Jeffrey Epstein case: why are Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of England involved?
The American financier, accused of exploitation and sexual assault on dozens of minors, was found dead in his New York prison cell on Saturday morning, after an "apparent suicide", according to the administration penitentiary. The case is embarrassing for several American and foreign personalities.
Precise conditions of his death, prosecution of the investigation, links with France ... Many questions remain unanswered, Monday August 12, two days after the discovery in his cell of the federal prison in Manhattan (United States) of the lifeless body of Jeffrey Epstein, financier accused of trafficking and sexual assault on minors.
The latter had been indicted on July 8 for sexual exploitation of minors and criminal conspiracy to sexually exploit minors. The prison administration, pending the results of his autopsy, described the death of the magnate as "apparent suicide".
Beyond the exact circumstances of his death, the relations between the 60-year-old and several political figures, such as the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, the former head of state Bill Clinton or even Prince Andrew - second son of the Queen of England - remain at the heart of questions and speculations. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about the relations between the American and these three men of power.
Regular evenings with Donald Trump
The ties between the 45th President of the United States and Jeffrey Epstein, dating back to the 1990s and 2000s, have recently resurfaced. According to the daily Miami Herald (link in English), Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were neighbors in Palm Beach, near Miami (Florida). They then became friends: over the 1990s and 2000s, Donald Trump, then a businessman and media personality, regularly went to social events organized by Epstein. The financier, he is seen on several occasions at the private club Mar-a-Lago, owned by the current US president, reports Vox (in English). According to the Guardian, he visited at least twice, in 1997 and 2000, posing for a few photos with Donald Trump. Jeffrey Epstein's address book, released in 2009, contained no less than 14 telephone numbers to reach Donald Trump and his staff.
Jeffrey Epstein (...) was treated like a close friend of the owner and "butler" of the Mar-a-Lago club, Donald Trump.
At that time, the two men met regularly during dinners in Manhattan (United States). What characterized their relationship was "a mutual appreciation of wealth and women", summarizes the New York Times. Here is how, in 2002, Donald Trump described his friend "Jeff" for a portrait done by New York Magazine: "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. He's a great guy," says the mogul of real estate. "We have fun with him. Rumor has it that he loves women as much as I do, and that a lot of them are quite young," he continues. There is no doubt that Jeffrey is enjoying his life. social. "
The New York Times thus evokes an evening at the club of Mar-a-Lago in 1992, where nearly 30 young women are invited especially for "a contest of calendar women". Donald Trump invited these young American women exclusively for him and his friend, Jeffrey Epstein. A video, filmed by NBC that same year, shows the two neighbors watching women dancing at a party. Donald Trump seems to slip a "She's hot!", And Jeffrey Epstein nods, all smiles.
Through this friendship and this "mutual appreciation for women", has the American leader witnessed the actions of the financier? In a book cited by Elle, one of her former advisers, Roger Stone, recalls a joke from Donald Trump heard at the time, upon his return from Epstein's home in Florida. "The pool was filled with very beautiful young women", amused the current president. According to the Miami Herald's revelations, one of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims was working for Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club when she began to be abused by the financier.
In June 2016, according to the American daily, another woman accuses the two friends. She files a complaint against Donald Trump, assuring that he raped her in 1994 at a party at the New York home of Jeffrey Epstein. She was only 13 at the time. In November 2016, the alleged victim claims to have been threatened and feared reprisals. She withdraws her complaint, specifies the Miami Herald. Vox reports in particular that several journalists have expressed their mistrust of his testimony.
Asked recently about his links with the financier, Donald Trump assured the press that he knew him "as everyone in Palm Beach knew him". "I had an argument with him, I haven't spoken to him for fifteen years. I wasn't a big fan of him, I can assure you," he said. According to the New York Times, their relationship ended because of a failed financial deal. Donald Trump would also have assured one of his assistants, during the presidential campaign, that he had refused entry to his clubs to Jeffrey Epstein after knowing that he was seeking to "recruit" a young woman working in Mars. a-Lago.
Travels with Bill Clinton
Donald Trump is not the only US president with whom Jeffrey Epstein has had close ties. When Bill Clinton was in the White House, between 1993 and 2001, the mogul went there several times for an event dedicated to donations or to meet a member of the president's staff, reports the American website Daily Beast (in English). But the relationship between the two men grew at the end of Bill Clinton's presidency, notably through the Clinton Foundation, a humanitarian NGO. According to the Miami Herald, Jeffrey Epstein funded this foundation as well as other causes supported by the Democratic Party. He also traveled several times on the financier's private plane.
Bill Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said in a July 9 statement that the former president traveled on the plane four times, between 2002 and 2003. These trips - one to Europe, another to Asia and two in Africa - "included stopovers linked to the work of the Clinton Foundation," the spokesperson said. One of these trips was devoted to the economic development of Africa and the fight against HIV.
Jeffrey is both a very accomplished financier and a committed philanthropist (...) I particularly appreciated his knowledge and his generosity during this recent trip to Africa.
Several American media, however, report other flights by Bill Clinton aboard Epstein's plane. The Gawker site (in English) thus evoked, from 2015, a dozen trips of the former president with the financier. One of them was an internal flight between Miami and West Harrison, New York - an airport close to Bill Clinton's home. According to Gawker, the former head of state has traveled 11 times with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former companion accused of being his pimp. The plane was also nicknamed the "Lolita Express", a dark reference to the actions of the financier. The former Democratic president also visited Jeffrey Epstein's New York home and saw him again during a meeting at his office in 2002. One of the women accusing the financier of sexual assault still claims to have seen Bill Clinton visiting the tycoon's private island, in the heart of the Virgin Islands, reports Vox (in English). But Bill Clinton's spokesperson denies this allegation.
At this stage of the investigation, the former leader is not targeted by any charge of sexual assault on minors through his links with Jeffrey Epstein. In his recent press release, Angel Ureña assures us that "President Clinton knows nothing of the terrible crimes" accused of the financier. "It's been over ten years since he spoke to her."
A long friendship with Prince Andrew
The Queen of England's second son, 59, is another figure named in the charges against Jeffrey Epstein. Like Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, the financier and Prince Andrew met during the 1990s, through Ghislaine Maxwell, reports the Guardian. But unlike the American leaders, this friendship lasted until the 2010s. They spent time together in Saint-Tropez between parties and parties, at Windsor Castle or even while on vacation in Thailand, specifies the British daily. Jeffrey Epstein also loaned Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson money to help him pay off several debts. She recognized it in 2011, citing "a huge error in judgment".
According to the Miami Herald investigation, one of the alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein testified against Prince Andrew as early as January 2015. She says the financier forced her "to have sex" at three times with the brother of the heir to the British throne when she was a teenager. According to his testimony, cited by the Guardian, these facts would have taken place in New York, at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, and during an "orgy with many other young girls" on the private island of Jeffrey Epstein . The latter, according to his accusations, would have forced her "to give the prince everything he asked for".
The Duke of York is also accused of touching the breasts of a young woman at Jeffrey Epstein's home in Manhattan in 2001, reports the British daily (link in English). She was then 21 years old. Buckingham Palace has always denied these accusations, the Guardian said.
