Topline
President Donald Trump’s lengthy association with Jeffrey Epstein is facing renewed scrutiny Friday after a Wall Street Journal report that he gifted Epstein a sexually suggestive birthday card for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday in 2003, about 20 years into their friendship that played out at Trump’s Palm Beach estate and on Epstein’s private jets.
Timeline
1980sTrump and Epstein met around the time Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985, when Epstein was also living in Palm Beach, according to Trump, who told New York magazine in 2002 he had known Epstein for “15 years,” calling him a “terrific guy,” and adding “it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
1992Trump and Epstein were spotted laughing together at a party Trump threw at Mar-a-Lago, according to NBC footage of the event unearthed in 2019.
1993Trump flew on Epstein’s private jets four times in 1993, according to flight logs made public during Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, The New York Times reported.
1994Trump flew on one of Epstein’s private jets, according to the flight logs.
1995Trump took another flight on an Epstein jet, the flight logs say.
1997Trump took a seventh flight on one of Epstein’s jets.
1997Trump and Epstein were photographed standing near each other at a Victoria’s Secret “Angels” party, according to a Getty image of Trump posing with model Ingrid Seynhaeve that shows Epstein in the background.
2000Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort when she was recruited by Maxwell to work as Epstein’s personal masseuse and was groomed by the two to provide sexual services for Epstein and his wealthy circle, according to a deposition Giuffre gave that was made public in 2019.
2003Trump allegedly gave Epstein the birthday card that said “may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal, which the president denies.
2004Trump and Epstein had a falling out when Trump outbid him for a Palm Beach mansion, according to a Washington Post report.
Crucial Quote
“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office in 2019 when Epstein was arrested. “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”
What Does Trump’s Alleged Birthday Message To Trump Say?
Trump wrote Epstein a typewritten letter that also included a drawing of a naked woman and referenced a “wonderful secret” between the two for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, according to a Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal, which reported that it reviewed the note. The report comes as Trump has faced backlash from his base over the past two weeks after the Justice Department announced it wouldn’t release any additional information on its Epstein probe, despite some previous suggestions from top law enforcement officials that it would. The text of the note allegedly reads: tk
Chief Critics
Trump’s allies rallied behind him in the wake of the Journal report, with some claiming the alleged text doesn’t sound like the president and others alleging the story was a coordinated attack by Democrats.
Tangent
Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “pertinent” records from grand jury testimony in Epstein’s case amid criticism of the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein probe.
Key Background
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors to his wealthy friends and associates. Trump is among a long list of Epstein’s high-profile associates, including billionaire Les Wexner, Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton. Many of Trump’s MAGA allies have pushed conspiracies about Epstein through the years, including that he was killed, rather than died by suicide, and kept an alleged list of high-profile clients. The Justice Department said last week that no such list exists and reiterated that Epstein died by suicide.
Further Reading
MAGA World Rallies To Defend Trump: Don Jr. Calls Epstein Birthday Card Allegations ‘Insanity’ (Forbes)
Trump Directs Bondi To Release Some Epstein Documents, Threatens To Sue Wall Street Journal And Murdoch (Forbes)
Just 17% Approve Of Trump’s Handling Of Epstein Files: Poll (Forbes)