So, now we know why all the fury the last few days over Jeffrey Epstein and his missing or never-existing files. Somebody had leaked the contents of a 50th birthday album of letters his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell assembled for Epstein. They first needed to fan the flames inside the media to trumpet what they had, in order to make a big splash. It turns out what they had was not much. A very odd letter from Trump typed up over a female silhouette and signed, Donald.
I agree with JD Vance -- the wording doesn’t sound like Trump. If DJT was going to send his swinging best buddy a birthday greeting, it would be in all caps and have a bunch of expletives. It sounds more like some middle-aged, oh-so-naughty Brit, who thinks she is a character in a Jackie Collins novel. In other words, Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman who put the album together. Possibly, she asked Trump for a greeting, and he forgot, or said something like “you just write him something” and that was it.
People have been trying to mess with Trump for years over his Epstein connection. Of course, back in those days Mr. Trump was a Democrat, like Bill Clinton or Eric Swalwell, so sex scandals were no big deal.
Right before last year’s election, Michael Wolff released tapes he had for a never-completed Epstein bio, with Epstein alleging some rotten sexual pranks he and Trump used to play. No one noticed. That was 30 years ago. Trump split from Epstein over his hitting on teenage girls at Mar-a-Lago or maybe over a Palm Beach real estate deal. Keep that in mind, Epstein was quite bitter with Trump when they parted company.
Epstein, though he really doesn’t figure into anything Pres. Trump is doing now, is the epitome of our modern celebrity/ruling class. Sleazy people whose connections in Wall St., Hollywood and D.C. allow them to thrive, while producing nothing of value. It’s no coincidence Bill and Hilary were good friends for years as they concocted the Clinton Foundation and became filthy rich.
Epstein himself built his career, not as a spy or blackmailer, but some kind of money launderer for very wealthy people around the world. He never finished college but got his first job at the exclusive Dalton School, where he was fired for inappropriate activity with the students. This got him the connections, though, to the legendary head of Bear, Stearns, Ace Greenberg.
Greenberg loved to make unconventional hires, especially high IQ Jewish guys without fancy credentials, like himself. Epstein proved to be a tremendous salesman, rounding up all kinds of rich investors. He also broke SEC rules and was fired, though Greenberg kept the door open for deal-making on the side. This led to bespoke services for people like Adnan Khashoggi, the Saudi arms dealer; and the usual jet-set suspects from Ghislaine’s father, Robert Maxwell , publishing tycoon and possible double agent for the Soviets and Israelis, to several royal families in the Europe and the Middle East.
Interestingly, Trump bought Khashoggi’s famous yacht back in the 1980s, but had to sell it when his casinos went bust.
Epstein’s most important patron was Les Wexner, the retail billionaire. No one is quite sure what services he provided, but he had the run of Wexner’s empire. Even after his first arrest, Epstein attracted important investors, such as Leon Black, who gave him $150 million to work with. Charles Gasparino says this was legitimate -- Epstein was an idiot savant on the tax code even though he was a college dropout. This Chicago law professor says it was all due to Grantor Trusts, GRATS.
I don’t buy any of this. I am a tax lawyer, and there’s nothing special about GRATS; except that you would hire a white shoe law firm to do this. Not some sleazeball who was blacklisted by the SEC, if it is on the up-and-up.
I suspect Epstein was just hiding money overseas for decades. This connected him to all kinds of wealthy, powerful people, maybe foreign intel services, on occasion. Having Ghislaine constantly bringing around young party girls to socialize with clients also kept things humming.
Alan Dershowitz may well be right -- there are no blackmail files and Epstein’s connections with spy agencies were limited. There’s less than meets the eye here, other than probably decades of tax evasion, which no one can prove. Right now, there are recycled reports about JP Morgan, Suspicious Activity Reports and Epstein billions. It is doubtful that so much money was needed just to pay off young girls. It is just more Epstein money laundering, and none of his clients has ever been charged.
Pres. Trump did well in his first term, and he may be historically great his second term. That leaves his opponents desperate to say something, so we may never hear the end of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. Even if it all amounts to very little.
Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, KY.
Image: Ralph Alswang, White House