Resurfaced clip shows Epstein pleading the Fifth when asked if he was with Trump around underage girls

Yahoo

2 days ago

A resurfaced clip shows sex offender Jeffrey Epstein pleading the Fifth when he was asked during a deposition if he ever socialized with underage girls around Donald Trump.
The video clip, unearthed by left-leaning outlet MeidasTouch, shows Epstein responding to questions during a March 2010 deposition. The disgraced financier was questioned by an attorney of an alleged victim, Vice News previously reported.
In the clip, the attorney asks: 'Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?'
Epstein replied: 'Though l'd like to answer that question, at least today l'm going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights, sir.'
Trump has never been accused of any crime in connection with the Epstein investigation and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Pleading the Fifth refers to invoking the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not self-incriminate.
Epstein once pleaded the Fifth over 1,000 times in a deposition, which addressed his relationships with Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton, along with subjects including his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and his New York mansion. It is unclear whether that deposition, details of which were published in a trove of documents in January 2024, is the same 2010 deposition in which he was questioned about Trump.
In the 2010 clip, the attorney also asked: 'Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump?'
Epstein asked what the attorney meant by a 'personal relationship.' The attorney rephrased, asking: 'Have you socialized with him?'
'Yes, sir,' Epstein responded.
The attorney questioning Epstein is not identified in the clip.
A deposition involves an individual giving sworn testimony outside of court, and can involve the names of dozens of people, but it does not mean they are implicated in any crimes.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told The Independent that the clip is "nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious."
"The fact is that The President kicked him out of his club for being a creep," Cheung said. "This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about.'
Epstein and Trump were known to socialize in New York and Palm Beach. The President had called Epstein a 'terrific guy' in a 2002 interview with New York Magazine but the pair had a falling out around 2004, The New York Times reports. Trump then barred Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club 'for being a creep,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges and was sentenced to 18 months in a minimum-security facility in Palm Beach County.
In 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. He died by suicide in a New York City jail cell about a month after his arrest.
His associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only person who has been charged in connection with the Epstein case. The disgraced British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida federal prison for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse young girls.
The Trump administration has come under increasing pressure, from both Democrats and MAGA allies, to release more information since the Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo on July 6 indicating there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein investigation.
The memo said there was no 'client list' containing names of Epstein's alleged high-profile associates. However, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had insinuated that the same 'client list' was on her desk in February amid a tranche of Epstein files.
The memo also confirmed Epstein died by suicide, pouring cold water on years of conspiracy theories around his death. The agencies released security footage taken from outside Epstein's cell in the hours leading up to his death to bolster their findings. But some have argued the footage was altered and has a 'missing minute.'
The president has tried to quell the outrage, directing Bondi to make attempts to unseal grand jury testimony related to the Epstein investigation. Two judges in Florida and New York denied those requests this week on legal grounds.
On Thursday, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell. Her attorney, David Markus, told reporters she 'never declined to answer' questions and did not invoke any privileges during the meeting. A federal judge rejected a separate request from Maxwell's attorneys to release grand jury transcripts Wednesday.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer also subpoenaed Maxwell Wednesday as a growing number of lawmakers seek more information on the Epstein files.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had told Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein Files. The president denied to reporters earlier this month that his name was in the files. Appearing in the files does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called the WSJ report 'fake news.'
Last week, the WSJ also reported on an alleged 50th birthday card that Trump sent to Epstein. The WSJ described the 2003 note as including a drawing of a naked woman and Trump's signature made to look like her pubic hair. The report alleges Trump ended the note with a birthday wish for Epstein: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.'
Trump denied the card existed, telling the WSJ: 'I never wrote a picture in my life.'
The president has sued the newspaper, its parent companies and owner, Rupert Murdoch, for $10 billion. A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the paper's publisher, said the company has 'full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting.'