What do Jeffrey Epstein’s documents reveal about Donald Trump?
A judge in Florida has ordered the release of transcripts of the state’s grand jury proceedings against late financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
A Florida judge has ordered the release of documents from transcripts of the state’s grand jury proceedings held in 2006 against late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The documents, numbering almost 200, contain testimony from Epstein’s victims and graphically detail his crimes. Grand jury documents in the state are usually never unsealed, but a new bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis allowing exemptions made it possible in the case of the Epstein.
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What do Jeffrey Epstein’s documents reveal about Donald Trump?
The Epstein scandal has generated a lot of attention because of his association with the rich and powerful. The recent unsealing is of particular interest because of what it could potentially reveal about Donald Trump, who has been documented to associate with Epstein in the past.
Court documents released earlier this year included testimony regarding whether one of the sex offender’s victims ever massaged the former president.
In the deposition of Johanna Sjoberg, she spoke on the first time she traveled with the disgraced financier, when they went to Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“Jeffrey said, ‘Great, we’ll call up Trump and we’ll go to’- I don’t recall the name of the casino, but- ‘we’ll go to the casino,’” according to Sjoberg’s testimony.
She said they went to a casino owned by Trump, where she was not allowed to enter due to being a minor.
Sjoberg was later asked if she massaged the Republican candidate, and she twice replied that she did no such thing.
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Trump’s relationship with Epstein
Trump has been photographed with Epstein, and the depth of their relationship has been the subject of much discussion. A video released by NBC News in 2019 shows the two enjoying themselves at a party held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 1992.
The Republican presidential candidate told New York Magazine in 2002 that he had known Epstein for 15 years and described him as a “terrific guy.”
“He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” said Trump.
After the release of documents in January this year, Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung said that any reports claiming the two were friends had been “thoroughly debunked.”
The inclusion of names in court filings doesn’t equate to accusations of illegal conduct. The recently released documents do not implicate Trump in Epstein’s sexual activities.
Trump distanced himself from Epstein in 2019, saying they had not communicated in 15 years.