Elon Musk made headlines Friday after suggesting that prominent Democrats and their donors may be on Jeffrey Epstein’s client list, a claim that reignited public interest in the long-secret records tied to the convicted sex offender.
The comment came in response to a post on X, formerly Twitter, where a user wrote, “When a Democrat becomes president, they’ll un-redact these names.” Musk replied:
“They won’t, because major Dems and their donors are on the list too.”
Trump-Epstein History Revisited
The renewed attention on Epstein also brought former President Donald Trump back into the discussion. At a White House press conference on Thursday, Trump was asked about his past association with Epstein and recent comments he made about Epstein’s conduct at Mar-a-Lago in the early 2000s.
Trump explained that Epstein had been banned from the property once concerns were raised:
“If he’s taken anybody from Mar-a-Lago, he’s hiring or whatever he’s doing, I didn’t like it. And we threw him out.”
Giuffre Family Responds
Trump’s comments prompted a response from the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most well-known accusers, who died by suicide earlier this year.
Trump had told reporters he believed Giuffre may have worked at the Mar-a-Lago spa and described her as one of the individuals “stolen” by Epstein:
“He stole her. You want to know the truth? And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.”
Giuffre’s family disputed the characterization, releasing a statement via ABC News:
“It was convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago… It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal actions.”
The family also referenced a 2002 New York Magazine quote attributed to Trump describing Epstein as someone who “likes women on the younger side.”
Maxwell’s Conviction and DOJ Findings
Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The Department of Justice said she “assisted, facilitated, and participated” in the abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
Giuffre alleged that she was recruited by Maxwell at age 16 while working at Mar-a-Lago in 2000 and also accused Maxwell of abusing her. Maxwell denied the allegations.
Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died in custody the following month. Federal officials ruled his death a suicide.
