Trump flew on Epstein jet eight times in 1990s, prosecutor email says
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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump flew on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet eight times in the 1990s, according to an email from a New York prosecutor included in a new tranche of Epstein-related records released by the US Justice Department on Tuesday (Dec 23).
The email, dated Jan 7, 2020, said flight records showed Trump travelled on Epstein’s aircraft “many more times than previously has been reported.” At least four of those flights also included Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. There was no allegation in the email that Trump committed any crime.
In a social media post in 2024, Trump said he “was never on Epstein’s plane, or at his ‘stupid’ island.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the email.
DETAILS FROM PROSECUTOR EMAIL
According to the document, one flight listed only three passengers: Epstein, Trump and a 20-year-old woman whose name was redacted. The email added that on two other flights, women who could have been potential witnesses in the Maxwell case were aboard.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in facilitating Epstein’s abuse of minors. Epstein was found dead in a New York jail in 2019, with his death ruled a suicide.
DOJ CAUTIONS ON CLAIMS
The Justice Department said some of the newly released material includes unfounded allegations against Trump. In a statement posted on X, the department said certain claims submitted to the FBI ahead of the 2020 election were “untrue and sensationalist,” adding that they were “unfounded and false.”
“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,” it said.
FILES AND IMAGES RELEASED
The latest release includes nearly 30,000 pages of documents, many heavily redacted, along with dozens of video clips. One file references a 2021 email noting an image of Trump with Maxwell found while reviewing data from the cellphone of former Trump aide Steve Bannon. A grainy photo included in the release shows Trump seated next to Maxwell at a New York fashion show in 2000.
The government also released a video purporting to show Epstein kneeling in his jail cell. A Reuters review found it appears to be a computer-generated clip that circulated online in 2020 and was submitted to the Justice Department as purported evidence of Epstein’s suicide.
TRANSPARENCY LAW AND POLITICAL FALLOUT
The disclosures are part of the administration’s effort to comply with a new transparency law passed by Congress last month mandating the release of all Epstein files. Earlier releases drew criticism from some Republicans over extensive redactions.
On Monday, Trump dismissed the significance of the files, calling them a distraction from what he described as Republican achievements. Republican Representative Thomas Massie, a sponsor of the disclosure law, criticised the administration’s handling of the releases, accusing officials of excessive redactions despite legal requirements to publish the records.
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