logo
All we know about Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's 'friendship'

All we know about Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's 'friendship'

Sky News18-07-2025
Donald Trump has been fending off pressure from his own Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement to release files related to the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein.
The paedophile financier was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019, shortly after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges.
The president pledged to release files on Epstein during his campaign, as his MAGA movement accused the Biden administration of suppressing the extent of Epstein's paedophilia, predatory behaviour and his so-called "client list" - thought to contain names of the rich and famous who conspired with him in his child sex trafficking operation.
But Mr Trump has made a controversial U-turn and instead started lashing out at supporters who are continuing to call for the files to be released.
The saga has thrust Mr Trump and Epstein's former relations back into the spotlight.
But what do we know about their history?
Mr Trump and Epstein moved in the same circles in Florida and New York for many years, and were pictured together on several occasions in the 1990s and early 2000s, including at the real estate mogul's club in Palm Beach.
There is now-infamous NBC News archive footage of the pair socialising in November 1992 at Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, with the now-president appearing to point out women on the dance floor.
3:06
In a 2002 interview with New York magazine, Mr Trump was quoted saying: "I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.
"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."
Allegations that Epstein had been sexually abusing girls became public in 2006 and he was arrested that year before accepting a plea deal. He was then arrested for a second time in 2019 and charged with sex-trafficking conspiracy.
1:47
Trump was asked about his relationship with Epstein after he was found dead in his cell, and he played down the extent of their relationship.
He said he "knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him", but added: "I had a falling out with him. I haven't spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you."
Asked why the pair fell out, Mr Trump said: "The reason doesn't make any difference, frankly," and added that he had "no idea" about Epstein's crimes.
Trump flew on Epstein's plane numerous times
Epstein owned an island in the Caribbean, a location where he is known to have taken underage girls to abuse them.
He had a private plane which he flew acquaintances in, and some of the flight logs have been released to the public.
19:39
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈
Amid speculation in January last year, Mr Trump said on social media: "I was never on Epstein's Plane, or at his 'stupid' Island."
But the flight logs indicated he flew on Epstein's plane at least seven times. There is no suggestion that Mr Trump was flown to the island.
The logs indicate that on one of the trips between New York and Florida he was accompanied by his then-wife Marla Maples and their daughter, Tiffany, and another listed his son Eric as a passenger.
Court documents name Trump
Court documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell, her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and alleged victims of sexual abuse were unsealed in January last year.
The documents, which were part of a 2015 defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, named Mr Trump, along with the likes of Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton.
1:09
A woman named Johanna Sjoberg gave testimony and said that while flying to Manhattan with Epstein, Maxwell, Ms Giuffre and Prince Andrew, the financier's jet was diverted to Atlantic City, New Jersey - where Epstein suggested going to one of Mr Trump's casinos.
"The pilots told me to go back and tell [Epstein] that we can't land in New York and that we were going to have to land in Atlantic City," she said.
"Jeffrey said, 'Great, we'll call up Trump and we'll go to' - I don't recall the name of the casino, but - 'we'll go to the casino'."
She said she spent several hours with Epstein at a Trump casino but did not say if she met him. Mr Trump was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Birthday letter from Trump to Epstein
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claims it has seen a letter written by Mr Trump as part of a collection of letters addressed to Epstein that his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell planned to give him as a birthday present in 2003.
According to documents seen by the WSJ, Mr Trump's letter featured several lines of typewritten text framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman.
The paper said the letter concludes "Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret", and featured the signature "Donald", allegedly drawn across the woman's waist, meant to mimic the appearance of pubic hair.
Mr Trump denied he wrote it in an interview with the WSJ prior to publication.
"This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story," he said. "I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women," he said. "It's not my language. It's not my words."
Later, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: "The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures."
In 2017, Mr Trump drew a picture of the Empire State Building which sold at auction for $16,000 (£11,892).
His Truth Social post continued: "I told Rupert Murdoch [WSJ's owner] it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT."
Falling out
Any friendship that existed between Mr Trump and Epstein in the 1990s is said to have turned sour in the early 2000s.
The New York Times reports that the pair fell out in 2004 over a foreclosed oceanfront Palm Beach mansion that Mr Trump outbid Epstein for.
In 2006 Epstein was indicted as part of an FBI and Florida police investigation. Two years later he pleaded guilty in state court to two felony charges, including soliciting a minor, as part of a plea deal that avoided federal charges that would have meant far more serious prison time.
There is little public record of Mr Trump and Epstein crossing paths from 2004 onwards. In 2019 Mr Trump said that he and Epstein had had a "falling out" and hadn't spoken for 15 years.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Owner of Donald Trump-themed burger chain may soon be deported by president he worships
Owner of Donald Trump-themed burger chain may soon be deported by president he worships

