Trump and Clinton’s relationships with Epstein continued into the new millennium.
Photos published in Florida newspaper the Palm Beach Post, external show Trump, Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew at a charity fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in 2000.
In New York Magazine two years later, Trump said Epstein was a “terrific guy” and that “it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side”.
In that same article, Clinton said through his spokesperson that Epstein was “both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist”.
It was around this time that Clinton was taking trips on Epstein’s private jet.
Shortly after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019, Clinton’s spokesperson said in a statement on X , externalthat the former president took four trips on Epstein’s jet between 2002 and 2003, including “stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation”.
Appearing to reference one of those trips, Clinton’s spokesperson said in the 2002 New York Magazine article that Clinton “appreciated his [Epstein’s] insights and generosity during the recent trip to Africa to work on democratization, empowering the poor, citizen service, and combating HIV/AIDS.”
Clinton’s spokesperson’s 2019 statement also confirmed that a meeting between the two took place in Epstein’s office in Harlem in 2002, as well as a “brief visit” to Epstein’s New York apartment at around the same time.
A picture of Epstein and Clinton in Brunei in 2002 appears in this archived version of a Vanity Fair article., external
Both Trump and Clinton are alleged to have contributed – along with about 50 other people – to Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday book in 2003.
Earlier this year the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a letter appearing to bear Trump’s signature below a sketch of a naked woman, which read: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump denied writing the letter to Epstein and sued the WSJ for defamation. He told ABC News at the time: “It’s not my signature. And it’s not the way I speak. And anybody that’s covered me for a long time, knows – that’s not my language.”
Bill Clinton’s name appeared in the birthday book next to a message which read: “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.”
Clinton did not comment on his alleged message in the birthday book.