Donald Trump’s alleged connection to Jeffrey Epstein has come under scrutiny again after the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., said on Saturday that his father did not feature on a list of people associated with the late sex offender.
Epstein was indicted in 2019 on charges of operating a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls after Virginia Roberts Giuffre alleged he abused her as a minor. Giuffre alleged that Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, aided in the abuse. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 as he was awaiting trial. Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Trump and Epstein had an alleged friendship and the real estate mogul previously flew on his jets, according to flight logs. Trump was among the names in documents unsealed in the settled case released in January. The papers contain emails and transcripts of depositions pertaining to the now-settled case brought by Giuffre.
Individuals named in the documents are not necessarily accused of wrongdoing and Trump has not been linked to any offenses committed by Epstein or Maxwell.
Newsweek contacted a representative for Trump by email outside of normal business hours to comment on this story.
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Writing on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, Donald Trump Jr. said his father was not on “the Epstein list.”
He wrote: “You know who’s not on the Epstein list? My father… because if he was, it would have leaked in about half a second!!!! That’s a fact!”
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee told New York Magazine in 2002 that he’d known Epstein for 15 years and that he was a “terrific guy.” Trump also flew on Epstein’s jet a number of times, though he distanced himself from his comments following the financier’s arrest and said they had not spoken in 15 years.
As part of 40 previously redacted documents in the settled case released in January, a deposition of Johanna Sjoberg states she traveled from Florida to Atlantic City with Epstein and went to one of Trump’s casinos.
In response to the release of the documents, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, told Newsweek at the time: “These baseless accusations have been fully retracted because they are simply false and have no merit.”
You know who’s not on the Epstein list? My father… because if he was, it would have leaked in about half a second!!!!
That’s a fact! https://t.co/PEb15Dn33U— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 15, 2024
“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,'” Sjoberg said, according to her testimony.
While in Atlantic City, they visited one of Trump’s casinos, according to Sjoberg, who said Giuffre was not allowed in because she was underage.
Later, when asked if she ever massaged Trump, Sjoberg twice responded that she never had.
Trump flew on Epstein’s jet four times in 1993, as well as once in 1994, 1995 and 1997, according to flight logs made public in 2021. The flights were between Palm Beach, Florida, and New York City airports, with the 1994 flight stopping at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
During an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this year, Trump said that the convicted sex offender and suspected sex trafficker had been “a fixture” in Palm Beach, Florida, and had a “beautiful” life before the discovery of his crimes.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.