© Brigette Supernova/The Daily Beast
For Jeffrey Epstein and his famous friends, the Aughts were a simpler time, when the businessmen, academics, and celebrities who counted themselves among the playboy philanthropist's inner circle could freely enjoy the fruits of his extreme wealth and connections.
Epstein's little black book and flight logs read like a virtual Who's Who: Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Larry Summers, Kevin Spacey, Prince Andrew, and Naomi Campbell all hitched rides on Epstein's private planes. Socialites and distinguished scientists went to visit Epstein's island in St. Thomas, and cavorted at epic dinner parties at his palatial townhouse—then the largest privately owned residence in New York, as he liked to brag. There, they picked at elaborate meals catered by celebrity chefs like Rocco DiSpirito, marvelled at Epstein's opulent decor, and noted the pack of very, very young model-types with whom Epstein always seemed to surround himself.
But a darker story was going on underneath the glamour. In 2008, Epstein was convicted of soliciting sex from an underage girl and quietly paid settlements to scores of alleged victims who said he serially molested them. But the girls kept coming out of the woodwork—in 2014, another young woman filed a lawsuit claiming that Epstein used her as a sex slave for his powerful friends—and that she'd been at parties on his private island with former President Clinton.
And just last week, yet another "Jane Doe" filed a suit in New York accusing Epstein and Donald Trump of raping her at a series of sex parties when she was only 13.
Trump has denied Jane Doe's claims and his reps have said he barely knew Epstein—even though New York media in the '90s regularly chronicled his comings-and-goings at Epstein's Upper East Side palace, and even though Epstein had 14 private numbers for Trump and his family in his little black book. Meanwhile, Bill and Hillary Clinton have remained mum about their ties to the Palm Beach pedophile—despite evidence that shows Bill was one of the most famous and frequent passengers on Epstein's "Lolita Express" and that Epstein donated money to the Clinton Foundation even after his conviction.
For months, talking heads have wondered whether Trump would use Epstein and his girls as a weapon against Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Now, with the latest federal lawsuit against Trump himself, it seems the notorious financier has become a serious liability for both campaigns.
***
Comment: