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RE: copy and paste please
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A timeline of how the Epstein controversy became a headache for Trump
Here’s how Donald Trump’s position on Jeffrey Epstein has changed over the year, and how the fallout over the Epstein files poses a particular challenge for him.
July 24, 2025 at 2:32 p.m.
Commuters walk past a bus stop with a poster showing President Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein near the U.S. Embassy in London on July 17.
1980s to 2004: Early friendship
2004: Relationship sours
2019: Trump says he is not ‘a fan’ of Epstein
2019: Trump shares conspiracy theories over Epstein’s death
2024: Trump suggests he’ll release Epstein files
By Victoria Bisset and Dylan Wells
The case of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has made headlines — and been a preoccupation for right-wing pundits and conspiracy theorists — for years.
But the scandal is now posing a fresh headache for President Donald Trump as he faces continued fallout from his administration’s decision not to release the Epstein files, despite indicating he would do so during his campaign.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s relationship with Epstein, what he has said about the disgraced financier and his death in 2019, and how the latest controversy has become a particular challenge for his administration.
1980s to 2004: Early friendship
Trump and Epstein’s friendship dates back to the late 1980s, when they were neighbors in Florida. Epstein was known to cultivate powerful and famous people as friends, and, as The Washington Post has previously reported, there is no public evidence of inappropriate behavior by Trump related to Epstein.
Over the years, the two men often appeared in public together, and were filmed partying with National Football League cheerleaders and pictured at a Victoria’s Secret party in 1997. Trump, like many other prominent individuals, also flew on Epstein’s jet on multiple occasions, and Epstein’s “little black book” contained over a dozen phone numbers for Trump and his inner circle.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years,” Trump said in a 2002 interview with New York Magazine. “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.”
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, said she was 17 and working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club when she was recruited.
She testified in a 2016 deposition that she did not “think Donald Trump participated in anything” but said he had been at Epstein’s house, where, she said, there were images on the walls of “young girls doing things to each other that would be considered child pornography. If you walked foot into Jeffrey Epstein’s house and you went in there and you continued to be an acquaintance of his then you would have to know what was going on there.”
2004: Relationship sours
Public sightings of Trump and Epstein together had ended by 2004, with The Post later reporting that the rupture was caused by a real estate deal that year, as both men fought to buy an oceanfront property in Palm Beach, Florida, which Trump went on to win.
The Epstein scandal had not broken at that point. Less than two weeks after the auction, police were told that young women had been seen coming and going from Epstein’s home.
While Trump later sought to distance himself from Epstein, Epstein’s brother told The Post in 2019 that the men had been “good friends.”
2019: Trump says he is not ‘a fan’ of Epstein
Epstein was first arrested in 2006 and convicted on state charges of soliciting prostitution in 2008, following a secret plea deal with federal prosecutors — led by Trump’s future labor secretary Alex Acosta — that shielded him from prosecution from far more serious federal charges of molesting young girls. He was released the following year.
A decade later, in July 2019, Epstein was arrested again — this time on suspicion of sex-trafficking underage girls.
Trump, then in his first term as president, said he knew Epstein “like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.
“I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him,” he added. “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.”
The following month, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, his death later ruled a suicide.
2019: Trump shares conspiracy theories over Epstein’s death
In the days following Epstein’s death, the president retweeted a baseless conspiracy theory suggesting that the disgraced billionaire’s death was linked to former president Bill Clinton. He separately demanded a “full investigation” into Epstein’s death and raised questions about Clinton’s ties to Epstein, while saying he had “no idea” whether the death was linked to Clinton.
“Epstein had an island that was not a good place, as I understand it,” Trump said. “And I was never there. So you have to ask: Did Bill Clinton go to the island?”
Trump continued to cast doubt on the cause of Epstein’s death, even after the New York medical examiner ruled his death was suicide. In a 2020 interview with Axios on HBO, Trump said that Epstein “was either killed or committed suicide in jail” — though in a 2023 interview with Tucker Carlson he said that while it was “possible” he had been killed, he thought he “probably committed suicide.”
Separately, Trump also sparked controversy by saying he knew Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell and wished her well, following her 2020 arrest for her role in recruiting the girls and young women Epstein abused. (She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.)
In an interview with “Fox & Friends” in June 2024, when asked about declassifying the Epstein files, Trump responded: “Yeah, yeah, I would. I guess I would. I think that less so, because you don’t know — you don’t want to affect people’s lives if there’s phony stuff in there, because there’s a lot of phony stuff in that whole world.”
Three months later, Trump told podcast host Lex Fridman that “a lot of big people” went to Epstein’s private island and said it was “very interesting” that the list of those names had not been made public. He added that he would “certainly take a look” at releasing the Epstein files, adding: “Yeah, I’d be inclined to the do the Epstein. I’d have no problem with it.”
Members of Trump’s team also stressed the importance of releasing further information about the Epstein case, including JD Vance, who said in October: “Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.”
