Author and journalist Michael Wolff has released an audio tape that provides insight into Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’s close friendship. In the tapes, Epstein is heard discussing the inner workings of the White House during Trump’s first presidential run.
It’s well-known that Epstein and Trump shared a close public friendship beginning in the 1980s. The pair were pictured partying together, and Trump allegedly flew on Epstein’s private plane. In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen 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. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.” However, the friendship and comment came years before the first legal proceedings against Epstein. Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019 after being found guilty of procuring a child for prostitution and facing federal sex trafficking charges.
The same year Epstein died, Trump tried to distance himself from the disgraced financier and sex offender. While he acknowledged their early partying together, he claimed he and Epstein hadn’t spoken in 15 years and that he wasn’t a “fan” of him. A new audio tape, though, seems to suggest the pair were still close friends in 2017, to the point Trump allegedly confided in Epstein about his staff.
New audio tape provides insight into Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’s friendship
On a recent episode of his podcast, Fire and Fury, Wolff discussed Trump and Epstein’s friendship. Wolff is a journalist known for releasing several explosive books documenting Trump’s presidency. During his podcast, he claimed that Epstein was actually one of the major sources for his reporting on Trump. According to him, he has over “100 hours” of audio tapes with Epstein “talking about the inner workings of the Trump White House and about his long-standing, deep relationship with Donald Trump.” As part of the show, he included one audio tape from 2017.
In the short audio tape, Epstein can be heard discussing things that Trump allegedly told him about his White House staff. He painted a chaotic picture, stating, “His people fight each other and then have outsiders—he sort of poisons the well outside.” Epstein goes on to detail the complaints and insults Trump levied at his staff. He stated, “He [Trump] will tell 10 people, ‘Bannon’s a scumbag’ and ‘Priebus is not doing a good job’ and ‘Kelly has a big mouth’—what do you think? ‘Jamie Dimon says that you’re a problem and I shouldn’t keep you. And I spoke to Carl Icahn. And Carl thinks I need a new spokesperson.'”
Epstein continues along this vein, detailing Trump’s alleged sordid relationship with his team. While he doesn’t say anything particularly surprising, the tape raises the question of how he knew these details if he hadn’t spoken to Trump in 15 years.
Wolff also made additional claims in his podcast, including that Epstein shared photos with him that saw Trump partying with “topless young women” at Epstein’s Palm Beach home. He claimed the photos were discovered when the FBI raided Epstein’s house in 2019 but were never released to the public. In regards to their friendship, Wolff claimed Epstein and Trump were “competitive about women.” At one point, they allegedly had a bet about who would “be the first one who would sleep with Princess Diana.”
Wolff’s claims have sparked mixed reactions. Trump’s team has already denied the allegations in a statement to The Daily Beast that reads, “Michael Wolff is a disgraced writer who routinely fabricates lies in order to sell fiction books because he clearly has no morals or ethics.” In response to his claim of having over “100 hours” of tapes, social media users have asked, “So why doesn’t he release them?”
He may be withholding them for monetary reasons. At the same time, Wolff’s credibility has been questioned before as he’s faced accusations of fabricating details and quotes in his work. Still, the tape he released suggests that there could be more to Epstein and Trump’s relationship than Trump let on. It seems some journalists and authors may be sitting on potentially incriminating evidence against Trump for monetary reasons, but it is important that, if these tapes exist, they be released before Election Day.
Published: Nov 1, 2024 11:38 am