Trump in the Epstein files - five takeaways

The newest US document dump on Jeffrey Epstein is sprawling, uneven and heavily redacted - but tucked inside are moments that have sharpened scrutiny on President Donald Trump's long-acknowledged past association with the notorious sex offender. President Donald Trump has long denied any wrongdoing (File image) Files released by the US government in relation to Jeffrey Epstein contain references to US President Donald Trump The files do not rewrite the public record on Mr Trump, although there is material that may prove embarrassing to the president. Mr Trump has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Justice Department said some claims in the files are flatly false. However, the documents do illuminate how federal investigators documented his proximity to Epstein - what they flagged, what they questioned, and what they ultimately set aside. The result is a collection of fragments rather than conclusions, ranging from flight records to internal emails and an unsettling piece of correspondence involving another convicted abuser. Here are five takeaways from the documents now in public view. 1. Trump's travel on Epstein's jet The most concrete new detail is an internal email dated in early January 2020, in which a New York prosecutor said flight records showed Mr Trump took eight trips on Epstein's private jet between 1993 and 1996 - more than investigators were aware of at the time. The email - marking the most detailed account yet of Mr Trump's travel alongside Epstein - said Ghislaine Maxwell was on board at least four of those flights. Maxwell is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for offences including sex trafficking a minor. It also describes one flight where the only passengers were Epstein, Mr Trump and an unidentified 20-year-old whose name is redacted, plus two other flights involving women described as possible Maxwell-case witnesses. 2. Mar-a-Lago subpoena The newly released documents show that prosecutors issued a November 2021 subpoena to Mr Trump's south Florida beach club, Mar-a-Lago, seeking records relevant to the government's case against Maxwell. Attached was a letter dated February 2015, on Mar-a-Lago letterhead, in which officials of the club indicate that they did not have the employment records from 1999 to 2001 that federal agents are seeking. The presence of a subpoena does not imply wrongdoing by its recipient, but it does show investigators formally sought information from Mr Trump's property as they pursued Maxwell. 3. Chilling letter to Larry Nassar Among the newly released paperwork is a disturbing handwritten letter, apparently from Epstein to disgraced former US gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, referencing shared predatory inclinations and including an explicit comment about Mr Trump. The message appears to have been sent in August 2019, the month Epstein died by suicide. In it, Epstein wrote that Mr Trump "shares our love of young, nubile girls," a sentence that has no verified context and is not evidence of wrongdoing by Mr Trump but has captured media attention due to its graphic tone. The letter starts, "As you know by now, I have taken the...

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