Daily Mirror

time28 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

Owner of Donald Trump-themed burger chain may soon be deported by president he worships

A Lebanese man who has been in the US since 2019 and started a chain of Donald Trump inspired restaurants could soon be deported by the president he worships The boss of an infamous Trump Burger chain could soon be booted out of the US by the very president he idolises. ‌ Homeland Security sources have revealed that restaurant boss Roland Beainy, 40, was arrested in May after immigration cops discovered he had overstayed his visa. ‌ Beainy, who hails from Lebanon, arrived in 2019 on a tourist visa and never left, even after it expired in February this year. Officials claim he's been living in America illegally ever since. The Trump fanatic launched his first burger joint in 2020, complete with MAGA-themed décor, and has since grown the chain to four outlets across the Houston area. It comes after Donald Trump was seen with a mystery mark in Scotland after his chronic health diagnosis. ‌ But his political loyalty isn't earning him any special treatment in the White House's sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants, and he could soon see himself living in another country, the NY Post reports. In a fiery statement, the Department for Homeland Security said: 'This is true regardless of what restaurant you own or political beliefs you might have." ‌ Officials also claim the Lebanon native's bid for legal status was 'revoked' after his own family allegedly admitted his marriage was a sham to dodge immigration rules. Homeland Security didn't hold back, accusing Beainy of having 'no Green Card, a history of illegal marriages, and an assault charge', and even branded it a 'flagrant abuse' of US immigration law. ‌ The burger boss denies all wrongdoing, insisting the claims are 'not true' in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. He was released on bond in June while his deportation case drags on — but the fight is far from over. The Trump Burger brand has courted controversy before. A recent Facebook video showed a Trump impersonator jokingly asking Latina diners for their green cards. Adding to his troubles, Beainy is locked in a bitter legal row with the landlord of his Kemah branch. Archie Patterson claims he's owed money, while Beainy's side insists Patterson forced out staff and seized control of the site. For now, it's not known whether Beainy will be serving customers in Texas or back in Beirut in the months to come. His future is now in the hands of the courts. Earlier this year, a movement dubbed Operation Safeguard led to an increase in ICE and allied agencies to conduct mass raids across major cities, detaining tens of thousands including those with legal or pending status. At the same time, the administration dramatically expanded detention infrastructure and used military-style camps.

Teenage arrested after three shot in New York City's Times Square
Teenage arrested after three shot in New York City's Times Square

BBC News

time28 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Teenage arrested after three shot in New York City's Times Square

