails, Epstein suggested Thomas look into Donald Trump's finances first. In another exchange, he offered to show Thomas photos of Trump with women in bikinis. Epstein reportedly wrote in an email,

"Would you like photso [sic] of donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen!"

To this the former New York Times reporter responded with a "yes." However, it is unclear if the images were ever sent to Landon Thomas Jr. Thomas initiated the conversation with Epstein on December 8, 2015, referring to a 2002 article he wrote. In the article, Trump called Epstein a "terrific guy" who "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

Landon Thomas Jr. was covering news under the finance-related categories for The Times. In November 2002, he joined The New York Times, and he worked there till January 2019. Prior to being a reporter, Thomas worked as a portfolio manager for Morgan Stanley Asset Management from 1994 to 1998.

A spokesperson for the outlet stated that Thomas left "after editors discovered his failure to abide by our ethical standards." He told the editors that he had become friends with Epstein after profiling him back in 2008. In 2017, he reportedly asked Epstein to donate $30,000 to a Harlem cultural center. An exclusive source spoke to The Daily Beast and described Thomas' actions as "a shocking lapse of journalistic standards."

The email exchanges between Thomas and Epstein had nothing to do with his firing from the media house. 

What did the Epstein files say about President Donald Trump?

After the Epstein documents were released, it was discovered that the exchanges between Landon Thomas Jr. and Epstein included several mentions of Trump. At one point, the convicted s*x offender wrote in an email,

"[Reporters] ask my houseman about Donald [sic] almost walking through the door, leaving his nose print on the glass as young women were swimming in the pool, and he was so focused he walked straight into the door."

ABC News has further contacted the White House regarding the claims about Trump found in the Epstein files. The documents by the House Republicans were released shortly after three emails were released by the House Democrats. The White House has further accused the Democrats present on the committee of "selectively leaking emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative."

According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt,

"These emails prove absolutely nothing, other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong."

One of Epstein's exchanges with Thomas included him sending the then-reporter a feature story. The story was about a woman whom Epstein had dated before Trump began dating her. According to The New York Times, Donald Trump had been mentioned in emails released by Republicans as well as Democrats.