What Jeffrey Epstein's Arrest May Mean for Donald Trump (and Bill Clinton)

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | July 7, 2019 |

By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | July 7, 2019 |

Yesterday, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and charged by the Southern District of New York with crimes related to sex with minors, dating back to the years between 2002 and 2005. We do not yet know how the charges relate, exactly, to the charges to which he pled guilty, serving a slap-on-the-wrist sentence of only a year for having molested multiple minors. Trump’s now Labor Secretary, then U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, arranged the sweetheart deal, throwing out a 53-page federal indictment that could have put Epstein away for the rest of his life.

What we do know is that Donald Trump appointed Alexander Acosta as his Labor Secretary (and every single Senate Republican confirmed him) and that even after the sweetheart plea deal came to light (thanks to the tireless efforts of the Miami Herald), Trump did not fire Acosta. He shrugged (Acosta is currently being investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility).

Presumably, these new federal charges will not overlap the charges originally brought against him (otherwise, prosecutors would face Double Jeopardy issues). The charges are federal, which does mean that Donald Trump could pardon Epstein, although pardoning a man for sex trafficking and for molesting scores of minors would not be a good look.

As for Trump himself, he claims that he has no ties to Epstein, other than the fact that Epstein was once a member of Mar-a-Lago. That, however, is not true. In fact, it’s telling that Donald Trump didn’t use rumors about President Bill Clinton’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein during the 2016 election, even though he brought several women who had accused Clinton of sexual assault to the debates. That’s because Trump also has a clear history with Epstein.

Donald Trump speaking of his longtime friend Jeffrey Epstein in 2002: "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It’s even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." pic.twitter.com/93DktcH9ln

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) July 7, 2019

Trump was also subpoenaed in 2009 to give a deposition in the Epstein case (Trump denies this, although it is factually true), and Trump has flown on Epstein’s private jet at least once.

From a 2010 deposition of Jeffrey Epstein:

“Q. Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?
“A: Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today I'm going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights, sir.” https://t.co/yB8pwTV4gU

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2019

There’s more, too:

In Epstein's contact book, under Trump's name "were 14 phone numbers, including emergency numbers, car numbers, and numbers to Trump's security guard and houseman."

— Kate Brannen (@K8brannen) July 7, 2019

And if Epstein doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life in prison, it may serve him well to rat out Trump, and Bill Clinton, and Alan Dershowitz, who is currently being sued by a woman who claims Dershowitz assault her when she was a minor.

SDNY requires a defendant who wants a cooperation deal to tell the truth about all crimes he knows of. If Epstein doesn’t want to spend a very long time in prison, perhaps the rest of his life, in prison, his path to a reduced sentence may well be through Trump. https://t.co/525MLz2jz7

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 7, 2019

Meanwhile, about 2000 pages of documents pertaining to the Epstein case are about to be unsealed. It could be a hell of a week, one that could ensnare not just two Presidents, but a number of other men, as well. It’s also worth noting that Trump was tweeting angrily about the SDNY last week. This may be why.

We all thought Trump was angry at the SDNY over his taxes last week- actually he was probably furious over this https://t.co/Wan25tk6tJ

— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) July 7, 2019