A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested after three people were shot in New York City's Times Square in the early hours of rang out at around 01:20 EDT (05:20 GMT) at West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, below the towering billboards in one of the world's busiest tourist teenager has not been named by police, and charges were shooting comes three months before the election for New York mayor, and as President Donald Trump sends federal agents into the streets of Washington DC to crack down on crimes committed by young people. The shooting in Times Square erupted during a fight outside a Raising Cane's chicken restaurant. It stemmed from a dispute, according to the New York Police Department. A handgun was recovered at the say a 19-year-old man was shot in the foot, a 65-year-old man was hit in the left leg and an 18-year old woman was grazed in the were all admitted to hospital in a stable month, a gun attack on an office building left four workers dead in Midtown Manhattan. The suspected gunman, a 27-year-old from Nevada, was believed to be targeting the National Football League (NFL) to New York police, the city has seen historically low levels of gun violence in recent months. The city recorded the fewest shootings and gunshot victims on record in the first seven months of Friday, Trump ordered federal agents into the streets of Washington DC to curb "totally out of control" levels of DC's homicide rate remains relatively high compared to other US cities, with a total of 98 such killings recorded so far this year. Homicides have been trending higher in the US capital compared with a decade ago. But federal data from January shows that Washington DC last year recorded its lowest overall violent crime figures - once car-jacking, assault and robberies are incorporated - in 30 years. The city had the highest per capita murder rate in the US during the 1990s. On Saturday, Trump announced plans on Truth Social to host a news conference at the White House on Monday, "which will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, DC".

CEO of AI company gets bloodied pig's head in horror package as he's called a 'Clark Kent knockoff'
CEO of AI company gets bloodied pig's head in horror package as he's called a 'Clark Kent knockoff'

Daily Mail​

time28 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

CEO of AI company gets bloodied pig's head in horror package as he's called a 'Clark Kent knockoff'

The CEO of an AI startup in Las Vegas receives a package containing a severed pig's head and threatening letter - believed to stem from his company's use of artificial intelligence. Blake Owens, founder and CEO of Agrippa, an AI-powered platform to connect commercial real estate investors and developers without traditional brokers, received the bloodied pig's head along with the menacing note on July 29. The gruesome parcel was sent to a relative's home, and the message criticized Owens' use of AI - with personal insults that called him a 'Clark Kent knockoff' and ended ominously with: 'And don't get greedy because pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Owens told KLAS: 'Perhaps this person watched too much of The Godfather. 'Needless to say, I still take it very seriously, but don't feel like I'm being truly threatened. It was a message.' The note was signed only with the initial 'M' and appeared to be motivated by a June TV segment that profiled Owens and Agrippa's AI tool, known as 'Marcus', to automate real estate transactions by matching developers with investors and evaluating property bids. The sinister letter also said: 'AI is not going to replace brokers. Clearly you don't understand real estate wasn't built by developers or investors. And it sure as hell wasn't built by tech guys in Lululemon. It was built by brokers. We did it the hard way. No shortcuts, no tech, just people.' Owens said he believed the sender was fearful of being displaced by automation. The businessman said: 'I understand this person is probably just frustrated that business isn't going well for them, and then they see AI replacement stories on top of that. And I just so happen to be someone they can focus their frustration on.' A photo of the package showed the sender was labeled as 'Marcus Agrippa' - a reference to the company's AI system. Owens joked: 'Is this a message that you know your own AI is turning against you? I wasn't quite sure how to interpret it.' Las Vegas PD confirmed it was investigating the incident and classified it as a harassment case. A suspect was yet to be identified. Owens said he did not feel 'genuinely threatened' and would not press charges should the sender be eventually identified. He told KLAS: 'I don't want to punch down on this person; they may be in a tough spot in life. I do see this as an opportunity to show people you don't become a better person by making another man a lesser person.' Owens also addressed potential anxiety surrounding AI's growing presence in the workforce, particularly in fields such as real estate that had historically relied on personal relationships. He said: 'You know, people are scared. They feel displaced and when disruption moves faster than education, fear just fills the gap.' Owens added that Agrippa was not designed to replace humans but it was created to empower professionals through AI. He said: '[Winston Churchill] said to be perfect is to change often. I think a lot of people are afraid of change and what's coming with AI, because it really is a tsunami of change that people are trying to resist. But the more you embrace it, the better you'll do, the more skills that you'll accumulate, more value you'll bring to the table.' Despite the threatening nature of the package, Owens remained committed to encouraging dialogue and told Inman: 'If I knew who this person was, I'd say, "Hey, feel free to reach out to me - maybe not with a package, just send me an email - I'm happy to share whatever education I can on keeping up with AI."' The investigation into the incident remained ongoing.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store