Donald Trump was friends with Jeffrey Epstein, a multi-millionaire financier and convicted sex offender, who died in prison in 2019, for at least 15 years.
President Trump himself has admitted that Jeffrey Epstein, a multi-millionaire businessman and convicted sex offender and who died in prison in 2019, was himself one of Trump’s own friends for at least 15 years.
Their relationships have been questioned due to the fact that the Trump administration made the decision to keep some of the files of the Mr. Epstein and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking case sealed.
Mr. Epstein was associated with numerous rich and influential individuals who are accused by right- and left-wing groups alike of being complicit in the financier’s offenses. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi consented to publish some of the material, such as flight records of Mr. Epstein’s private plane, but refused to publish other material, such as what authorities described as child sex abuse material.
“A search of the files produced no ‘client lists,’ the Justice Department reported in a July unsigned memorandum. We found no credible evidence, either, that Epstein blackmailed powerful individuals as part of his business. We found no evidence, either, that unindicted third parties were investigable.”
Here, even as the pressure persisted, Mr. Trump on Thursday directed Ms. Bondi to make public to the court “all grand jury testimony” in the Epstein case. The directive fell short of the complete release of material demanded by the president’s opponents.
Mr. Trump had earlier instructed Ms. Bondi to make available to the public only “credible” information, expressing concern that innocent people might get unfairly discredited if the complete files were made available. He described criticism of his response to the case as a “hoax” by Democrats and referred to Mr Epstein as a “despicable person.”.
Mr Epstein was convicted of paying under-age girls to perform sex acts. He was discovered hanged in his cell in 2019, local and federal officials said. Ms Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2021 to helping Mr Epstein procure his victims over nearly a decade.
Here is everything we know about Mr Trump and Mr Epstein.
Trump and Epstein’s amicable relationship: from the 1980s to the early years of the 2000s
He and Mr. Epstein were close friends for over a decade, starting in the 1980s, Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump informed the New York magazine in 2002, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. He’s a great guy, a terrific guy.” “It’s a lot of fun to be with them. It’s said of him that he likes women as much as I do, and that a lot of them are young. There’s no doubt about it – Jeffery enjoys his social life.”
They were also spotted attending parties together during those years.
In 1992, Mr. Trump hosted a tawdry bash with NFL cheerleaders at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. NBC footage of the bash has Mr. Trump laughing with Mr. Epstein.
Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein were present at Victoria’s Secret’s “Angels” party in 1997 in New York. Mr. Trump had allegedly mailed Mr. Epstein a birthday card letter in 2003, which included a sketch of a nude woman and a letter saying to Mr. Epstein, “Dear Jeffrey, I really love you, best regards, Donald,” The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Trump did not sign the letter, and The New York Times could not confirm the report.
1993-1997: Trump took seven flights on Epstein’s plane
When they were buddies, then the name of Mr. Trump came seven times in the flight logs of Mr. Epstein.
Mr. Trump used Mr. Epstein’s private plane four times in 1993; once in 1994; once in 1995; and once in 1997, once there and once back between Palm Beach and New York with an overnight layover in Washington, D.C., the flight records showed and submitted as evidence in Miss Maxwell’s lawsuit and made public on Tuesday.
The president acknowledged that he had flown on Mr. Epstein’s plane but categorically denied that he had traveled with him to his private island or that he had done anything illegal with the financier.
By the way, Mr. Trump also accused other politicians of being close to Mr. Epstein. In the case of former President Bill Clinton, Mr. Trump stated: “There are a lot of problems, in my opinion, with Jeffrey Epstein over that famous island.”
Mr. Epsteen’s “little black book” of wealthy and influential individuals included Mr. Trump’s number and name as well.
2000: Mar-a-Lago’s role in the Epstein case
Mr. Trump’s own club, Mar-a-Lago was also involved in allegations against Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell. Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Mr. Epstein who testified as a teenager that she was introduced to wealthy and influential predators “like a platter of fruit,” said.