"I'm in the files": Mace tells Palmeri she is named in the Epstein files, questions FBI credibility

Rep. Nancy Mace interrupted Tara Palmeri's question about a Jane Doe connected to Donald Trump to say: "I'm in the files. I mean, I'm in the files." The exchange came during a September 1, 2026 conversation about the Epstein investigation, and whether Mace was ever suspicious of Trump given his connections to Epstein.

Mace had begun the exchange by saying she did not believe Trump was named by any of the victims she has met with. When Palmeri pivoted to a Jane Doe who reportedly filed against Trump, Mace cut in with the "I'm in the files" statement before letting Palmeri finish. Mace has said publicly that she appears in the Epstein files as a victim. In this interview she questioned the FBI's handling of the Jane Doe claim, saying "I don't know if we can trust the FBI on this one."

Captioned clip from the Tara Palmeri Show, September 1, 2026. Watch the full interview on YouTube.

The exchange

The verbatim exchange, from the Tara Palmeri Show, September 1, 2026:

Palmeri: Do you um, ever get suspicious, though? I mean, did you ever get suspicious for a second, wondering why he's being like this about one man who's dead?

Mace: Um, no. And I, I, I think that not in his case, because he wasn't named, I mean, I've met with victims. He's not named by any of the victims. I do think that there's some interesting things going on.

Palmeri: ...though, and there was that one

Mace: I'm in the files. I mean, I'm in the files.

Palmeri: No, no, no, but there was a Jane Doe that was connected to Donald Trump that did file against him, um, right before he

Mace: Yeah, I think, and I think the FBI didn't find it and I have to go back to the records, cuz I read everything, and I think the FBI didn't think it was credible, or didn't move on it, or didn't investigate it. I don't know if we can trust the FBI on this one.

Palmeri continued after Mace's statement:

Palmeri: And people are dying, by the way. There are people that are witnesses that knew Epstein. There's been a slew of deaths, I think, in the last year or so. That's pretty scary.

Context

Mace made the Epstein discharge petition and her own connection to the files a recurring theme throughout the interview. She described the opening of the interview in terms of the political cost she paid: "I signed the discharge petition for the Epstein victims, which is I gave up my political career for that discharge petition, and I would do it all over again."

Mace has stated publicly on other occasions that she is named in the Epstein files as a victim. In this interview, when Palmeri tries to ask about a Jane Doe connected to Trump, Mace's immediate response was to identify herself as someone who appears in the same files. She then addressed the Jane Doe claim, characterizing the FBI's response to it as a credibility question.

Mace expressed concern about the FBI's handling of the Epstein file generally: "I don't know if we can trust the FBI on this one." Her characterization of Trump's possible involvement was that he was not named by any of the victims she has personally met with, and that "I do think that there's some interesting things going on."

Watch

The full Tara Palmeri Show interview is available on YouTube. The Epstein files exchange begins at approximately 14:12:

Sources

• Tara Palmeri Show, "MACE ON BEING MACE," YouTube, September 1, 2026 (primary source; exchange at 14:12)
• The Tara Palmeri Show: tarapalmeri.com