Thread by @MsMariaT

"FOR THE BETTER PART OF TWO DECADES...Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump swam in the same social pool. They were neighbors in Florida. They jetted from LaGuardia to Palm Beach together. They partied at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and dined at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion."

https://twitter.com/RiegerReport/status/1157294480359403520

"In the wake of Epstein’s arrest last month on sex trafficking charges, many who socialized with him — including Trump — are eager to have it known that they never much liked the man, or weren’t really friends, or barely even knew him."

UNTRUE.

"...friends and assocs said the two wealthy NY-to-PB commuters had socialized for yrs, drawn together by a mix of money, women and power.

“They knew each other a long time,” said Sam Nunberg..."

Nunberg "pressed the candidate about his ties to Epstein in late 2014 as the real estate mogul considered a White House run.

“Bottom line, Donald would hang out with Epstein because he was rich.”

"Fifteen yrs ago, the two men squared off over the Palm Beach mansion. JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER, local police began investigating allegations that Epstein was sexually abusing minors. Trump also said — w/o providing details — that he at some point banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago."

"It had been a typical Trump relationship: heavily chronicled in the news media, with an uncertain core beneath the surface.

Photos and articles captured the men together over the years, the future president of the United States and the future convicted sex offender: ..."

"Here they are, Epstein and longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump and his then-girlfriend, Melania Knauss, double dating at a celebrity tennis tournament at Mar-a-Lago. Partying with Britain’s Prince Andrew...."

"Hanging out with National Football League cheerleaders. Dancing, laughing, palling around at a party Trump threw to celebrate his “freedom” after he divorced his second wife, Marla Maples.

“Terrific guy,” Trump said of Epstein in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with.”

"'They were good friends'

Trump and Epstein were more than just neighbors who happened to end up at the same parties. They were two outer-borough New York guys, both with a knack for building their images and making a buck."

"Both attracted a ton of attention, though Trump worked hard to win notice and Epstein sometimes sought to deflect it. Both won reputations as men who were seen around many beautiful women."

"The Epstein-Trump relationship didn’t exist in isolation but as part of a larger PB social swirl...Epstein and Trump were spotted together at Palm Beach events, including a pre-pageant dinner at Mar-a-Lago in 1992, according to people in attendance."

“THEY WERE TIGHT,” said one person who observed them together and spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. “THEY WERE EACH OTHER'S WINGMEN.”

#TrumpEpsteinBFFs

"Trump, recently divorced from his first wife, Ivana, was in an on-and-off relationship w/the woman he would soon marry...Maples.

During that period, the NY developer, casting himself as a carefree playboy billionaire, hosted and attended parties at #MarALago and elsewhere..."

"...sometimes featuring models, cheerleaders and beauty pageant contestants. Trump had a biz connect to all 3 industries...he ran a modeling agency. He owned a team in the U.S. Football League, a short-lived competitor to the NFL. And he controlled the Miss Universe pageant."

"Since the start of his career, Trump had made HIS LOVE LIVE A CENTRAL PART OF HIS PUBLIC IMAGE. The idea was to build his brand as an avatar of fabulousness and to extend that brand by attaching beautiful women to his name, he has said."

“I CREATE STARS,” he said on ABC’s “Primetime Live” in 1994, adding: “I’ve really gotten a lot of women great opportunity. Unfortunately, after they’re a star, THE FUN IS OVER FOR ME...It’s almost like creating a building. It’s pretty sad.”

Flotus and Stormy, anyone?

"Trump’s parties at Mar-a-Lago often featured models from Miami who floated around the patio and pool, w/many more women than men, friends have recounted.

“That’s true,” Trump said in an interview in 2015...“The point was to have fun. It was wild.”"

“There’s 100 beautiful women and 10 guys,” Roger Stone, his longtime adviser, told The Post in 2016.

“ ‘Look, how cool are we?’ . . . I mean, it was great.”

"Epstein, who in 1990 bought his own place in Palm Beach, two miles north of Trump’s, never became a member of Mar-a-Lago but visited the club for social events, Garten has said. On some of those occasions, Epstein was accompanied by Maxwell."

"Donald LIKED Epstein,” said Steven Hoffenberg, a Trump acquaintance who was Epstein’s biz partner at a New York private equity firm in the 1980s and ’90s, until Hoffenberg was convicted of running a massive Ponzi scheme. “BUT HE WAS CRAZY ABOUT MAXWELL, a very charming lady.”

