
How close were Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein? 5 key questions about their ties
Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported on an alleged birthday greeting by the president for Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. According to the Journal, the Trump letter was "bawdy".
It reportedly contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker, and had the future president's signature "Donald" mimicking pubic hair. It ends with "Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret," the WSJ claimed.
Trump called the letter "fake" and reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying "it's not my language. It's not my words." "I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women," he said.
Following this, the US Justice Department requested a federal court to unseal secret documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's case. The Trump administration made the request late on Friday, asking that grand jury transcripts pertaining to the case be made public.'
Besides, several unverified videos and pictures of Trump with Epstein have surfaced on social media.
What do we know about Trump and Epstein's relationship? Here 5 key questions to raise:
There are conflicting signals on this, CNN reported. Trump had distanced himself from Epstein after the latter was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors in 2019.
Trump had said during his first term, "Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him...I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach."
Trump claimed, "I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn't a fan.' Later, the Washington Post backed Trump's claim, saying that the two men had a falling-out while competing over the same Palm Beach oceanfront property in 2004.
But, according to CNN, Trump's suggestion that his relationship with Epstein was more incidental and his claim that he 'was not a fan' of Epstein's has been called into question, including by Trump's own commentary.
Their relationship appeared to date back to the 1980s. Trump flew on Epstein's jets between Palm Beach and New York, according to flight logs. They socialised at each other's properties.
But in January 2024, Trump said on social media: 'I was never on Epstein's Plane...' In fact, flight logs had already shown Trump flew on it seven times in the 1990s.
Most infamously, Trump in 2002 told New York magazine that Epstein was a 'terrific guy.' He had reportedly said, 'He's a lot of fun to be with...It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.'
Precisely how close Trump and Epstein were isn't totally clear, CNN reported. "Was this just a situation of powerful men occasionally partying together and sharing Epstein's private plane because that's what rich guys do?," it added.
It's believed the idea that Trump would submit a letter for Epstein's birthday album isn't that surprising, given this was when the two of them were seemingly on better terms (2003).
The idea that Trump would be lewd in that letter also tracks, given his past, CNN reported. The 'Access Hollywood' recording of Donald Trump bragging about 'grabbing women" had surfaced in 2016.
But a Trump ally said this doesn't sound like him or something he would create. Influencer Laura Loomer defended Trump, posting on X, 'Everyone who actually KNOWS President Trump knows he doesn't type letters. He writes notes in big black Sharpie."
Moreover, while Trump claims he doesn't draw pictures, his drawings have surfaced before. US media have published multiple drawings done by Trump in the past, with several dating to the early 2000s when he used his celebrity status to donate sketches for charity.
While these don't prove that Trump wrote this letter to Epstein and drew the accompanying picture. But again, Trump is undercutting his own credibility, CNN reported.
Some have suspected that Trump's name could be in the files his administration has failed to produce, given his efforts to quiet chatter about Epstein.
Merely being named wouldn't mean Trump had done anything wrong. But it could create political headaches — as the fallout from the Journal story shows — and as demonstrated by Trump's very public reluctance to release more documents, CNN reported.
Trump was asked Tuesday if Attorney General Pam Bondi had told him his name was in the files, and he didn't directly answer. 'She's given us just a very quick briefing in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen,' Trump was quoted as saying.
Trump's 2002 comment about Epstein's taste for women 'on the younger side' loomed over him, furthering theories that he might have known something about what Epstein had been up to.
But that remains speculative and unproven. Trump also said nothing about underage girls; he cited young 'women.'
CNN cited former Trump aide Sam Nunberg's 2019 account to the Washington Post. According to that, Trump had said he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because of misconduct. 'He's a real creep, I banned him,' Nunberg said Trump had told him.
Nunberg reportedly quoted Trump as saying that he did so because Epstein had recruited a young woman who worked there to give him massages. "This was years before the Epstein investigation became public knowledge," according to the Post.
Multiple reports, including a 2020 book by reporters for the Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal, have linked Epstein's ban from Mar-a-Lago to alleged overtures to the teenage daughter of a Mar-a-Lago member.
In 2019, while Trump quickly distanced himself from Epstein, his commentary the following year after Maxwell was charged was different — and somewhat bizarre.
'But I wish her well, whatever it is,' Trump told reporters in late July 2020.
Despite significant criticism of that — wishing an accused (and later-convicted) child sex trafficker well — Trump a couple weeks later doubled and tripled down when pressed by then-Axios reporter Jonathan Swan on how odd that sounded, CNN reported.
'Yeah, I wish her well,' Trump told Swan. 'I'd wish you well. I'd wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty.'
Trump added, when pressed again: 'I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her. I'm not looking bad for anybody.'

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