TheEpsteinFiles.org is an online research library provided to users with a comprehensive, concentrated yet organized list of documented events covering the Jeffrey Epstein case. The information provided in here to give users access to not only events but also the source of their claims.
1953 - 1975
Epstein Bio
Born in 1953 and raised in Coney Island, Epstein went to Lafayette High School. According to his bio, he took some classes in physics at Cooper Union from 1969 to 1971. He left Cooper Union in 1971 and attended NYU’s Courant Institute, where he took courses in mathematical physiology of the heart, leaving that school, too, without a degree. Between 1973 and 1975, Epstein taught calculus and physics at the Dalton School.
1976
Epstein Bio
Started work at Bear Stearns as an options trader.
1980
Trump Bio
Trump allegedly sexually assaults Jessica Leeds. She found herself sitting next to Trump when she was unexpectedly upgraded to first class. After they ate their meal, 45 minutes into the flight, Leeds recalls Trump lifting the armrest and groping her. According to Ms. Leeds, Mr. Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt. “He was like an octopus,” she said. “His hands were everywhere.” They had never met before.
1980
Epstein Bio
Made junior partner. Left Bear in 1981.
1982
Epstein Bio
Started Epstein and Co. where he would manage the individual and family fortunes of clients with $1 billion or more. He immediately began collecting clients. There were no road shows, no whiz-bang marketing demos – just this: Jeff Epstein was open for business for those with $1 billion–plus. The conditions for investing with Epstein were steep: He would take total control of the billion dollars, charge a flat fee, and assume power of attorney to do whatever he thought was necessary to advance his client’s financial cause. And he remained true to the $1 billion entry fee. According to people who know him, if you were worth $700 million and felt the need for the services of Epstein and Co., you would receive a not-so-polite no-thank-you from Epstein.
1985
Relationship
Trump and Epstein met around the time Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985, when Epstein was also living in Palm Beach, according to Trump, who told New York magazine in 2002 he had known Epstein sfor “15 years,” calling him a “terrific guy,” and adding “it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Late 1980s
Relationship
Jack O’Donnell, who oversaw the Atlantic City Trump Plaza Hotel
and Casino froom 1987 to 1990 spoke to CNN about Trump's
relationship with Jeffrey Epstein:
"In my mind, [Epstein] was his best friend, you know,
[throughout] the time I was there for four years,” O’Donnell said in the interview, noting that the pair
"frequently"came to Trump's casino together.
One alleged instance stood out to the former casino boss. He
claimed that one night in the late 1980s, Trump and Epstein
visited Trump Plaza with three women and brought them onto the
casino floor despite them being under 21.
O'Donnell
said he found out about the incident the following day, when state
casino commission inspectors were waiting for him in his office.
An inspector, it seems, had identified one of the girls with Trump
and Epstein as "the No. 3-ranked tennis player in the world."
"This [inspector] happened to be a tennis fan and he said,
'Jack, I know she’s 19 years old,' "
O'Donnell said.
"They had determined that the women that they brought down were
underage to be in the casino.”
In the state of New Jersey, it is illegal for anyone under 21 to
gamble on a casino floor. Despite the law, O'Donnell claims the
commission gave Trump a "break" for the incident, but told
him to warn the future president about the potential consequences.
“I had to call them and say, 'They're giving you a break this
time, but if this happens again, the fine is going to be
substantial and it's going to be on your head,' "
he claimed.
O'Donnell also claimed to have told Trump that continuing to hang
out with Epstein and underage women was “not gonna look good.”
"I did tell him in that conversation, 'I don’t think you should
be hanging out with this guy, just so you know, and you
certainly shouldn’t be doing that in Atlantic City,' "
he said.
Late 1980s
Maxwell Bio
According Epstein's business partner, Steven Hoffenberg, Robert Maxwell introduces his daughter Ghislaine Maxwell to Jeffrey Epstein at a party.
1989
Trump Bio
During his divorce from Ivana Trump, she detailed a gruesome incident which occurred after Trump was upset about the results of a scalp reduction surgery to remove a bald spot, which was performed by her plastic surgeon. In the account, written by reporter Harry Hurt III, Ivana claimed that Trump ripped out fistfuls of hair from Ivana's head and forcibly penetrated her sexually. "Ivana is terrified… It is a violent assault,” Hurt writes, as The Daily Beast reports. “According to versions she repeats to some of her closest confidantes, ‘he raped me.’” Trump later dismissed the claim as false and The Trump Organization special counsel Michael Cohen defended him, saying, “You cannot rape your spouse. And there’s very clear case law.”
1990
Relationship
In 1990, Epstein bought the oceanfront mansion at 358 El Brillo Way in Palm Beach for approximately $2.5 million, according to property records. The estate spanned around 14,000 sq ft, included multiple buildings, and sat on waterfront land just 1–1.6 miles north of Trump’s Mar‑a‑Lago private club
Early 1990s
Trump Bio
Kristin Anderson says she was in a Manhattan bar with friends when the person next to her reached up her skirt and touched her vagina through her underwear. She says she turned and recognized the person as Donald Trump. Story in the Washington Post on October 14, 2016.
Early 1990s
Maxwell Bio
Ghislaine Maxwell moves to New York City in 1991 and “became closely associated with Epstein” that summer, according to contemporaneous reporting. In another report by released in a Department Of Justice interview, Maxwell said she first met Epstein for tea at his Madison Avenue office.
1992
Trump Bio
On camera, while doing a segment for Entertainment Tonight, Trump made sexually suggestive remarks about a 10-year-old girl. Spotting the girl in front of an escalator, Trump quipped, "I’m going to be dating her in 10 years. Can you believe it?"
1992
Trump Bio
The Chicago Tribune reports, linking to an archived story in its entertainment and gossip column. The wire report states the incident occurred when Trump visited a youth choir outside of the Plaza Hotel. "He asked two of the girls how old they were," it reads. "After they replied they were 14, Trump said, 'Wow! Just think — in a couple of years I'll be dating you.'"
1992
Relationship
Trump and Epstein were spotted laughing together at a party Trump threw at Mar-a-Lago, according to NBC footage of the event unearthed in 2019.
1992
Relationship
At a “calendar girl” party at Mar-a-Lago where Trump invited just two other guests, Florida businessman George Houraney and Epstein, Houraney’s girlfriend at the time, Jill Harth, said Trump forcibly kissed and fondled her, restrained her from leaving a bedroom and alleged Trump crawled into bed with another 22-year-old woman at the party in a 1997 lawsuit Trump settled the lawsuit with Harth (he has denied her allegations), The New York Times reported.
