Key Highlights
- It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”The relationship eventually broke down, with the men falling out over a bidding war on a property in Florida.
- After Epstein was convicted of child sex offences in Florida in 2008, Trump distanced himself from the financier, claiming he was “not a fan”. The most recent explanation of the relationship breakdown from Trump is that the friendship ended because Epstein repeatedly “stole” employees from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, which Trump deemed an “inappropriate” tactic.
- He has suggested one of the employees was Epstein’s most high-profile accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April. Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year.
- verett Collection Inc/AlamyOther reports suggest that Trump barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein behaved inappropriately toward a club member’s teenage daughter, according to journalists from the Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal. After the president spent the summer batting away questions over his relationship with Epstein, on 8 September a 238-page scrapbook given to Epstein for his 50th birthday was made public by House Democrats. Featuring letters suggesting the sex offender’s lecherous exploits were an open secret, the book included a message bearing Donald Trump’s signature. Inside a sketch of a woman’s torso, the message depicts an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein, concluding: Happy birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.
- Trump’s name and distinctive signature appear below. The White House claimed the signature was not Trump’s, despite it appearing identical to numerous public examples.
