Zürcher Nachrichten - Trump in Epstein files: five takeaways from latest release

The files do not rewrite the public record on Trump, although there is material that may prove embarrassing to the president.

Trump has long denied any wrongdoing and the Justice Department says 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.

- Trump's travel on Epstein's jet -

The most concrete new detail is an internal email dated January 7, 2020, in which a New York prosecutor said flight records showed 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 Trump's travel alongside Epstein -- says Ghislaine Maxwell was aboard at least four of those flights. Maxwell is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for offenses including sex trafficking a minor.

It also describes one flight where the only passengers were Epstein, Trump and an unidentified 20-year-old whose name is redacted, plus two other flights involving women described as possible Maxwell-case witnesses.

- Mar-a-Lago subpoena -

The newly released documents show that prosecutors issued a November 2021 subpoena to 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 club officials indicate they did not have the employment records from 1999 to 2001 that federal agents were seeking.

The presence of a subpoena does not imply wrongdoing by its recipient, but it does show investigators formally sought information from Trump's property as they pursued Maxwell.

- Chilling letter to Larry Nassar -

The Justice Department raised questions over a disturbing handwritten letter among the newly released paperwork, apparently from Epstein to disgraced former US gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

The message appears to have been sent in August 2019, the month Epstein died by suicide -- although government officials said the postmark, return address and omission of an inmate number suggest it may not be genuine.

The letter's author writes that Trump "shares our love of young, nubile girls," a sentence that has no verified context and is not evidence of wrongdoing by the president -- but has captured media attention due to its graphic tone.

The letter starts, "As you know by now, I have taken the 'short route' home." US media have taken this phrase to be a dark euphemism for Epstein's suicide.

- Photo with Trump and Maxwell -

One newly disclosed email says someone reviewing data obtained from close Trump ally Steve Bannon's cellphone found an "image of Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell." The DOJ released the reference while redacting the photo itself.

- Claims the DOJ calls false -

In an unusual move, the DOJ explicitly warned that certain claims against Trump in documents submitted to the FBI shortly before the 2020 election were "untrue and sensationalist."

The batch of newly released files describes FBI "tips" collected about Trump and Epstein-era parties in the early 2000s, with no clear indication in the documents of follow-up or corroboration.

A tip from October 2020 alleges that Epstein hosted a party in 2000 where someone named Ghislaine Villeneuve brought the tipster.

Someone at the party said Trump "had invited them all to a party at Mar-a-Lago" and the tipster indicated that she wanted to go but was told "it wasn't that kind of party -- it was for prostitutes."

The document doesn't confirm follow-up and remains unverified.

Y.Keller--NZN