1993
Trump Bio
Trump subjected makeup artist Jill Harth to a reported "steady string of sexual assaults", as The Guardian reports. He allegedly groped her under a dinner table at the Plaza Hotel's Oak Room and, later, he allegedly pinned her against a wall in one of his children's bedrooms and and groped her. “He pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again,” Harth recalled, “and I had to physically say: ‘What are you doing? Stop it.’ It was a shocking thing to have him do this because he knew I was with George, he knew they were in the next room. And how could he be doing this when I’m there for business?” Harth later formally accused Trump of attempted rape in a 1997 lawsuit.
1993
Trump Bio
When Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter invited Trump to the 1993 White House Correspondents' Dinner, it turned out to be a nightmare. Trump was seated next to Swedish model Vendela Kirsebom and harassed her all evening to the point where she asked to be moved. "After 45 minutes she came over to my table, almost in tears, and pleaded with me to move her," recalls Carter. "It seems that Trump had spent his entire time with her assaying the 't*ts' and legs of the other female guests and asking how they measured up to those of other women, including his wife. 'He is,' she told me, in words that seemed familiar, 'the most vulgar man I have ever met.'"
1993
Relationship
Trump flew on Epstein’s private jets four times in 1993, according to flight logs made public during Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, The New York Times reported.
1993
Maxwell
Maxwell and Epstein are romantically associated with each other by February 1993.
1993
Relationship
Photos released by CNN showed Epstein attended Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples—his second wife—at the Plaza Hotel in New York. A few months before the wedding, another photo published by CNN showed Epstein and Trump together at the opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York.
1993
Relationship
Trump groped model Stacey Williams when Epstein brought her to Trump Tower, she alleged in an October interview with The New York Times (Trump’s campaign denied the allegations as “unequivocally false” and politically motivated).
1993
Investigation
Trump was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in the apartment of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The case consists of two affidavits filed by “Joan Doe” and “Tiffany Doe” which corroborate the victim's story, as Buzzfeed reports. "Joan" says she was told about the assault after it happened, while "Tiffany" — who was apparently hired as a "recruiter" to bring young girls to Epstein's apartment — alleges she saw Trump and Epstein rape the victim more than once. Trump's attorney has denied these accusations.
1994
Relationship
Trump flew on one of Epstein’s private jets, according to the flight logs.
1994
Relationship
Donald Trump, Marla Maples (Trump's wife at the time), and their daughter, Tiffany, flew on Epstein's plane. "JE," believed to be Epstein himself, was also on the flight logs.
1995
Relationship
Epstein reportedly called Maria Farmer—who has accused Epstein and Maxwell of sexual assault—to his New York office late at night, where Trump then arrived and “started to hover over” Farmer, who was in her mid-20s at the time, and “stared at her bare legs” before Epstein said, “No, no. She’s not here for you,” Farmer reportedly told the FBI, according to The New York Times.
1995
Relationship
Trump took another flight on an Epstein jet, the flight logs say.
1995
Maxwell Bio
Maxwell and Epstein become guests of honour on a Christmas cruise organised by Australian trucking tycoon, Lindsay Fox on his private, 100-foot yacht.
1996
Trump Bio
Trump rapes E Jean Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room. She bumped into Mr Trump and exchanged flirtatious banter with him before things quickly turned violent. She said Mr Trump asked her to come with him into a dressing room, after Trump asked for her advice on a present – lingerie – for another woman. Inside, she alleges that he shoved her against a wall, “forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.”
1996
Epstein Bio
Jeffrey Epstein purchased his Boeing 727 jet — the aircraft nicknamed the “Lolita Express” — in 1996. After buying it, Epstein retrofitted the aircraft to suit his needs by installing a private bedroom with a queen-sized bed. Aviation consultant McCloskey described the plane's interior as, "When you get inside the aircraft, it’s a playground. Everything lays out to be a bed. That was kind of creepy...it’s not like the aircraft is set up for a business meeting — because it’s not. There’s no chairs for anyone to sit in, except for the lie-flat chairs."
1996
Epstein Bio
Jeffrey Epstein hires Maria K. Farmer, a visual artist, and gives her a tour of his New York mansion. In the mansion, Farmer witnesses a secret media room behind a hidden door. She describes the room as, " "there were men sitting here. And I looked on the cameras, and I saw toilet, toilet, bed, bed, toilet, bed." She added that "It was very obvious that they were, like, monitoring private moments."
1996
Trump Bio
Trump's behavior towards former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado wasn't sexual to our knowledge, it seems that it was predatory and verbally abusive. "He was very overwhelming. I was scared of him. He'd yell at me all of the time," says Machado in a video clip executed by Hillary Clinton's campaign. "He'd tell me, 'You look ugly,' or, 'You look fat.' Sometimes he'd 'play' with me and say, 'Hello, Miss Piggy,' 'Hello, Miss Housekeeping.'" Trump also bodyshamed Machado when she gained 40 pounds after winning her title, which led to her developing eating disorders. "Long after, I was sick with eating disorders," she recalls. "I wouldn't eat, and would still see myself as fat because a powerful man said so. This is a man who doesn't realize the damage he causes." After Machado told her story, Trump reacted by slut-shaming her.
1996
Epstein Bio
Maria Farmer, while living at the guest house of the Les Wexner estate, barricades herself in a room with furniture to prevent Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell from sexually assaultings her. Farmer calls her father to escape her pursuers.
1996
Trump Bio
Lisa Boyne, a health food business entrepreneur told The Huffington Post that she and a friend, along with "five or six models," were seated at a semi-circular table with Trump. When the models wanted to get up to leave, Trump refused to get up to let them do so, instead forcing them to walk on top of the table where he “stuck his head right underneath their skirts” as Boyne says and remarked on their underwear and genitalia. “It was the most offensive scene I’ve ever been a part of,” Boyne said. “I wanted to get the heck out of there.”
1997
Trump Bio
Trump created discomfort for at least five teenage Miss USA contestants — including one who was as young as 15-years-old—when he visited their dressing room as they were changing. “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here,’” former Miss Vermont Teen USA Mariah Billado told Buzzfeed. His response, according to Billado, was something along the lines of “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.” Other contestants referred to the incident to Buzzfeed as "shocking" and "creepy." While 11 of the other contestants from that year's pageant Buzzfeed reached out to say they don't remember this happening, Trump has gone on the record bragging about his access to dressing rooms before. “I’ll tell you the funniest is that I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone’s getting dressed,” he told Howard Stern. “No men are anywhere, and I’m allowed to go in, because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it. … ‘Is everyone OK?’ You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody OK?’ And you see these incredible looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.”
1997
Relationship
Trump signed a note to Epstein in his book, “Trump: The Art of the Comeback,” that said “To Jeff—You are the greatest!” according to The New York Times.
1997
Relationship
Trump took a seventh flight on one of Epstein’s jets
1997
Relationship
Trump and Epstein were photographed standing near each other at a Victoria’s Secret “Angels” party, according to a Getty image of Trump posing with model Ingrid Seynhaeve that shows Epstein in the background.
1997
Trump Bio
At a Mother’s Day brunch for Mar-A-Lago club members’ families in 1997, Heller alleges that when she was introduced to Trump, he grabbed her and tried to kiss her on the lips. Heller says she leaned back to avoid him and then he kissed her on the side of her mouth. CNN has reported Heller is a Democratic donor. Story in the Guardian on October 15, 2016.
1997
Trump Bio
Temple Taggart McDowell, who was Miss Utah USA 1997, charges that Trump suddenly kissed her without her consent on two separate occasions. Story in New York Times May 14, 2016.
1997
Trump Bio
Donald Trump bursts into the dressing room of Miss Teen contestants. Mariah Billado, Miss Teen Vermont 1997, recounts her experience, “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here." Three other teenage contestants from the same year confirmed the story. One of them called Trump's behavior “shocking” and “creepy.”
1998
Trump Bio
At the U.S. Open in 1998, then-27-year-old Karena Virginia says that she heard Trump say about her body: “‘Hey, look at this one, we haven’t seen her before, look at those legs,’ as though I was an object rather than a person,” according to TIME. She says that he then touched her breast and grabbed her arm, saying, “Don’t you know who I am?”
1999
Relationship
A video released by CNN showed Trump and Epstein laughing and chatting with each other at another Victoria’s Secret event.
2000
Relationship
Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort when she was recruited by Maxwell to work as Epstein’s personal masseuse and was groomed by the two to provide sexual services for Epstein and his wealthy circle, according to a deposition Giuffre gave that was made public in 2019.
2001
Trump Bio
Tasha Dixon, Miss Arizona 2001: “Our first introduction to [Trump] was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked changing into our bikinis,” Dixon said in an interview with CBS affiliate KCAL 9. “He just came strolling right in. There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Other girls were naked.” She was 18 at the time. "Who do you complain to?" she said. "He owns the pageant." An anonymous 2001 Miss USA contestant: Another contestant in the 2001 pageant told The Guardian that Trump watched her and one of her peers change in the dressing room before a rehearsal. “Mr. Trump just barged right in, didn’t say anything, stood there and stared at us,” she said. Mindy McGillivray: McGillivray was a photographer's assistant helping out during a shoot at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in 2001 when she says Trump groped her. “All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge. I think it’s Ken’s camera bag, that was my first instinct," she told the Palm Beach Post. "I turn around and there’s Donald. He sort of looked away quickly. I quickly turned back, facing Ray Charles, and I’m stunned." She added: “This was a pretty good nudge. More of a grab," and that "It was pretty close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped."
2001
Maxwell Bio
A 22 January 2001 article by Nigel Rosser of the Evening Standard reported that friends of Epstein said Maxwell "remains desperate to marry Epstein", further elaborating: "You could say she was pretty much entirely dependent on him. She loves him. He sometimes treats her well, sometimes off-handedly. You could say she sees something of a father in him."
2002
Investigation
Speaking with New York magazine in 2002 about Epstein, Trump said: "I’ve known Jeff for fifteen 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.”
2002
Epstein
In 2002, British journalist Vicky Ward, while reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s finances for Vanity Fair, is told about Epstein's nefarious methods. Her sources warn her how Jeffery Esptein lacked a moral compass and would compromise influential people by "... recording them doing things they wouldn’t want made public."
2003
Trump Bio
Trump went on the record in an interview with Howard Stern about what he thought about the then-12-year-old daughter of his family friends. "Now, somebody who a lot of people don’t give credit to but in actuality is really beautiful is Paris Hilton," he said, before admitting to watching Hilton's — a girl he had known since she was a child — sex tape. "I’ve known Paris Hilton from the time she’s 12, her parents are friends of mine, and the first time I saw her she walked into the room and I said, ‘Who the hell is that?’”
2003
Relationship
Trump allegedly gave Epstein the birthday card that said “may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the Wall Street Journal report, which the president denies and has sued the paper over; The New York Times later reported Trump was on a list of contributors for the book of birthday cards to Epstein Trump’s letter allegedly appeared in.
2004
Trump Bio
Trump gives the okay for Howard Stern to call his daughter Ivanka
a piece of ass.
Trump: “My daughter is beautiful, Ivanka."
Stern: “By the way, your daughter…”
Trump: “ - she’s beautiful"
Stern: “Can I say this? A piece of ass.”
Trump: “Yeah.”
2004
Relationship
Trump and Epstein had a falling out when Trump outbid him for a Palm Beach mansion in the 500 block of North Country Road, according to a Washington Post report. The 64,000 sq ft estate was owned by then nursing-home magnate Abe Gosman, who died in 2013. Trump submitted the winning bid of $41.35 million bid for the property, which included a tennis pavilion, a pool house and a staff apartment, and would prove to have another connection to Epstein. The estate, known as Maison de l’Amitie, or "House of Friendship", was formerly owned by retail magnate Leslie Wexner, who at the time of Epstein’s 2019 arrest was the only publicly identified client of Epstein’s eponymous financial advisory firm. Wexner, a billionaire, is chairman and CEO of Ohio-based L Brands Inc., which owns Victoria’s Secret, among other brands. His business relationship with Epstein dated to the 1980s, according to multiple published reports. On July 15, 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported, Wexner sent a memo to employees of L Brands in which he said he had severed his relationship with Epstein — his former personal money manager — nearly a dozen years prior.
2004
Trump Bio
Jennifer Murphy, a former Miss USA and “The Apprentice” contestant, Grazia says that Trump kissed her on the lips after walking her to the elevators following a meeting in New York, which he said was to discuss a possible job. Story in Grazia on October 12, 2016.
2005
Trump Bio
Trump allegedly sexually assaults Rachel Crooks. Crooks was waiting for an elevator in Trump Tower one morning to head to her job as a receptionist for the real estate investment and development firm called Bayrock Group when Trump cornered her. He “kissed me directly on the mouth,” she told The New York Times. “I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that,” she said. So when the video surfaced, Crooks was actually comforted it by it. “I was upset that it had happened to other people, but also took some comfort in knowing I wasn’t the only one he had done it to,” she said. “People should know...this behavior is pervasive and it is real.”
2005
Trump Bio
Natasha Stoynoff says she was forcibly kissed by Trump. Stoynoff was a celebrity reporter covering Trump for People Magazine. She alleges that Trump assaulted her while she was at Mar-a-Lago interviewing him and Melania Trump for a story about their one-year anniversary. She writes: "We walked into that room alone, and Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds he was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat... During the presidential debate, Donald Trump lied about kissing women without their consent. I should know. His actions made me feel bad for a very long time...I’m not sure what locker room talk consists of these days. I only know that I wasn’t in a locker room when he pushed me against a wall. I was in his home, as a professional, and his beautiful pregnant wife was just upstairs." Trump has since denied this.
2005
Investigation
Police in Palm Beach, Florida, begin investigating Epstein after the family of a 14-year-old girl reports she was molested at his mansion. Multiple underage girls, many of them high school students, would later tell police Epstein hired them to give sexual massages.
2005
Trump Bio
During an interview on the Howard Stern Show, Donald Trump refuses
to deny allegations of having sex with contestants on Miss
Universe.
Stern:
"Was there a time that you would actually have sex with some of
the contestants?"
Trump:
"No, I never comment on things like that."
Stern: "So you did?"
Trump:
"No, I don't comment on it -- [Inaudible]"
Stern:
"What do you mean you don't comment? You comment on everything."
Trump:
"You know, I, that's true. [Inaudible]"
Robin: "Well, Donald."
Stern: "Come clean. How many..."
Trump: "It's terrible."
Later, Donald Trump gloats about being able to walk in on young
women changing.
Trump:
“You know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because
I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore I’m inspecting it…
Is everyone OK? You know, they’re standing there with no
clothes. And you see these incredible-looking women. And so I
sort of get away with things like that.”
2005
Trump Bio
During an interview on the Howard Stern Show, Donald Trump refuses
to deny allegations of having sex with contestants on Miss
Universe.
Trump:
"I moved on her actually. You know she was down on Palm Beach. I
moved on her, and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try and fuck
her, she was married. No, no, Nancy. No this was [inaudible] and
I moved on her very heavily in fact I took her out furniture
shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said I'll show you
where they have some nice furniture. I moved on her like a
bitch. I couldn't get there and she was married. Then
all-of-a-sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and
everything. She's totally changed her look."
Bush:
"Your girl's hot as shit. In the purple."
Trump:
"Yeah that's her with the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just
in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically
attracted to beautiful... I just start kissing them. It's like a
magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star
they let you do it. You can do anything."
Bush:"Whatever you want."
Trump: "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
2005
Relationship
Trump and Epstein appeared in a photo with singer James Brown, The Times reported (the photo is undated, but Brown died in 2006).
2006
Trump Bio
Former Miss Finland, Ninni Laaksonen told Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sonomat that Trump “squeezed her butt” as she and other pageant contestants stood next to him for a publicity photo, ahead of an appearance on Letterman. Story in Ilta-Sonomat on October 27, 2016. In English in the Telegraph.
2006
Trump Bio
While working as an adult film actress, Jessica Drake says Trump invited her to the room where he was staying in Lake Tahoe. In the room, she says he grabbed, hugged and kissed her and two other women who accompanied her without permission. Later, she alleges that Trump called her and pressed her to return to his room, offering $10,000 at one point. Drake says she declined the money. Story made public at a news conference October 22, 2016
2006
Trump Bio
On The View, when asked how he would react if Ivanka, a former teen model, posed for Playboy, Trump replied, "It would be really disappointing — not really — but it would depend on what's inside the magazine." He added: "I don't think Ivanka would do that, although she does have a very nice figure. I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."
2006
Epstein
Police raid Epstein's Palm Beach residence, finding multiple hidden cameras in his home.
2006
Investigation
Palm Beach police officials sign paperwork to charge Epstein with multiple counts of unlawful sex with a minor, but the county’s top prosecutor, State Attorney Barry Krischer, takes the unusual step of sending the case to a grand jury.
2006
Investigation
Epstein is arrested after a grand jury indicts him on a single count of soliciting prostitution. The relatively minor charge draws almost immediate attention from critics, including Palm Beach police leaders, who assail Krischer publicly and accuse him of giving Epstein special treatment. The FBI begins an investigation.
2007
Trump Bio
Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos said that when she approached Trump for a job in 2007, Trump invited her to dinner in Los Angeles to discuss job prospects. When she arrived, she was escorted by security to his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Shortly after she walked in, Zervos told The Huffington Post that Trump “came to me and started kissing me open-mouthed as he was pulling me towards him. I walked away and I sat down on a chair ... He then asked me to sit next to him. I complied, and he then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again very aggressively and placed his hand on my breast.” When she got up to walk away, she says that Trump “grabbed my hand and walked me into the bedroom...He put me in an embrace and I tried to push him away. I pushed his chest to put space between us, and I said, ‘Come on, man, get real.’ He repeated my words back to me ― ‘get reeeal’ ― as he began thrusting his genitals. He tried to kiss me again, and with my hand still on his chest, I said, "Dude, you’re tripping right now."
After she rejected him again, she says Trump “paced around the room. He acted like he was a bit angry, and pointed out that someone had delivered a fruit basket...to show me how important he was.”
2007
Investigation
Federal prosecutors prepare an indictment against Epstein. But for a year, the money manager’s lawyers engage in talks with the U.S. attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta, about a plea bargain that would allow Epstein to avoid a federal prosecution. Epstein’s lawyers decry his accusers as unreliable witnesses.
2008
Relationship
Donald Trump banned his former friend, the wealthy investor Jeffrey Epstein, from his exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club for hitting on the teenage daughter of another member, a new book says. The late Epstein’s banishment by Trump from the Palm Beach, Florida, club appears to have occurred months before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state criminal charges in Florida, which included paying for sexual services from a 14-year-old girl. But it also seems to have happened more than two years after a state grand jury charged Epstein with soliciting prostitution. The new book “The Grifter’s Club: Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and the Selling of the Presidency,” also says that despite claims to the contrary by Trump’s company, Epstein had been himself a member of Mar-a-Lago before he was banned. Sarah Blaskey, a Miami Herald investigative reporter who co-wrote the book, told her newspaper in an article published Tuesday that according to another Mar-a-Lago member, Trump “kicked Epstein out after Epstein harassed the daughter of a member.” “The way this person described it, such an act could irreparably harm the Trump brand, leaving Donald no choice but to remove Epstein,” Blaskey said. Epstein, months after his banning from Mar-a-Lago, began serving what ended up being a 13-month jail term on the Florida state criminal charges. A Trump Organization official last year denied that Epstein, who had a luxurious residence in Palm Beach, had been a dues-paying club member after the investor was arrested in July 2019 on child sex trafficking charges. The Herald, whose groundbreaking stories in late 2017 about the sweetheart nonprosecution deal that federal authorities gave Epstein in 2007 led to his indictment on federal sex trafficking charges last year, also reported that a footnote in the new book says its authors were shown Mar-a-Lago’s membership registry from more than a decade earlier.The registry revealed that Epstein had been a member. “The member lists we saw were essentially spreadsheets,” Miami Herald reporter Nicholas Nehamas told his newspaper. “They listed current members, honorary members and former members. Red cells indicate the closed account details for former members. Most closed accounts are labeled ‘Resigned’ and then the date that the membership ended. Epstein’s account says ‘Account closed 10/07.’”
2008
Trump Bio
Trump completed the renovations — mostly cosmetic — to the 64,000 sq ft mansion that had been the cause of his falling out with Epstein, and sold the property for what was then documented in courthouse records as $95 million to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. The sale set what was then a Palm Beach residential price record.
2008
Investigation
Epstein pleads guilty to state charges: one count of solicitating prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He is sentenced to 18 months in jail. Under a secret arrangement , the U.S. attorney’s office agrees not to prosecute Epstein for federal crimes. Epstein serves most of his sentence in a work-release program that allows him to leave jail during the day to go to his office, then return at night.
2009
Investigation
Epstein is released from jail. For the next decade, multiple women who say they are Epstein’s victims wage a legal fight to get his federal non-prosecution agreement voided, and hold him and others liable for the abuse. One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, says in her lawsuits that, starting when she was 17, Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, set up sexual encounters with royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and other rich and powerful men, including Britain’s Prince Andrew. All of those men deny the allegations.
2010
Investigation
Epstein being questioned over his relationship with Trump in 2010. Epstein's interviewer was a lawyer representing one of his alleged underage victims. In the video, the lawyer asks Epstein, "Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump?" When Epstein asks for clarification, the lawyer says, "Have you socialized with him?" Epstein then replies, "Yes sir." The interviewer continues, "Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18? " Epstein replies, "Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today I'm going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights, sir."
2013
Trump Bio
Cassandra Searles, Miss Washington 2013, wrote on Facebook, “He probably doesn’t want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.” Made story public in Facebook post in early 2016.
2015
Trump Bio
Resurfaced video, posted to social media by the progressive outlet MeidasTouch, showed Epstein confirming he socialized with Trump and declining to answer when asked if he has ever socialized with Trump “in the presence of females under the age of 18.”
2015
Relationship
Trump’s name appeared circled in Epstein’s “little black book” of 1,571 personal contacts, which spanned 97 pages of names, numbers and addresses of Epstein’s associates, including high-powered figures such as Prince Andrew and Ehud Barak, whose names were among about 38 also circled, according to a copy of the document published by Gawker in 2015.
2015
Trump Bio
In an interview with Rolling Stone, “After I met Ivanka and praised her to her father, he said, ‘Yeah, she's really something, and what a beauty, that one. If I weren't happily married and, ya know, her father . . .’”
2016
Document
Database of documents related to Katie Johnson v. Donald J. Trump (5:16-cv-00797) District Court, C.D. California Defendant: Donald J. Trump, Jeffrey E. Epstein. Plaintiff: Katie Johnson COMPLAIN FOR CLAIM RELIEF DUE TO: 1. SEXUAL ABUSE UNDER THREAT OF HARM, 2. CONSPIRACY TO DEPRIVE CIVIL RIGHTS
2016
Documents
Case 5:16-cv-00797 - Johnson vs Trump (5:16-cv-00797) District
Court, C.D. California FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges that the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, did willfully and with extreme malice violate her Civil Rights under 18 U.S.C. ; 2241 by sexually and physically abusing Plaintiff Johnson by forcing her to engage in various perverted and depraved sex acts by threatening physical harm to Plaintiff Johnson and also her family. The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges that the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey E. Epstein, also did willfully and with extreme malice violate her Civil Rights under 42 U.S.C. ; 1985 b conspiring to deny Plaintiff Johnson her Civil Rights by making her their sex slave.
The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges she was subject to extreme
sexual and physical abuse by the Defendants, Donald J. Trump and
Jeffrey E. Epstein, including forcible rape during a four month
time span covering the months of June-September 1994 when
Plaintiff Johnson was still on a minor of age 13.
The Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, alleges she was enticed by promises
of money and a modeling career to attend a series of underage sex
parties held at the New York City residence of Defendant Jeffrey
E. Epstein and attended by Defendant Donald J. Trump.
On the first occasion involving the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was forced to manually stimulate Defendant Trump with the use of her hand upon Defendant Trump's erect penis until he reached sexual orgasm. On the second occasion involving the Defendant, Donald J. Trump, the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, was forced to orally copulate Defendant Trump by placing her mouth upon Defendant Trump's erect penis until he reached sexual orgasm.
2016
Documents
Database of documents related to Doe v. Trump (1:16-cv-04642),
District Court, S.D. New York
Defendant: Donald J. Trump, Jeffrey E. Epstein. Plaintiff: Jane
Doe
COMPLAINT FOR RAPE, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, CRIMINAL SEXUAL ACTS,
SEXUAL ABUSE, FORCIBLE TOUCHING, ASSAULT, BATTERY, INTENTIONAL AND
RECKLESS INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, DURESS, FALSE
IMPRISONMENT, AND DEFAMATION
2016
Documents
Case 1:16-cv-0642 - Doe v. Trump (1:16-cv-04642),
District Court, S.D. New York
DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST FOR PROTECTIVE
ORDER
I, Jane Doe, the Plaintiff in this matter proceeding under a
pseudonym, state as follows:
1. I am a competent adult over 18 years of age able to testify as
to personal knowledge. The facts in this declaration are true and
correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, and
I am competent to testify to them if called upon to do so.
2. I was subject to extreme sexual and physical abuse by the
Defendants, including forcible rape, that took place at several
parties of Defendant Epstein during the summer of 1994 in New York
City at a residence used by Defendant Epstein. During this period,
I was 13 years old.
3. More particularly, I traveled by bus to New York City in June
1994 in the hope of starting a modeling career. I went to several
modeling agencies but was told that I needed to put together a
modeling portfolio before I would be considered. I then went to
the Port Authority in New York City to start to make my way back
home. There I met a woman who introduced herself to me as Tiffany.
She told me about the parties and said that, if I would join her
at the parties, I would be introduced to people who could get me
into the modeling profession. Tiffany also told me I would be paid
for attending.
4. The parties were held at a New York City residence that was
being used by Defendant Jeffrey Epstein. Each of the parties had
other minor females and a number of guests of Mr. Epstein,
including Defendant Donald Trump at four of the parties I
attended. I understood that both Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein knew
that I was 13 years old.
5. Defendant Trump had sexual contact with me at four different
parties in the summer of 1994. On the fourth and final sexual
encounter with Defendant Trump, Defendant Trump tied me to a bed,
exposed himself to me, and then proceeded to forcibly rape me.
During the course of this savage sexual attack, I loudly pleaded
with Defendant Trump to stop but he did not. Defendant Trump
responded to my pleas by violently striking me in the face with
his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he
wanted.
6. Immediately following this rape, Defendant Trump threatened me
that, were I ever to reveal any of the details of Defendant
Trump's sexual and physical abuse of me, my family and I would be
physically harmed if not killed.
7. Defendant Epstein had sexual contact with me at two of the
parties that summer. On the second occasion involving Defendant
Epstein, Defendant Epstein forced himself upon me and proceeded to
rape me anally and vaginally despite my loud pleas to stop.
Defendant Epstein then attempted to strike me about the head with
his closed fists while he angrily screamed at me that he,
Defendant Epstein, should have been the one who took my virginity,
not Defendant Trump, before I finally managed to break away from
Defendant Epstein.
8. Immediately following this rape, just like Defendant Trump,
Defendant Epstein threatened me not to ever reveal any of the
details of Defendant Epstein's sexual and physical abuse of me or
else my family and I would be physically harmed if not killed.
9. Both Defendants had let me know that each was a very wealthy,
powerful man and indicated that they had the power, ability and
means to carry out their threats. Indeed, Defendant Trump stated
that I shouldn't ever say anything if I didn't want to disappeifr
like Maria, a 12-year-old female that was forced to be involved in
the third incident with Defendant Trump and that I had not seen
since that third incident, and ~hat he was capable of having my
whole family killed.
10. The duress imposed on me by Defendants not to ever reveal any
of the details of the sexual and physical abuse caused to me by
Defendants has not terminated and the fear it has instilled in me
has not subsided. Unfortunately, making matters worse for me, I
was subjected to daily painful reminders of the horrific acts of
Defendant Trump via mass media coverage of him starting last
summer that, over a short period of time, became continuous and
unavoidable.
11. The duress had prevented me from starting litigation before
this year. However, as soon as I surfaced, I received threats.
More specifically, shortly after my first complaint was filed in
California on April 26, 2016, I started receiving threatening
phone calls on a cell phone I then owned. The calls were never for
more than 20 seconds or so before they hung up and they were
always from a blocked or unavailable phone number according to my
caller ID feature. Since I changed phone numbers, the threatening
calls have completely stopped.
12. This litigation involves matters that are highly sensitive and
of a personal nature, and I believe that identification of me
would pose a risk of retaliatory physical harm to me and to
others.
13. I have no reason to believe that the Defendants' threats have ever been lifted or will ever be lifted and so I request that the Court issue an order protecting me and my family from harm and harassment by the Defendants.
2017
Relationship
In recordings by author Michael Wolff, Epstein spoke about his relationship with Trump. "I was Donald's closest friend for 10 years." Epstein alleged that Trump and his now-wife Melania first became intimate aboard Epstein's private plane, known as the "Lolita Express." "The first time he slept with her was on my plane," Epstein claimed. Epstein described what he claimed was an elaborate plan by Trump to pursue relationships with his friends' spouses. In the tapes, Epstein alleged that Trump would invite male associates to his Trump Tower office for conversations about their intimate lives, including offering encounters with beauty pageant contestants. Epstein claimed their wives were secretly listening on speakerphone, which was unknown to these men. Trump would then allegedly use the recorded conversations to pursue relationships with the wives by revealing their husbands' expressed interest in other women. He described specific incidents, including allegations about Trump's behavior in what Epstein called "the Egyptian Room" in an Atlantic City casino. He came out afterward and said, 'It was great, it was great. The only thing I really like to do is f--- the wives of my best friends. That is just the best,'" Epstein claimed on the recording. "He's a horrible human being. He does nasty things to his best friends, best friends' wives, anyone who he first tries to gain their trust and uses it to do bad things to them," Epstein said. On the tapes, Epstein offered a mixed assessment of Trump's character, calling him "charming" and "always fun" while also describing him as "functionally illiterate" and claiming he was "incapable" of reading a balance sheet. "He's charming. In a devious way, he's charming," Epstein said. "To some extent, it's a typical tragedy where he believes his own bulls---. He has delusions of grandiosity, then he takes it on board."
2018
Investigation
The Miami Herald revisits the handling of Epstein’s case in a series of stories focusing partly on the role of Acosta — who by this point is President Donald Trump’s labor secretary — in arranging his unusual plea deal. The coverage renews public interest in the case.
2019
Trump Bio
E Jean Carroll publishes an excerpt from her memoir, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal," that includes the accusation Trump raped her in 1996. Trump denies Carroll's accusations, telling a reporter at the White House with reference to Carroll:" I'll say it with great respect: Number one, she's not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" Carroll files her first defamation lawsuit against Trump in November 2019. September 2020 - The U.S. Department of Justice moves the case to federal court, saying Trump spoke about Carroll in his official capacity as president, and the government should be substituted for Trump as the defendant. October 2020 - U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan refuses to substitute the government as a defendant, saying Trump was not a government employee and his statements were not made within the scope of his job as president. On Sept. 6, 2023, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan found Trump liable in this suit. The jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million on Jan. 26, 2024.
2019
Investigation
Epstein is arrested on federal sex trafficking charges after federal prosecutors in New York conclude they aren’t bound by the terms of the earlier non-prosecution deal. Days later, Acosta resigns as labor secretary amid public outrage over his role in the initial investigation.
