Donald Trump repeatedly responded to questions and rumors about his alleged connections with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier accused of trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of minors. Today Trump demands compensation for alleged claims.
What's Trump's connection to Epstein?
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein met in the late 1980s as part of the society elite of Palm Beach and New York City. They attended parties, parties, and social events together. Their relationship was open and photographs of their meetings circulated in the media.
Trump spoke of Epstein in a 2002 interview: "I've known Jeff for 15 years. He's a great guy. They say she likes women as much as I do, and many of them are very young".
Trump's name appears in the famous "black book" Epstein's contacts as well as flight logs on his private aircraft, although there is no public evidence that he was involved in illegal activities.
Early 2000s brought a cooling of the relationship . Trump claimed that their paths split in 2004 during a conflict over a luxury property in Palm Beach. After first reports of Epstein's criminal activities, Trump openly distanced himself from him: "I wasn't a fan of Epstein and I haven't spoken to him in 15 years".
Disturbance
During the press conference Trump was asked about Epstein, to which he replied with amazement that this topic has been discussed for years and he does not understand why they keep returning to him, especially at a time when he deals with other important issues and achieves success. He also criticized the media interest in the case, calling it " boring" and "disgusting" and suggesting that they wanted to deal with it mainly "very bad people" and "fake news".
Trump also rejects suggestions for any connection to Epstein's case. When journalists reminded of public connections in the past, including pictures from Trump's wedding, on which Epstein was present, he calls them "fake news" and ends the conversation. In the past, Trump admitted to knowing Epstein and was even about to throw him out of the club for inappropriate behavior, but strongly denies being involved in any crimes.
Billion-dollar compensation
Donald Trump filed a lawsuit for damages against journalists and publisher of the newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" and Rupert Murdoch for at least $10 billion. The lawsuit concerns an article that suggested that Trump sent a letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 with a woman's drawing in a bikini, which was supposed to indicate a close relationship between them. Trump denies that the letter is authentic and describes it as a fake. He believes the publication was defamatory and damaged his reputation and career.
As part of the reprisal for publication, Trump's administration revoked the accreditation of one of the journalists "The Wall Street Journal" on a flight aboard Air Force One to Scotland, while Trump himself publicly called the editorials "buying garbage" and announced the need to interview Murdoch in court.