"Epstein made several appearances at Mar-a-Lago. He attended a party there with NFL cheerleaders in 1992, where he was videotaped by an NBC news crew gathering footage for a segment on Trump...."

"Photographs and videos show Epstein and Trump posing together at the mansion in 1992, 1997 and 2000. The two were also pictured together, with model Ingrid Seynhaeve, in 1997 at a Victoria’s Secret party in New York City."

"Around that time, Trump flew at least once, in the late 1990s or 2000, on Epstein’s private plane from Florida to New York, according to Epstein’s brother, Mark, who described the flight in a 2009 deposition."

"In an interview last week with The Post, Mark Epstein [Jeffrey's brother] said Trump flew on the plane “numerous times” but said he was only present for one flight.

“They were good friends,” Mark Epstein said. “I know [Trump] is trying to distance himself, but they were.”

I'm skipping over the denials, btw, because, Trump lies. Link back if you want to read them. Moving on....

washingtonpost.com/politics/donal…

"He added that Trump used to comp Epstein’s mother and aunt at one of Trump’s AC casino hotels. When a Post reporter sought further details, Mark Epstein hung up...."

"When #EpsteinsBlackBook of phone numbers appeared in a court file a few years ago, it CONTAINED FOURTEEN NUMBERS for Trump; his wife, Melania; and others in Trump’s inner circle. "

Ivanka there, too.

"Trump and Epstein’s appearances together often made the news: In February 2000, Epstein and Maxwell attended a celebrity tennis tournament at Mar-a-Lago. Epstein brought along Prince Andrew, who was photographed with Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania Knauss."

"Trump also dined at Epstein’s Upper East Side Manhattan mansion in 2003, according to New York magazine. “The dialogues are so engaging,” Epstein told the magazine, “that serving even the most extraordinary food sometimes seems inappropriate.”

"It was another prime property on Palm Beach island that pitted the two men against each other — a six-acre oceanfront estate with a 180-degree view of the Atlantic."

"In 11/04, Trump, who was starring in NBC’s “The Apprentice” at the time, declared himself intent on winning “the finest piece of land in Florida and probably the U.S.,” an estate that had been seized as part of the bankruptcy of nursing home magnate Abe Gosman."

"Epstein was also enraptured by the property, which Gosman had purchased in 1988 for about $12 million from LES WEXNER...In contrast to Trump, Epstein seemed interested in living at the place...."

"At first, Epstein pressed to gain the upper hand in the competition for the estate, according to Luzinski, the bankruptcy trustee. Epstein agreed on a price and terms that were viewed as favorable for Gosman’s creditors if a higher bid didn’t emerge, he said."

"On 11/15/04, the bidders, their representatives, and a small cavalry of lawyers representing the creditors and the Gosman family gathered in a courtroom at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach. Trump was connected by phone."

"The auction began w/an attempt by one of Epstein’s 3 attys to knock Trump out of the bidding. Attorney Andrew Kamensky argued that Trump was not qualified because he demanded that the property have title insurance or he would not close on the sale...."

"What I’m telling you is that Mr. Epstein will — he will close,” Kamensky said, according a transcript obtained by The Post.

Trump wasn’t in Palm Beach — his own attorney, Raymond Royce, was in the courtroom. But Trump was on the phone, and now he chimed in to defend himself."

"Riedel’s first notice that Trump might personally take part in the proceedings came when his voice boomed from the speakerphone. “I was sort of shocked,” the lawyer said."

"Judge Steven Friedman rejected Epstein’s objection. The bidding began with Epstein’s offer of $37.25 million, but he dropped out after his bid of $38.6 million was topped."

"Trump “HAD MADE UP HIS MIND TO GET IT, NO MATTER THE PRICE,” said Charles Tatelbaum, a lawyer for one of Gosman’s creditors, JPMorgan Chase Bank."

Trump did not have the $$$, remember. Deal was completely financed by #DeutscheBank. It is alleged they were front for RU money.

"Trump outbid Epstein on the Palm Beach mansion that was later sold to the Russian oligarch (Rybolovlev), using an entity with the sole financial backing of #DeutscheBank, called “Trump Properties LLC.”

