The Recently Released Epstein Files Reveal What Trump Knew

"What is Trump saying it was, and what's the reality? What are we learning? Trump has said that he really wasn't as good of friends with him, that he had a falling out with him, that they had some events together-he was at Mar-a-Lago at some events, but he's downplayed that, I think it's fair to say. From what we have seen, they were much closer-certainly much closer than I thought they were when I did this story originally."

"I think we're getting new information that shows that maybe they were closer, but we don't find any evidence thus far that he was involved in any of Epstein's crimes. Can you be a little bit more specific about the relationship, what it consisted of? Well, I think that they were sort of competitors, in a way. They were both very wealthy, connected men, and I think they competed. We know that there was this real-estate deal in the early two-thousands in Palm Beach, and then Trump jumped on it, and it ended up in a bidding war, and Trump won. And then he sold the property-it was this massive mansion-for oodles and oodles of money. Of course, Epstein was really mad about that."

"What about their social relationship? And they seem to bond-to put this delicately-over the question of women. Yes. They definitely did. Trump did an interview saying that [Epstein] likes women and he really likes them young. And so that was the same way they competed over money. They were also, I think, to some degree, competing over their prowess with women."

Donald Trump publicly downplayed his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, claiming a falling out and limited shared events. Reporting and new information indicate a closer social and business relationship than initially portrayed. The relationship included real-estate competition, notably an early-2000s Palm Beach bidding war in which Trump prevailed and later sold a mansion, angering Epstein. Both men competed to display wealth and social status and reportedly competed over women, with Epstein described as favoring young women. Investigations have not found evidence linking Trump to Epstein's criminal activities. The dynamic combined rivalry and socializing within elite circles.

Read at The New Yorker