Early 2025: Trump takes office
After Trump took office, administration officials suggested they would work to release more information from the files. Those officials included FBI Director Kash Patel, counselor Alina Habba and Elon Musk, then the head of the U.S. DOGE Service.
In February, Bondi told Fox News that the Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now.” She reiterated that the list was on her desk days later. (The Justice Department later contended her comments were misconstrued.)
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Later in February, Bondi released hundreds of pages of documents tied to the investigation in what the Justice Department called a “first phase” — many of which were already publicly available, blaming FBI agents in New York for not sharing more. She told Patel in a letter that she was told by “a source” that agents were potentially withholding thousands of pages of documents and demanded the FBI hand over “the full and complete Epstein files,” but the additional documents were not released.
The first pass at the information at the time was given to a group of conservative influencers, who lamented that more documents were not provided.
In May, Bondi told reporters that “there are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn” and said the FBI was going through them.
July 2025: Trump struggles to contain furor after not releasing further files
This month, the Justice Department said that Epstein did not maintain a “client list,” seemingly contradicting Bondi’s previous comments.
Later in July, Trump sought to defend Bondi, writing on Truth Social: “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
Trump continued to question members of his base who have pushed for more information, posting on July 16 that “my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull****,’ hook, line, and sinker.”
Speaking to reporters the same day, Trump said, “It’s all been a hoax that’s perpetrated by the Democrats. And some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.”
“He’s [been] dead for a long time. … I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don’t, and the credible information has been given,” Trump said. “… It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going.”
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the president contributed a drawing of a naked woman as part of a bawdy birthday gift for Epstein in 2003.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” Trump said in an interview about the sketch, the newspaper reported.
Trump sued the paper and Rupert Murdoch, accusing the newspaper of libeling him, and the White House on Monday said it would bar Journal reporters from the press pool covering the president’s upcoming trip to Scotland.
On Friday, Trump posted: “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity” around Epstein, “I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”
A judge in Florida denied the Justice Department’s request to release the transcripts on Wednesday, saying she was legally barred from releasing the records under guidelines governing the secrecy of 2005 and 2007 grand jury proceedings.
As Democrats and members of Trump’s base have focused on Epstein, the president and his allies have sought to divert attention to other subjects.
Most notably in recent days, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, released thousands of files on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and then released declassified documents that she said shows President Barack Obama and his national security team “manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump.” Obama’s office called the allegations a “distraction.”
On Wednesday, a House subcommittee voted to subpoena the administration for the files, with three Republicans supporting the measure.
The same day, the Journal reported that the Justice Department told Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein documents. The White House denied the reporting.
Here’s how Donald Trump’s position on Jeffrey Epstein has changed over the year, and how the fallout over the Epstein files poses a particular challenge for him.
July 24, 2025 at 2:32 p.m.
Commuters walk past a bus stop with a poster showing President Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein near the U.S. Embassy in London on July 17.
1980s to 2004: Early friendship
2004: Relationship sours
2019: Trump says he is not ‘a fan’ of Epstein
2019: Trump shares conspiracy theories over Epstein’s death
2024: Trump suggests he’ll release Epstein files
By Victoria Bisset and Dylan Wells
The case of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has made headlines — and been a preoccupation for right-wing pundits and conspiracy theorists — for years.
But the scandal is now posing a fresh headache for President Donald Trump as he faces continued fallout from his administration’s decision not to release the Epstein files, despite indicating he would do so during his campaign.
Here’s what to know about Trump’s relationship with Epstein, what he has said about the disgraced financier and his death in 2019, and how the latest controversy has become a particular challenge for his administration.
1980s to 2004: Early friendship
Trump and Epstein’s friendship dates back to the late 1980s, when they were neighbors in Florida. Epstein was known to cultivate powerful and famous people as friends, and, as The Washington Post has previously reported, there is no public evidence of inappropriate behavior by Trump related to Epstein.
Over the years, the two men often appeared in public together, and were filmed partying with National Football League cheerleaders and pictured at a Victoria’s Secret party in 1997. Trump, like many other prominent individuals, also flew on Epstein’s jet on multiple occasions, and Epstein’s “little black book” contained over a dozen phone numbers for Trump and his inner circle.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years,” Trump said in a 2002 interview with New York Magazine. “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.”
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, said she was 17 and working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club when she was recruited.
She testified in a 2016 deposition that she did not “think Donald Trump participated in anything” but said he had been at Epstein’s house, where, she said, there were images on the walls of “young girls doing things to each other that would be considered child pornography. If you walked foot into Jeffrey Epstein’s house and you went in there and you continued to be an acquaintance of his then you would have to know what was going on there.”
2004: Relationship sours
Public sightings of Trump and Epstein together had ended by 2004, with The Post later reporting that the rupture was caused by a real estate deal that year, as both men fought to buy an oceanfront property in Palm Beach, Florida, which Trump went on to win.
The Epstein scandal had not broken at that point. Less than two weeks after the auction, police were told that young women had been seen coming and going from Epstein’s home.
While Trump later sought to distance himself from Epstein, Epstein’s brother told The Post in 2019 that the men had been “good friends.”
2019: Trump says he is not ‘a fan’ of Epstein
Epstein was first arrested in 2006 and convicted on state charges of soliciting prostitution in 2008, following a secret plea deal with federal prosecutors — led by Trump’s future labor secretary Alex Acosta — that shielded him from prosecution from far more serious federal charges of molesting young girls. He was released the following year.
A decade later, in July 2019, Epstein was arrested again — this time on suspicion of sex-trafficking underage girls.
Trump, then in his first term as president, said he knew Epstein “like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.
“I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him,” he added. “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.”
The following month, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, his death later ruled a suicide.
2019: Trump shares conspiracy theories over Epstein’s death
In the days following Epstein’s death, the president retweeted a baseless conspiracy theory suggesting that the disgraced billionaire’s death was linked to former president Bill Clinton. He separately demanded a “full investigation” into Epstein’s death and raised questions about Clinton’s ties to Epstein, while saying he had “no idea” whether the death was linked to Clinton.
“Epstein had an island that was not a good place, as I understand it,” Trump said. “And I was never there. So you have to ask: Did Bill Clinton go to the island?”
Trump continued to cast doubt on the cause of Epstein’s death, even after the New York medical examiner ruled his death was suicide. In a 2020 interview with Axios on HBO, Trump said that Epstein “was either killed or committed suicide in jail” — though in a 2023 interview with Tucker Carlson he said that while it was “possible” he had been killed, he thought he “probably committed suicide.”
Separately, Trump also sparked controversy by saying he knew Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell and wished her well, following her 2020 arrest for her role in recruiting the girls and young women Epstein abused. (She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.)
In an interview with “Fox & Friends” in June 2024, when asked about declassifying the Epstein files, Trump responded: “Yeah, yeah, I would. I guess I would. I think that less so, because you don’t know — you don’t want to affect people’s lives if there’s phony stuff in there, because there’s a lot of phony stuff in that whole world.”
Three months later, Trump told podcast host Lex Fridman that “a lot of big people” went to Epstein’s private island and said it was “very interesting” that the list of those names had not been made public. He added that he would “certainly take a look” at releasing the Epstein files, adding: “Yeah, I’d be inclined to the do the Epstein. I’d have no problem with it.”
Members of Trump’s team also stressed the importance of releasing further information about the Epstein case, including JD Vance, who said in October: “Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.”
Early 2025: Trump takes office
After Trump took office, administration officials suggested they would work to release more information from the files. Those officials included FBI Director Kash Patel, counselor Alina Habba and Elon Musk, then the head of the U.S. DOGE Service.
In February, Bondi told Fox News that the Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now.” She reiterated that the list was on her desk days later. (The Justice Department later contended her comments were misconstrued.)
Advertisement
Later in February, Bondi released hundreds of pages of documents tied to the investigation in what the Justice Department called a “first phase” — many of which were already publicly available, blaming FBI agents in New York for not sharing more. She told Patel in a letter that she was told by “a source” that agents were potentially withholding thousands of pages of documents and demanded the FBI hand over “the full and complete Epstein files,” but the additional documents were not released.
The first pass at the information at the time was given to a group of conservative influencers, who lamented that more documents were not provided.
In May, Bondi told reporters that “there are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn” and said the FBI was going through them.
July 2025: Trump struggles to contain furor after not releasing further files
This month, the Justice Department said that Epstein did not maintain a “client list,” seemingly contradicting Bondi’s previous comments.
Later in July, Trump sought to defend Bondi, writing on Truth Social: “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
Trump continued to question members of his base who have pushed for more information, posting on July 16 that “my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull****,’ hook, line, and sinker.”
Speaking to reporters the same day, Trump said, “It’s all been a hoax that’s perpetrated by the Democrats. And some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.”
“He’s [been] dead for a long time. … I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don’t, and the credible information has been given,” Trump said. “… It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going.”
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the president contributed a drawing of a naked woman as part of a bawdy birthday gift for Epstein in 2003.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” Trump said in an interview about the sketch, the newspaper reported.
Trump sued the paper and Rupert Murdoch, accusing the newspaper of libeling him, and the White House on Monday said it would bar Journal reporters from the press pool covering the president’s upcoming trip to Scotland.
On Friday, Trump posted: “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity” around Epstein, “I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”
A judge in Florida denied the Justice Department’s request to release the transcripts on Wednesday, saying she was legally barred from releasing the records under guidelines governing the secrecy of 2005 and 2007 grand jury proceedings.
As Democrats and members of Trump’s base have focused on Epstein, the president and his allies have sought to divert attention to other subjects.
Most notably in recent days, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, released thousands of files on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and then released declassified documents that she said shows President Barack Obama and his national security team “manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump.” Obama’s office called the allegations a “distraction.”
On Wednesday, a House subcommittee voted to subpoena the administration for the files, with three Republicans supporting the measure.
The same day, the Journal reported that the Justice Department told Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein documents. The White House denied the reporting.
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RE: copy and paste please - Ace UNC - 7/24 14:18:27