Trump admin updates: White House officials hold prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the Epstein case and if President Donald Trump was willing to meet with the victims of Epstein's crimes

The press secretary said the Justice Department has "done more in terms of transparency when it comes to the Epstein case than any prior administration.

"Why are the Democrats all of a sudden caring about this? It's because they're desperately trying to concoct a hoax to smear the president of the United States. We have seen this time and time again," she said.

When another reporter asked about the alleged letter that Trump gave to Epstein for a 50th "birthday book," Leavitt repeated Trump's denial that he wrote and drew the letter. She maintained that the signature on the image is not his.

Trump himself has not made a claim about the signature.

When asked by another reporter if the White House was open to getting a handwriting expert to review the signature, Leavitt responded, "Sure, we would support that."

President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the prime minister of Qatar after Israel's strike in Doha targeting senior Hamas leadership, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Leavitt read out a statement from the White House on the strike, which showed some daylight between the U.S. and Israel. Trump "feels very badly" about the location of the strike, Leavitt said, describing it as an "unfortunate incident."

"This morning, the Trump administration was notified by the United States military that as Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar, unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America's goals," Leavitt said.

"However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal. President Trump immediately directed special envoy [Steve] Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did," Leavitt continued. "The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack. President Trump wants all of the hostages in Gaza and the bodies of the dead released in this war to end."

"President Trump believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace," she added.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump will mark the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with two events.

In the morning, the president will visit the memorial at the Pentagon, where one of the four hijacked planes struck.

Later in the evening, he will attend the New York Yankees game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium.

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance will visit Ground Zero on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, according to a press release from the White House.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

Talking with radio host Sid Rosenberg on WABC in a phone interview, President DonaldTrump continued to tease his plans of sending federal troops into Chicago.

"But we'll do the same thing in Chicago, but ask politely to say, we need help. And they keep saying, you know, they have it under control," Trump said.

Trump said during the interview that at a "certain point," he'll have to intervene on crime in Democratic-led cities.

"And we're going to make our city safe, one way or the other, and at a certain point would just say, I'm sorry, we're going in. Be nice to be asked. But you know, they're all Democrat governors and mayors, just about all of them. If you really look, we have a couple of cities too. But in terms of the really bad stuff, they're all Democrat involved," Trump said.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie