Donald Trump's past ties with Jeffrey Epstein are under scrutiny after the US president slammed a Wall Street Journal report that he sent a lewd letter to the infamous sex offender as "fake news."
Meanwhile, newly uncovered archived video footage and photos have shed new light on the past relationship between Trump and Epstein, reports CNN.
Among the newly surfaced material is a photo from 1993 that, for the first time, confirms Epstein’s attendance at Trump’s wedding to Marla Maples at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Until now, Epstein’s presence at the event was not publicly known.
Additionally, archival footage from a 1999 Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York shows Trump and Epstein laughing and chatting together ahead of the runway event. According to CNN, the clip was discovered during a review of video from social gatherings Trump attended during the 1990s and early 2000s. CNN’s KFile noted that Trump and Epstein appeared together in at least one such video.
These visuals predate any of Epstein’s legal troubles and come amid renewed attention on Trump’s previous association with Epstein, especially as frustration grows among Trump supporters over the Justice Department’s refusal to release long-promised Epstein-related files. Many in Trump’s base had anticipated the documents would expose Epstein’s high-profile associates.
When CNN contacted Trump for comment on Tuesday regarding the wedding photos, he responded briefly by phone: “You’ve got to be kidding me,” before calling CNN “fake news” and abruptly ending the call.
Steven Cheung, White House Communications Director, dismissed the coverage:
“These are nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious,” he told CNN.
“The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”
Longstanding ties
Trump and Epstein’s acquaintance reportedly dates back to the 1980s, marked by repeated joint appearances at high-profile events in Palm Beach and New York. While the two eventually had a falling-out in the mid-2000s, allegedly over a Palm Beach real estate dispute, video and photo evidence indicate they were socially close for years. In 2019, NBC released footage from 1992 showing them together at a party.
Further still, high-society photographer Dafydd Jones, who covered numerous New York events in the 1990s, recounted his encounters with Epstein and Trump. Speaking to CNN this week, Jones recalled photographing the pair at the 1993 opening of the Harley Davidson Cafe in New York.
“There was this guy there who struck me — the way he was looking — and he gave me his card. It said: Jeffrey Epstein, financial advisor,” said Jones.
One of Jones’s images shows Trump with his children, arm around them, while Epstein leans against a railing nearby. Just two months later, in December 1993, Jones also photographed Trump’s wedding, where another photo captures Epstein entering the venue.
“I must have recognised him going in (to the event),” Jones said.
“I wish now I took more of him with Trump… The image you have is from the contact sheet, the negatives were lost.”
CNN also found Epstein in a LIFE magazine photo from the wedding, smiling in the background near guests like Howard Stern and Robin Leach.
Victoria’s Secret events and Epstein’s network
The 1999 Victoria’s Secret fashion show footage is not the only event Trump and Epstein attended together. Getty Images photos from a 1997 Angels party also show them at another Victoria’s Secret event.
Epstein had long-standing ties to Leslie Wexner, billionaire founder of the brand’s parent company. Epstein managed Wexner’s finances from 1987 to around 2007. Wexner has publicly stated he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal behaviour during that time.
In a 2002 New York Magazine profile, Trump praised Epstein: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet at least seven times between Palm Beach and New York. In his 2004 book “Trump: How to Get Rich,” Trump wrote about a mysterious caller:
“As mysterious as Jeffrey is, he’s one of the few people I know who can get by on just a first name… Not that Elvis calls in much these days, but you never know.”
Though it's unclear whether “mysterious Jeffrey” refers to Epstein, the White House did not respond to CNN’s question about the reference.
Ties to Maxwell and Prince Andrew
Photos published by the Palm Beach Post in 2000 also show Trump at a Mar-a-Lago charity event with Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew, both linked to Epstein’s social circle. Maxwell is now serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
A Wall Street Journal report last week revealed a birthday card allegedly sent by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, featuring a drawing of a naked woman and ending with: “Happy Birthday, and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump has denied authoring the note and the drawing, calling the report false, and subsequently sued the newspaper for libel in Florida federal court.
Following the Journal's revelations, the Trump administration pledged to release grand jury materials related to Epstein. The federal judge in Ghislaine Maxwell’s case has asked the Justice Department to submit relevant information so he can decide whether to unseal transcripts.
The DOJ has since contacted Maxwell for a meeting. Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, told CNN: “Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
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