{"slug":"trump-epstein-connections-parties-decades","title":"Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: Decades of Social Ties, Documented Parties, Victim Accounts","date":"1987-01-01","lastUpdated":"2019-08-10","description":"Donald Trump maintained a documented social relationship with Jeffrey Epstein spanning approximately two decades. Trump and Epstein attended parties together in New York and Palm Beach, where Epstein recruited victims. At least one victim, Virginia Giuffre, has said in a legal filing that she encountered Trump at Epstein events. Trump himself called Epstein a 'terrific guy' in a 2002 New York magazine interview and noted they both enjoyed younger women. Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after 2005. Epstein was arrested and died in federal custody in 2019.","summary":"Trump and Epstein were documented social associates from the late 1980s through the mid-2000s. They attended parties together at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and in Manhattan. In a 2002 New York magazine interview, Trump described Epstein as 'a terrific guy' who enjoyed 'the younger side' of women — a statement that took on significance after Epstein's arrest. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's primary victims, alleged in court filings that she encountered Trump at events hosted by Epstein. Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago around 2004-2005 after Epstein allegedly assaulted the daughter of a Mar-a-Lago member. Acosta, Trump's later Secretary of Labor, was the U.S. Attorney who gave Epstein a controversial 2008 plea deal.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/28/nyregion/at-home-with-jeffrey-epstein.html","title":"New York magazine 2002 profile — Trump calls Epstein 'terrific guy'","publisher":"New York Magazine"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-and-epstein-cavorted-at-parties-with-young-women-in-new-york/2019/07/09/7c9b40d4-a139-11e9-b7b4-95e30869bd15_story.html","title":"Trump and Epstein cavorted at parties with young women in New York","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/us/politics/trump-epstein.html","title":"Trump Once Said Epstein 'Likes Beautiful Women as Much as I Do'","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html","title":"How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime","publisher":"Miami Herald"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Epstein","sex-trafficking","pre-presidency","Acosta","Florida","victims"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1987-01-01","title":"Trump-Epstein social relationship begins","summary":"Trump and Epstein begin a social relationship in New York. Both are active in Manhattan society. Contemporaries describe them attending parties together and socializing in overlapping circles."},{"date":"2002-10-28","title":"Trump calls Epstein 'terrific' in New York magazine","summary":"In a New York Magazine profile of Epstein, Trump is quoted describing him as 'a terrific guy' who 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' The quote becomes a major point of focus after Epstein's 2019 arrest."},{"date":"2004-01-01","title":"Trump bans Epstein from Mar-a-Lago","summary":"Trump bans Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein allegedly made inappropriate advances toward the teenage daughter of a club member. This is the account Trump has given; it becomes his primary defense against association with Epstein's crimes."},{"date":"2008-06-30","title":"Epstein receives Acosta plea deal","summary":"U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta agrees to a non-prosecution agreement allowing Epstein to plead guilty to Florida state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution — serving 13 months and avoiding federal charges that could have carried decades in prison. The agreement was secret; victims were not notified as required by law."},{"date":"2017-02-16","title":"Trump appoints Acosta as Labor Secretary","summary":"Trump appoints Alexander Acosta as Secretary of Labor. Acosta is confirmed. The Miami Herald's investigation into the Epstein plea deal is not yet published."},{"date":"2019-07-06","title":"Epstein arrested on federal sex trafficking charges","summary":"Epstein is arrested in New York on federal charges of sex trafficking dozens of girls. The arrest follows the Miami Herald's investigative series by Julie K. Brown exposing the 2008 deal."},{"date":"2019-07-12","title":"Acosta resigns from Labor","summary":"Acosta resigns as Labor Secretary amid renewed scrutiny of the Epstein plea deal. Trump says Acosta 'did a great job as Labor Secretary.'"},{"date":"2019-08-10","title":"Epstein dies in federal custody","summary":"Epstein is found dead in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where he was awaiting trial. His death is ruled a suicide by hanging. The Bureau of Prisons and MCC face significant criticism for lapses in monitoring protocols."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY / Palm Beach, FL","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking victims; Virginia Giuffre and other women who attended Epstein events; women recruited at Trump-Epstein joint parties","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Social associate of Epstein for ~20 years; attended joint parties; employed Alexander Acosta (Epstein's plea deal prosecutor) as Labor Secretary","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-08-10","summary":"Updated with Epstein's death."}]}}