2019
Public Statements
"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. 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. I was not, yeah, a long time ago, I'd say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his." -Trump, asked to clarify earlier statements that Epstein is "terrific."
2019
Investigation
Guards find Epstein dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City. Investigators conclude he killed himself.
2019
Public Statements
Trump retweeted a post that alleged Bill Clinton was connected to Epstein's death.
2019
Public Statements
Attorney General William Barr said he initially had his own
suspicions about financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death while behind
bars at one of the most secure jails in America but came to
conclude that his suicide was the result of
“a perfect storm of screw-ups.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said his concerns
were prompted by the numerous irregularities at the Manhattan jail
where Epstein was being held. But he said after the FBI and the
Justice Department’s inspector general continued to investigate,
he realized there were a "series" of mistakes made that gave
Epstein the chance to take his own life.
“I can understand people who immediately, whose minds went to
sort of the worst-case scenario because it was a perfect storm
of screw-ups,”
Barr told the AP as he flew to Montana for an event.
Barr’s comments come days after two correctional officers who were
responsible for guarding the wealthy financier when he died were
charged with falsifying prison records. The officers, Tova Noel
and Michael Thomas, are accused of sleeping and browsing the
internet — shopping for furniture and motorcycles — instead of
watching Epstein, who was supposed to be checked on every 30
minutes.
2020
Maxwell Bio
Federal prosecutors in New York charge Ghislaine Maxwell with sex crimes, saying she helped recruit the underage girls that Epstein sexually abused and sometimes participated in the abuse herself.
2020
Public Statements
Trump suggested Epstein may have been killed: During an interview with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, Trump was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell, "Her boyfriend died in jail. And people are still trying to figure out how did it happen," Trump said. "Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her."
2021
Public Statements
Vice President JD Vance Tweeted: "Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don't talk about it."
2021
Investigation
After a monthlong trial, a jury convicts Maxwell of multiple charges, including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity.
2022
Trump Bio
Oct. 12, 2022 - Trump repeats his denials of Carroll's claims. On
his Truth Social website, he calls the "Ms. Bergdorf Goodman case"
a "complete con job," a "hoax," a "lie" and a "complete Scam," and
says he had not known Carroll and that she was "not my type!"
Oct. 19, 2022 - Trump is deposed in Carroll's first lawsuit. He
denies Carroll's claims and calls her mentally ill.
Nov. 24,
2022 - E Jean Carroll files her second lawsuit, for defamation and
battery, in which she claimed Trump’s actions account for offenses
including rape in the first and third degree, sexual abuse in the
first and third degree, sexual misconduct and forcible touching.
The battery claim was brought under the Adult Survivors Act, which
went into effect in November 2022 and provides a one-year window
for sexual assault survivors who were 18 years or older at the
time of their assault to file civil proceedings against their
alleged abusers despite the statute of limitations. During the
trial, Mr Trump did not mount his own defence, calling no
witnesses and appearing to defend himself only in a video of his
deposition, excerpts of which Ms Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan,
played for the court. (Ms Kaplan is not related to the judge in
this case, Lewis Kaplan.)
Facing questions from Ms Kaplan, Mr Trump continued to deny the
allegations he raped Ms Carroll, calling them a "big fat hoax" and
repeating previous remarks that Ms Carroll was "not his type in
any way". But at one point, he appeared to confuse Ms Carroll for
his ex-wife Marla Maples, a mistake Ms Carroll's lawyers claimed
undermined his argument that the writer was not his type. In the
video, Mr Trump is shown an old black-and-white photo of him
speaking to a man and two women at an event. "It's Marla," he
said, before his own lawyer told him the woman he referred to in
the photo was indeed Ms Carroll.
Trump was also asked about the Access Hollywood "Grab 'Em by the
Pussy" clip by Ms Kaplan. Trump seemed to double down on the
remarks, claiming: "Historically, that's true with stars." When Ms
Kaplan pressed him on his comments, Trump said: "Well, I guess if
you look over the last million years, that's been largely true -
not always true, but largely true, unfortunately or fortunately."
In other tense moments during the questioning, Mr Trump appeared
to grow agitated with Ms Kaplan, attacking her appearance,
claiming that, like Ms Carroll, "you wouldn't be a choice of mine
either, to be honest".
In this second suit, Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages on
May 9, 2023.
2023
Trump Bio
Ghislane Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison.
2023
Public Statements
FBI Director Kash Patel told social media personality Benny Johnson that he could obtain Epstein's list with a subpoena to Congress. During his Senate confirmation hearing he told Senator Marsha Blackburn: "I will do everything if confirmed as FBI director to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened."
2023
Public Statements
Dan Bongino, now the deputy director of the FBI, said on his podcast: "That Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal. Please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on it."
2023
Trump
Regarding the jury verdict in the E Jean Carroll case, the judge asked the jury to find if the preponderance of the evidence suggested that Trump raped Carroll under New York's narrow legal definition of rape at that time, denoting forcible penetration with the penis, as alleged by the plaintiff; the jury did not find Trump liable for rape and instead found him liable for a lesser degree of sexual abuse. In July 2023, Judge Kaplan said that the verdict found that Trump had raped Carroll according to the common definition of the word, i.e. not necessarily implying penile penetration. In August 2023, Kaplan dismissed a countersuit and wrote that Carroll's accusation of rape is "substantially true".
2023
Public Statement
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Trump was pressed further on if he believed Epstein committed suicide or not. "Do you think it's possible that Epstein was killed?" Carlson asked. "Oh, sure, it's possible. I mean, I don't really believe -- I think he probably committed suicide," Trump said.
2024
Public Statement
Trump, who was in office when Epstein was arrested, suggests during the presidential campaign that he’d seek to open the government’s Epstein files.
2024
Public Statement
Trump pledged to release Epstein files during a podcast with Lex
Fridman.
Fridman:
"It's just very strange for a lot of people that the list of
clients that went to the island has not been made public."
Trump:
"It's very interesting, isn't it? It probably will be, by the
way, probably."
Fridman: "If you're able to, you'll be --"
Trump:
"Yeah, I'd certainly take a look at it. Now, Kennedy's
interesting because it's so many years ago. They do that for
danger too, because it endangers certain people, et cetera, et
cetera, so Kennedy is very different from the Epstein thing but
I'd be inclined to do the Epstein. I'd have no problem with it."
