Of all the reasons for Donald Trump wishing to block the release of the Epstein Files, the most obvious one has been staring us in the face all along.
It's that Trump and Epstein were more than acquaintances. More than neighbors. More than two rich men running in the same social circles.
Trump and Epstein were, in both the colloquial and the literal sense, partners in crime
The two men were thick as thieves for 15+ years.
Not for business reasons.
Nor philanthropy.
And not because they enjoyed deep intellectual conversations about weighty topics.
Their shared interest was not business. It was not golf. It was "pussy"
Writing for The Daily Beast in 2017, Brandy Zadrozny revealed that, back in the year 2000:
Donald Trump singled out a "young socialite" at his club at Mar-a-Lago by telling a reporter, "there is nothing in the world like first-rate pussy."
The comment, made to a reporter writing a profile of Trump for Maximum Golf, was later sanitized by an editor to read, "there is nothing in the world like first-rate talent."
2000 was also the year when a porter who worked next to the Epstein mansion in NY told a UK newspaper:
"I often see Donald Trump and there are loads of models coming and going, mostly at night. It’s amazing."
Two years later, in 2002, Trump famously told New York magazine:
"I’ve known Jeff for 15 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."
According to one popular Urban Dictionary definition:
Partners in crime are two people who spend most of their time with each other, usually causing Mischief.
That's certainly true of Trump and Epstein.
We know they both spent a lot of time at each other's homes, conveniently located just minutes from each other on both "Epstein's Other Island" — Manhattan — and "Predators' Row" in Palm Beach, Florida.
Epstein had at least 14 phone numbers for Trump. Trump flew on Epstein's jet at least seven times
Over a multi-year period in which young girls were repeatedly being groomed and raped at Epstein's house in Palm Beach, Trump was such a frequent guest that he took his meals in the staff kitchen.
Trump and Epstein enjoyed playing sick games on girls and women
Here are just two examples (which I wrote about here and here):
- In 1992, Trump arranged for a "calendar girl" competition in which 28 young girls were flown into Mar-a-Lago. When they arrived, the girls realized they had been tricked into putting on a private show exclusively for Trump and Epstein.
- In 1993, Epstein lured model Stacey Williams to Trump Tower and looked on as Trump, within moments of meeting her, groped her breasts and buttocks in what Williams later described as a "twisted game" between the two men.
If Stacey Williams' allegation is true, based on the New York penal code in effect at the time (1993), Trump's assault on her did indeed reach the level of an actual crime — Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree — with Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged involvement making him criminally liable as an accomplice.
Notably, Trump's alleged assault on Williams is just one of the many allegations that fit into a 1990s timeline that coincides with Ivanka's teenage years and also includes Trump's:
- Alleged attempted rape of Jill Harth at Mar-a-Lago in 1993
- Alleged rape of a 13-year-old at Epstein's NY home in 1994
- Adjudicated rape of E. Jean Carroll in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1995
- Sexual harassment of teen beauty pageant contestants in 1997
- "Introduction" to Epstein victim Anouska de Georgiou by Ghislaine Maxwell in 1997.
Trump's involvement with Epstein and his victims was brought to the FBI's attention as early as 1996, when victim Maria Farmer told agents they might want to investigate not just Epstein, but Trump too.
As the New York Times reported in July 2025:
Ms. Farmer said she recalled feeling scared as Mr. Trump stared at her bare legs. Then Mr. Epstein entered the room, and she recalled him saying to Mr. Trump: “No, no. She’s not here for you.”
As the Times wrote in 2019, Farmer had contacted the FBI after finding out that her sister Annie, 16, "had been subjected to a troubling topless massage at Mr. Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico."
But Maria Farmer's mid-1990s complaints were ignored, meaning that "Epstein would continue to lure vulnerable girls into his predatory circle for another nine years before investigators began diving deep into his world."
On 5 December 2025, a federal judge in Florida ordered the release of grand jury material from the belated investigations into Jeffrey Epstein that finally occurred from 2005 and 2007. But, says NBC News, "it's unclear how much of the material... will be new."
Trump says releasing the full Epstein Files will "hurt people"
In a new interview with 60 Minutes airing on 7 December 2025, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene describes a conversation in which a "furious" Trump told her that releasing the Epstein Files will "hurt people."
Greene, a leading advocate for the long-traumatized victims of Epstein's sex trafficking operation, is clearly offended by Trump's sympathy for — and determination to protect — Epstein's fellow child rapists.
In his words and actions, Trump continues to give no real thought for the survivors.
It's also hard to imagine a man as as self-centered as Trump worrying about the law catching up with anyone other than himself.
So who, exactly, is Trump, Epstein's long-time partner in crime, worried about the Epstein Files hurting?
The answer has been staring us in the face — and staring Donald Trump in the mirror —all along.
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