Elon Musk and Donald Trump have been locked in a war of words, but is the President actually linked to Jeffrey Epstein as Musk claims?
For context, Musk and Trump have had a big falling out, and they decided to make their disagreements public.
It all came to a head when the Tesla boss posted on X: "Time to drop the really big bomb. @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"
Wild, right?
Trump has been pictured with Epstein before, but not everybody that was associated with the financier is accused of wrongdoing.
Epstein was a disgraced financier who reportedly died by suicide while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
With that being said, how is Trump linked to him?
Before Trump was elected in 2016, he told the media he’d have “no problem” releasing Epstein-related files, suggesting he wasn’t worried about what they might contain.
And to be clear, there is no evidence that Trump engaged in criminal activity with Epstein. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
But the paper trail is lengthy.
Trump and Epstein’s friendship goes back to the late 1980s, as reported by The Times.
The two moved in elite New York social circles and both had homes in Palm Beach, Florida. They were known to party together at Mar-a-Lago and even attended a Victoria’s Secret Angels show side by side.
In 2002, Trump famously told New York Magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Epstein’s leaked address books included Trump’s contact information, as well as his wife Melania’s, and Trump’s name reportedly appeared seven times in flight logs for Epstein’s infamous private jet, dubbed the “Lolita Express”.
Journalist Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury, released tapes last year containing interviews he conducted with Epstein before his 2019 jailhouse suicide.
On those tapes, Epstein is heard boasting about his friendship with Trump, even claiming, “the first time he slept with her was on my plane” - referring to Melania.
Wolff also alleged that Trump and Epstein once competed over who would be the first to sleep with Princess Diana.
Epstein didn’t hold back on his former “best friend for ten years,” at one point saying: “He’s a horrible human being. He does nasty things to his best friends, best friends’ wives, anyone who he first tries to gain their trust and uses it to do bad things to them.”
Stacey Williams, a former model, came forward in October alleging that Trump groped her at Trump Tower in 1993. According to Williams, Epstein brought her there as part of a “twisted game” between the two men.
Trump’s campaign denied the claims at the time.
According to The Times, Trump and Epstein were close for years until 2004, when a real estate dispute over the Maison de L’Amitié estate in Palm Beach ended the friendship. A year later, the FBI began investigating Epstein for sex trafficking.
Since their falling out, Trump has claimed he was “not a fan” of Epstein and has portrayed himself as someone who turned on the disgraced financier. He even allegedly offered legal help to Epstein’s victims.
Courtney Wild, one of those victims, said Trump cooperated immediately after her lawyers served him a subpoena during her civil case. She claimed he offered a “disturbing” anecdote about witnessing young girls at Epstein’s pool.
While some insiders claim Epstein retained access to people close to Trump even during his presidency, there’s no evidence Trump was involved in Epstein’s crimes.