2024
Public Statement
"Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing," JD Vance said on Theo Vonn's podcast
2025
Public Statement
Attorney General Pam Bondi suggests in a Fox News Channel interview that an Epstein “client list” is "sitting on my desk right now to review," noting this was "a directive by President Donald Trump." The Justice Department distributes binders marked “declassified” to far-right influencers at the White House, but it quickly becomes clear much of the information had long been in the public domain.
2025
Documents
When Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed President Donald Trump in May on the Justice Department’s review of the documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, she told him that his name appeared in the files
2025
Public Statements
“The White House is not surprised by this – Trump’s name was present in the binders that Bondi produced and handed out,” one of the White House officials said, adding that many of the materials already released by the Justice Department had included mention of the president’s name. “The White House does not view this as groundbreaking or new or surprising at all."
2025
Public Statements
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
2025
Public Statements
The Justice Department says Epstein didn’t maintain a “client list” and it won’t make any more files related to his sex trafficking investigation public.
2025
Public Statements
Trump ally Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Tweeted: "The American people deserve to know truth ref. Epstein, regardless of who it impacts. There is plenty of evidence and info not pertaining to CSAM/victims that DOJ leadership can authorize the @FBIDirectorKash and @FBIDDBongino to release. The @FBI cannot release anything without @TheJusticeDept authorization. The Taskforce and all of its members will be asking for that on behalf of the American people. The American people should be free to come to their own conclusions. The Truth will always come out one way or another."
2025
Relationship
The Wall Street Journal describes a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump denies writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory.” The next day Trump sues the paper and media mogul Rupert Murdoch. He also claims “I never wrote a picture in my life."
2025
Public Statements
The Trump administration asks a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein’s case in an effort to put a political crisis to rest.
2025
Public Statements
Asked whether Bondi had told Trump that his name appeared in the files, Trump lied, “No, no. She’s given us just a very quick briefing and in terms of the credibility of the different things that they’ve seen. And I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden, you know. And we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, with all the different things that we had to go through, we’ve gone through years of it. But she’s handled it very well, and it’s gonna be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.”
2025
Public Statements
On his Truth Social website, Donald Trump tells supporters to "not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about."
2025
Public Statements
In another lengthy social media post on social media site, Trump concludes, "Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker." Trump later condemned the Epstein list as a democrat "hoax."
2025
Public Statements
When ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce had Donald Trump elaborate on his claim it was a hoax, he shot back with; "It was a hoax. It's all been a big hoax. It's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats work. The Democrats are good for nothing other than these hoaxes."
2025
Trump Bio
Trump gutted the State Department office that worked to combat
labor and sex trafficking.
Federal employees in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
in Persons were "surprised and disappointed" by the mass cuts
given that Republicans have made trafficking a major talking point
in recent years.
The recent firings came as the Trump administration faces fierce
bipartisan backlash over its handling of evidence in Jeffrey
Epstein's 2019 trafficking case.
Cindy Dyer, who worked at the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons, told The 19th that her office had nearly
90 workers at the start of Trump's second administration. About a
dozen left as part of the president's voluntary resignation
program earlier this year. Then, on Friday, July 18, half of the
remaining workers were fired and the other half were demoted, she
said. The office’s work spanned a broad range of human trafficking
issues, including sex trafficking, which disproportionately
affects women, girls and LGBTQ+ people, and forced domestic labor,
which also disproportionately affects women and girls.
2025
Public Statements
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he was adjourning the lower chamber early until September in a move critics said was designed to block a vote on the release of the Epstein files.
2025
Documents
A judge rejects a Trump administration request to unseal transcripts from the Epstein grand jury investigation in Florida but similar requests for grand jury transcripts in the cases against Epstein and Maxwell in New York remain pending. Meanwhile, a House Oversight subcommittee voted to subpoena the Justice Department for files. The full committee issued a subpoena for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August.
2025
Public Statements
Among the comments President Donald Trump made when speaking from the U.K. on Monday was that it he had turned down the "privilege" of going to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's private island — believed to be a center for his abuse of underage girls.
The phrase left onlookers aghast.
"And by the way, I never went to the island, and Bill Clinton went there, supposedly 28 times," Trump claimed during the press conference. "I never went to the island, but Larry Summers, I hear, went there. He was the head of Harvard, and many other people who are very big people. Nobody ever talks about them.
"I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island."
Former metro editor at Chicago Tribune, Mark Jacob, questioned Trump's logic with a post on Bluesky:
"Trump says 'bad, sick' Democrats could have doctored the Epstein files to make him look bad. Great logic by Cheetolini. He's suggesting the Dems framed him, but forgot to release the dirt, let him win the election, and then quietly turned over the Epstein files to him."
2025
Public Statements
Donald Trump Says His Name May Have Been Planted in Jeffrey Epstein Files
Trump was asked in Turnberry, Scotland, "You had said you had not been briefed that your name was in the Epstein files, doesn't the AG have to tell you?"
The president responded, in part, "Well, I haven't been overly interested in it. It's a hoax that's been built up by those, way beyond proportion. Those files were run by the worst scum on earth. They were run by Comey, they were run by Garland, they were run by Biden. Those files were run for four years by those people."
"The whole thing is a hoax. They ran the files. I was running against somebody that ran the files. If they had something they would have released."
Trump also referenced discredited and uncorroborated claims in the Steele dossier, a collection of unverified intelligence reports compiled in 2016 by former British spy Christopher Steele. Commissioned as opposition research during the presidential election, the dossier contains allegations about Trump's ties to Russia, including claims of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, as well as salacious and compromising personal material.
He continued, "Now, they can easily put something in the files that's a phony. As an example, Christopher Steele, wrote a book, we call the 'fake news dossier.' The whole thing was a fake. The whole thing was a fake. They can put things in the file that was a fake. Those files were run by sick, sick people."
Trump was also asked again Monday about the possibility of pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, reiterating that he is "allowed" to do so. Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein, the late financier and convicted child sex offender, was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
"Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it, nobody's asked me about it," Trump told reporters when asked about the possibility. "It's in the news about that—that aspect of it, but right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it," he said.
The remark echoed the president's Friday comments, when he told reporters: "It's something I haven't thought about... I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about."
2025
Investigation
Ghislaine Maxwell asks Supreme Court to toss sex trafficking conviction, citing Epstein plea deal In a filing Monday, Maxwell’s attorneys said the federal government violated its own agreement not to prosecute Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators.Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution as part of the deal, which Maxwell’s lawyers argue applied nationwide, not just in Florida.