Epstein update

Mercury News -  Donald and Melania Trump often have told the story about how they met at a Manhattan nightclub during New York Fashion Week in 1998. Jeffrey Epstein has never figured into this origin story — but the financier and former Trump friend has tried to take credit for this historical encounter between the future president and first lady.

The New York Times, reporting on Trump’s long and difficult friendship with the newly jailed accused sex trafficker, said that Epstein was very eager to play up his connections to Trump after the 2016 election. One way Epstein did this was by “claiming that he was the one who introduced Trump to his third wife,” the Times reported.


Observer - The origins of Jeffrey Epstein’s financial empire remain a mystery to even billionaires. But the investor’s former Wall Street mentor has one theory about how Epstein amassed his fortune: Fraud. In a phone interview with Observer, Steven Hoffenberg alleged Epstein participated in a Ponzi scheme the two ran together in the 1980s, before using the ill-gotten gains to launch his investment company with the help of financial loans from Deutsche Bank. 


NPR - As Acosta announced his resignation, federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged in court filings that Epstein had attempted to buy influence over people who were set to testify against him. He is accused of wiring $350,000 last year to two associates. Federal authorities are seeking to block Epstein's release as he awaits trial stemming from charges brought against him earlier this week. Epstein is due back in court Monday for a bail hearing.

The latest buzz about the Jeffrey Epstein child sex-trafficking case regards a temple-like structure on his private island — an island he calls “Little St. Jeff’s,” but one St. Thomas locals called “Pedophile Island” or “Orgy Island.” It is on this 72-acre island that Epstein allegedly ferried in young women on a boat named the “Lady Ghislaine.” Epstein’s friend and former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, is a British socialite who has been accused of acting as Epstein’s madam.

Attorney General William Barr, who spent years at the CIA, stated he would recuse himself on the Epstein matter on Monday and then reversed himself on Tuesday. Barr helped cover up the Iran-Contra scandal by approving the pardons of Elliott Abrams and other officials who were caught in illegal activity. In 1973, Epstein got his start as a math teacher thanks to Barr’s father, Donald Barr, who was headmaster of the elite Dalton School despite Epstein not having a college degree. His New York Times obituary notes that Donald Barr belonged to the Office of Strategic Services (better known as the OSS, the precursor to the CIA).