Was Donald Trump on Eipstein's list?
We'll never know.
President Donald Trump recently sued the Wall Street Journal and its owners for $10 billion over a story related to Jeffrey Epstein, who held sex parties with celebrities and attended by minors.
The newspaper's owner is News Corp., owned by media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch, a notorious Republican Party supporter. The company has already promised to defend itself in court.
The story linked Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, and the president says he feels defamed and has suffered "heavy" reputational and financial damage.
Many of the parties took place on his private Caribbean island, transported aboard the financier's private jet: the "Lolita Express," an obvious reference to Vladimir Nabokov's book.
For a portion of the US electorate, the case illustrates how the system protects the rich and powerful, even if they have committed serious crimes.
Epstein was convicted of sexually abusing minors and organizing a pedophile ring. The fact that Jeffrey Epstein maintained a friendship with former Democratic President Bill Clinton was used as a political weapon in the US by the Republican Party. "Was Bill Clinton on the island?" Trump even asked, with the former Democratic president rejecting the accusation.
Donald Trump even announced that he would release all of the Epstein files to the public, much to the delight of his supporter base, but he recently backtracked and began to face attacks from his own base, known as MAGA (Make America Great Again).
The files reportedly contain a supposed list of Epstein clients, who attended his parties, including on his private island in the Caribbean.
Political opponents accuse Trump of covering up, pointing out that the president had a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Pressure is mounting on Trump, who has now seen his strategy backfire after years of using the conspiracy theory surrounding this case for political gain. Previously, he promoted another conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in the US and could not be president.
The controversy led Obama to respond bluntly in 2011 during a speech at an event attended by Donald Trump.
The letter cited by the newspaper, signed by Trump, wishing Epstein a happy birthday, contained sexual connotations, referring to "secret" and signed "Donald," a sign of closeness.
"I've known Jeff for 15 years. He's a fantastic guy. He's very funny. They even say he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many are for the youngest," Donald Trump said in a 2022 interview with New York magazine.
Later, in 2019, he attempted to create space between himself and Epstein, claiming they had grown apart 15 years earlier.
In 2017, Epstein said he was "Donald's best friend for 10 years," accusing him of having affairs with his friends' wives and cheating on their wives. He considered him "charming" and "always entertaining" with salesmanlike qualities, but that he was a heartless man incapable of kindness, according to statements cited by the Daily Beast.
"We have filed a powerful lawsuit against everyone involved in the publication of the false, malicious, and defamatory 'fake news' used by the worthless rag that is the Wall Street Journal," Donald Trump wrote on social media.
The president will have to prove that the defendants acted with "malice" and knowledge that the article was false, or that they acted without regard for the truth.
CNBC article says:
FBI agents assigned to review files in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein were instructed to “flag” any documents that mentioned President Donald Trump, Sen. Richard Durbin said.
FBI agents assigned earlier this year to review investigative files in the criminal case against notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were instructed to “flag” any documents that mentioned President Donald Trump, Sen. Richard Durbin said Friday.
Durbin’s claim came in letters the Illinois Democrat sent to the Justice Department and FBI asking them to explain discrepancies between past statements about a promised release of the Epstein files and findings from a July 7 Justice Department memo, which said no such release would happen.
Durbin’s letters, addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, add to the pressure on the Trump administration over Bondi’s decision to withhold from the public evidence about Epstein despite her past promises.
Durbin is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight over the Justice Department and the FBI.
“Who made the decision to reassign hundreds of New York Field Office personnel to this March review of Epstein-related records?” Durbin asked in his letters.
“Why were personnel told to flag records in which President Trump was mentioned?” he asked.
An FBI spokesperson told CNBC in an email, “The FBI has no comment,” when asked about Durbin’s letters.
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