This is how close Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein really were

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were close friends until 2004. But so far, Trump has remained unaffected by the allegations against his former intimate partner.

Martin Cooper/t-online

His former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein often caused problems for Donald Trump. But so far, the US presidential candidate has been unable to prove that he participated in the crimes of a sex offender. Epstein committed suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 under unknown circumstances before he could stand trial. Now that new allegations have emerged against Trump, the question arises again: How close were Trump and Epstein actually?

Former model Stacey Williams now claims Trump sexually harassed her at his New York high-rise in 1993. Williams told the Guardian that Trump allegedly groped her while Epstein watched. By her own account, the 56-year-old was a friend of Epstein's, who took her to Trump Tower after a walk in early 1993. Trump greeted her, pulled her close and began touching her. She said he put his hands on “my breasts,” as well as her hips and buttocks. Williams initially froze because she was confused by what was happening.

Model Stacey Williams defends herself against Trump.Picture: www.imago-images.de

New witness accuses Trump

She also thought Trump and Epstein smiled at each other. Williams said it was “a twisted game” between the two. “I had this terrible feeling in my stomach that it was all being orchestrated. “I felt like a piece of meat,” she told the Guardian. “It was clear at the time that he and Donald were very, very good friends. , and spent a lot of time together. “

Donald Trump's team has not yet commented on the new allegations. Trump has never denied that he was close friends with Epstein at the time. “Great guy, you could have a lot of fun with him,” Trump said of Epstein in a 2002 interview with New York Magazine. Like him, Epstein came from a wealthy New York family. According to Trump, the two have known each other for 15 years. “It's even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and a lot of them are younger,” Trump continued about Epstein at the time.

Trump and Epstein have known each other since the mid-1980s

What Trump meant may become clear in a few years. In 2006, several teenagers testified in court interviews that Epstein paid them hundreds of dollars to provide him with massages at his Palm Beach mansion. He then sexually abused and raped her. But in the subsequent trial, Epstein easily escaped. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to some charges in Florida but not to charges under federal law. Epstein only served 13 months in prison. He agreed on that point with Alexander Acosta, the prosecutor in charge who became labor secretary under Donald Trump in 2017.

A U.S. representative poses with Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump during a ceremony held by the House Oversight and Accountability CommitteePicture: www.imago-images.de

The connection may be coincidental, but the close relationship between Trump and Epstein at the time was well documented. The Washington Post reported in 2019 that Trump and Epstein had been dating since the mid-1980s. In 1985, Trump bought his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. In 1990, Epstein bought a villa in a famous neighborhood. Over the next few years, the pair regularly attended parties together, always accompanied by Epstein's now-convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell. According to the Washington Post, Britain's Prince Andrew is also said to frequently attend these gatherings. After subsequent rape accusations, he fell out of favor with the royal family.

Many celebrities appeared in the Epstein deal

Epstein himself did not discover his conspiracy until 2019, when the New York prosecutor's office indicted him and arrested him. The indictment alleges that the businessman established an illegal sex trafficking ring in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005. He is also said to have introduced minors to other men.

The prosecution relies on statements from hundreds of victims of Epstein and his partner, Maxwell, who allegedly provided him with the girls. During the course of the investigation, court documents were also released, in which the names of Bill Clinton, Heidi Klum and many other celebrities appeared. They were also said to be frequent visitors to Epstein. One witness even said Epstein filmed his celebrity friends doing it.

Model Heidi Klum is said to have attended Epstein's parties.Image: trapezoid

Trump and Epstein fell out in 2004

Donald Trump, on the other hand, was unaffected by the 2019 revelations despite his previous close ties to Epstein. It's unclear whether Epstein will testify in Trump's trial. In 2004, the two feuded over a Palm Beach property that both wanted to buy, The Washington Post reported. Trump ultimately beat Epstein at auction. According to the Washington Times, it is unclear whether the two had contact again after this incident. The New York Post reported in 2007 that Trump even banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago estate.

But even before the 2016 US presidential election, a woman filed a lawsuit against Trump and Epstein in a California court. According to Newsweek, the indictment alleges that the pair held, tortured and raped the then 13-year-old plaintiff as a sex slave in 1994, but the judge in charge at the time dismissed the charges. The woman filed two more lawsuits, one was dismissed and one she withdrew, Newsweek reported. As a result, the plaintiff's attorney subsequently reported that her client had been intimidated.

Many women have also accused Donald Trump of sexually harassing or raping them over the years. As a result, Trump was never tried criminally. So far, Trump has only been convicted in civil trials. At the beginning of the year, Trump had to pay a $90 million fine to American writer Jean Carroll. The court found that Trump forced Carroll into a New York department store dressing room in 1996, sexually abused her and then defamed her.

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