I want to use this space today to tell you a story.<\/p>\n
It is the story of Jeffrey Edward Epstein, the American financier and serial sexual abuser of children, and Donald J. Trump, his best friend from the 1980s to the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
Before proceeding with the story, though, it is necessary to establish how close the Epstein\/Trump relationship was. Epstein\u2019 brother, Mark, often said Epstein and Trump were best friends.<\/p>\n
The New York Times confirmed that by reporting that the two men \u201cspent nearly 15 years mingling side by side\u201d at Epstein\u2019s Upper East Side mansion and enjoying \u201craucous parties\u201d at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago.<\/p>\n
Trump once threw a \u201ccalendar girl competition\u201d at Mar-a-Lago and, according to one of the contestants, had Epstein as his only guest.<\/p>\n
Another time Trump said he and Epstein shared a taste for \u201cbeautiful women\u201d and chuckled that Epstein liked his \u201con the younger side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump flew several times on Epstein\u2019s notorious jet, the \u201cLolita Express.\u201d<\/p>\n
The author Michael Wolff claims Epstein once showed him photos taken at Epstein\u2019s home of topless young women sitting on Trump\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n
And The Washington Post reported that Epstein\u2019s friends sent him bawdy letters for his 50th birthday, and one of the letters was a drawing of a naked woman with Trump\u2019s signature scrawled across where her pubic hair would have been. Trump said the letter \u201cis a fake thing\u201d and he doesn\u2019t even draw (although he sells his drawings online).
\nThe Post stands behind its reporting.<\/p>\n
The Epstein\/Trump story continues.<\/p>\n
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. He pleaded guilty to two charges under a deal that allowed him to be released after serving fewer than 13 months in prison.<\/p>\n
In July 2019, federal agents arrested him on charges of soliciting children for prostitution. He died by hanging in his jail cell less than a month later, and the medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.<\/p>\n
The FBI later said it had raw footage supporting that conclusion, but when the Department of Justice released the footage, it was found to have been modified and approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds of it was missing. It still is missing, but the FBI and the Department of Justice are believed to have it.<\/p>\n
Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, but during the 2024 campaign against Kamala Harris he started claiming that the Justice Department had a list of Epstein\u2019s clients but refused to release it because it contained the names of some top Democrats. He solemnly promised that, were he to become president, he would release it.<\/p>\n