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1157018050710794241

"The judge allowed the other bidder, Mark Pulte, to proceed, but Trump outbid him, too, with an offer of $41.35 million.

“I will therefore determine by the bang of the gavel that Mr. Trump is the higher bidder,” Friedman said."

"In an interview, Luzinski described the showdown as “two very large PB egos going at it.”

It is unclear whether Trump and Epstein were in contact after the house sale. That month, Trump left two msgs for Epstein at his home in PB, according to records obtained by Vice News."

"Four yrs after he bought the...mansion, Trump sold it to RU businessman...Rybolovlev for $95M, more than DOUBLING his investment."

Trump buys the property w/#DeutscheBank's (allegedly fronting for RUs), then four yrs later sells the home for double to a Russian. In 2008.

"US house prices continued to PLUNGE for April 08 data, reaching an extreme low...and down more than 19% from the mid 2006 peak. The rate of decline is the worst since the Great Depression..."

seekingalpha.com/article/83216-…

"On 11/28/04, less than 2 wks after the mansion auction, PB police fielded a tip that young women were seen coming and going from Epstein’s home, then-Police Chief Michael Reiter said in a deposition."

Two phone messages from Trump, then 2 wks later, Epstein has PBPD on his ass.

"Four months later, in 3/05, police received a complaint from a woman who alleged that her 15-yr-old stepdaughter had been paid $300 by Epstein to massage the financier...according to the police report. The PB police investigation IDENTIFIED MORE THAN A DOZEN POSSIBLE VICTIMS,"

"In 2006, a PB grand jury returned an indictment against Epstein of a single count of soliciting a prostitute. Epstein pleaded not guilty. That July, news orgs first reported that PB police had investigated Epstein for unlawful sex w/minors and WANTED THE FBI TO TAKE UP THE CASE"

"After a lengthy FBI investigation, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Epstein under federal law, allowing him instead to plead guilty in state court in 2008 to two felony counts, including soliciting a minor."

1996 @traciemac_Bmore

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1153384861417086977

@traciemac_Bmore 1996 @traciemac_Bmore

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1153371414453456897

"AFTER A LENGTHY INVESTIGATION, FEDERAL PROSECUTORS AGREED NOT TO PROSECUTE JEFFREY EPSTEIN UNDER FEDERAL LAW, allowing him instead to plead guilty in state court in 2008 to two felony counts, including soliciting a minor."

Where's that quote from Acosta...

There is a quote floating around from Acosta, wherein he essentially states:

JEFFREY EPSTEIN WAS UNTOUCHABLE FOR SOME REASON. Here, the PROSECUTION tried to mitigate the press coverage.

WHY?

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1150019688589430784

"Epstein has also been accused of preying on a girl he met at Mar-a-Lago.

One of his alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, has alleged in court docs that when she was a 16-yr-old towel girl in Mar-a-Lago’s locker room in 2000..."

"...[Ghislaine] Maxwell “recruited” her to come to Epstein’s Palm Beach place to make money by giving massages.

Giuffre said in a lawsuit against Maxwell that Epstein sexually abused her at his mansions in both Palm Beach and Manhattan..."

"Trump also appears to have been helpful to Epstein’s accusers.

Brad Edwards, an atty for some of the alleged victims, said in an interview last year that when he was seeking information from Epstein’s acquaintances in 2009...."

"...Trump was “the only person who picked up the phone and said: ‘Let’s just talk. I’ll give you as much time as you want. I’LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. ”

So, was Trump a witness to the crimes?

"Edwards declined to say what Trump told him but said he was “very helpful in the info that he gave.”

When Nunberg looked into Trump’s ties w/Epstein, he said that Trump’s secretary...Rhona...and others in the Trump Org all agreed that Trump had made a clear break w/Epstein."

Recall: "Privately, Trump was stewing over Alex Acosta's fate, according to a senior WH official, as he and aides WORRIED ABOUT THE STEADY STREAM OF REVELATIONS in the Epstein case.

"There would just continue to be disclosures," the official said."

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1149805653990477825

Link back, eot

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein partied together. Then an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion came between them.

washingtonpost.com/politics/donal…

When I find the Alex Acosta quote re being told by higher ups to essentially, "give Epstein a pass," I will drop it here.

Will leave you with this graphic for now:

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1153019177432567808