Video shows Trump partied with Epstein
Future president seen chatting and pointing out women with financier now accused of sex trafficking
A video has surfaced of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein – the financier accused of sex trafficking under-age women – at a party packed with cheerleaders in 1992. The footage shows Mr Trump welcoming Mr Epstein to the party at his Mar-a-lago resort in Florida and talking to him as they watch women dance. The US president said he had not spoken to Mr Epstein for 15 years. “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” he said. “I was not a fan.”
A VIDEO surfaced yesterday of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire financier accused of sex trafficking under-age women, chatting and laughing at a party packed with cheerleaders in 1992.
In the footage, uncovered by NBC News, Mr Trump is seen welcoming Mr Epstein to the event at his Mar-a-lago golf resort in Palm Beach, Florida, and talking to him as they watch women dance. At one point Mr Trump appears to point at a woman and say to Mr Epstein “she’s hot”. Moments later, Mr Epstein leans forward in laughter after another inaudible comment by his host.
The video emerged after the US president attempted to distance himself from Mr Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking earlier this month.
Mr Trump said he had not spoken to Mr Epstein for 15 years. “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” he said, adding: “I was not a fan.”
Mr Epstein, a hedge fund manager, pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor – a plea deal that has proved controversial in recent months with renewed focus on the case.
Alex Acosta, Mr Trump’s labour secretary, who oversaw the plea agreement while he was a federal prosecutor in Florida, last week announced he would step down amid the outcry that followed Mr Epstein’s recent arrest.
The new indictment alleged that Mr Epstein ran a “vast network” of underage girls for sex.
Mr Epstein was accused of enticing minors to his mansions in Manhattan and Florida between 2002 and 2005.
‘I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,’ Mr Trump said, but added: ‘I was not a fan’
Girls, some as young as 14, were paid hundreds of dollars for sex acts, the charge alleges and adds that Epstein knew his victims were under the age of 18. Mr Epstein has pleaded not guilty.
The video, found in the NBC News archives, was filmed for a talk show at the time called A Closer Look.
Mr Trump was a bachelor when the footage was filmed, having recently divorced his first wife, Ivana. It was a year before he married for a second time, to Marla Maples.
The video footage, filmed at Mr Trump’s Florida resort, includes cheerleaders for the American football teams the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, who can be seen dancing and drinking. However, none of the women appear to be under age.
Mr Trump, wearing a black suit and pink tie, is seen dancing with some of the cheerleaders, joking at one point to the camera that the TV episode about him would get “great ratings”.
The future president is then seen welcoming three new guests to the party, including Mr Epstein.
Later, Mr Trump and Mr Epstein are seen chatting and smiling as women dance in front of them.
The footage complicates attempts by the US president to downplay his ties to Mr Epstein in light of the new scandal. In 2002, Mr Trump gave glowing remarks about Mr Epstein to New York magazine, calling him a “terrific guy” and saying they had known each other for 15 years.
“He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Mr Trump was quoted as saying. “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.”
Mr Trump has since said the pair had a “falling out”.
He is not the only occupant of the White House to have his links to Mr Epstein put in the spotlight. Former president Bill Clinton has had to defend his past appearances with Mr Epstein.
In the wake of the new charges, Mr Clinton issued a statement saying he had taken four trips on the billionaire’s private plane and made “one brief visit” to Mr Epstein’s home in New York in 2002.