Future President Donald Trump traveled on notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet at least eight times during the mid-1990s, according to flight records reviewed by Manhattan federal prosecutors ahead of the arrest of Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
A Jan. 8, 2020, email laying out the trips was part of the latest release of thousands of files by the Justice Department early Tuesday.
In the email, an unidentified assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York writes: “For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case.
“In particular, he is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present,” the email goes on. “He is listed as having traveled with, among others and at various times, [second wife] Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric.
“On one flight in 1993, he and Epstein are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old [redacted]. On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case. We’ve just finished reviewing the full records (more than 100 pages of very small script) and didn’t want any of this to be a surprise down the road.”
A response that was included in the document dump did not mention Trump’s name, instead asking: “Who are the two potential Maxwell witnesses?”
The email provides no evidence that Trump was aware of Epstein’s sex crimes against women and girls as young as 14, nor does it indicate wrongdoing on the part of the president.
Following the release, the Justice Department issued a remarkable prebuttal, writing on X: “The Department of Justice has officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.
“Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”
Here’s the latest on the release of the Epstein files
The president himself has dismissed the ongoing interest in the Epstein case as a ploy by Democrats to hurt him politically.
“What this whole thing is with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has,” he told reporters in Florida Monday. “Like, for instance, today, we’re building the biggest ships in the world, most powerful ships in the world, and they’re asking me questions about Jeffrey Epstein. I thought that was finished.”
Trump, now 79, and Epstein enjoyed a close friendship in the 1990s and early 2000s before falling out, reportedly amid a bidding war over a since-demolished Palm Beach, Fla., mansion. Trump has also claimed he banned Epstein from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club after Epstein ignored warnings not to poach masseuses from the spa to work for him.
Epstein was found dead Aug. 10, 2019, in his Manhattan prison cell at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted in late 2021 of sex-trafficking conspiracy, among other charges, and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
