How the Jeffrey Epstein row plunged Maga world into turmoil – a timeline
This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein, March 28, 2017. File Picture: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP
The release of a series of emails that suggest Donald Trump knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s conduct is arguably the most significant development in the saga tying the US president to the convicted sex offender.
Epstein’s suggestion in the private emails that Trump “knew about the girls” and “spent hours” with one of his victims comes after the president spent the summer batting away questions about his relationship with Epstein, who was once a close friend.
The story now hovering over Trump is largely one of conservatives’ own making. Rightwing commentators and media figures spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death, apparently without realizing Trump might be implicated in any release.
The saga has pitted Donald Trump, who was friends with Epstein for many years before later disowning the financier, against his base, with Democrats eager to take advantage of an issue that has long animated voters across the political spectrum.
This is how we got here:
Epstein is charged with federal sex-trafficking crimes in a Manhattan court. Prosecutors allege that Epstein, who was taken into custody, “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls” from 2002 to 2005 at homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein pleads not guilty.
The charges come more than a decade after Epstein and the Miami US attorney’s office reached a deal that ended a federal investigation involving at least 40 teenage girls. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges, served 13 months in jail and registered as a sex offender.
Guards find Epstein dead in his cell at the Metropolitan correctional center in Manhattan. On 16 August, New York’s chief medical examiner rules that the cause of death was suicide by hanging, but lawyers for Epstein say they are dissatisfied with the medical examiner’s conclusions.
Trump shares a tweet from the rightwing comedian Terrence Williams, which claims Bill and Hillary Clinton were involved in Epstein’s death. After criticism, Trump doubles down, telling reporters:
“The question you have to ask is, did Bill Clinton go to the island? Because Epstein had an island. That was not a good place, as I understand it, and I was never there.”
Trump adds: “So you have to ask, did Bill Clinton go to the island? That’s the question. If you find that out, you’re going to know a lot.”
A spokesperson for the Clintons says the family knows nothing about the crimes committed by Epstein, who was known to have a number of famous and powerful associates, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince and brother of Britain's King Charles. Trump himself was friends with Epstein, and in 2002 said he had known Epstein for 15 years, describing him as a “terrific guy”. The pair later fell out following a bidding war on a Florida property.
The official ruling that Epstein killed himself does little to quell conspiracy theorists. Much of the commentary, particularly from the right wing, focuses on Epstein’s relationship with liberal figures, including Clinton.
The phrase “Epstein didn’t kill himself” begins to spread online, with podcaster Joe Rogan and even Republican members of Congress posting it on social media.
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted - December 29, 2021 Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-partner and longtime confidante, is convicted of sex trafficking.
The judge says Maxwell is “guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable: facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. Crimes that she committed with her longtime partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein.”
A trove of court documents identifying associates of Epstein are unsealed. The documents had been filed as part of a lawsuit against Maxwell in 2015 by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre.
Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield and Trump were among those named in the documents, although none of the men were accused of wrongdoing. Giuffre claimed that Epstein and Maxwell forced her into a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor at age 17, and Giuffre sued Andrew over the alleged sexual abuse. The suit was settled in early 2022. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
Trump, running for president, is asked in an interview whether he would declassify “the 9/11 files” and “the JFK files”. He says yes. Trump is then asked whether he would declassify “the Epstein files”, and initially says yes, but adds:
“I think that [declassifying the Epstein files], less so, because you don’t know – you don’t want to affect people’s lives if there’s phoney stuff in there, because there’s a lot of phoney stuff with that whole world.”
List on desk - February 21, 2025
In an interview with , the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, is asked: “The DoJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients. Will that really happen?” Bondi replies: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.” Bondi will later suggest she was referring to Epstein case files, not a client list.
After Trump and JD Vance pledged during the 2024 election campaign that they would release files relating to Epstein’s crimes and contacts, the Department of Justice gives a group of conservative commentators binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1”. The files contain little new information, leaving conspiracy theorists disappointed.
Bondi describes the documents as the “first phase of files”, and in a statement the justice department says it “remains committed to transparency and intends to release the remaining documents upon review and redaction to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims”.
Amid a row over Trump’s proposed tax bill, Elon Musk posts on X: “Time to drop the really big bomb. @realdonaldtrump is in the Epstein files. That is why they have not been made public.” Musk later deletes the tweet.
The justice department announces that Epstein did not keep a client list, and said no more files related to his sex-trafficking investigation would be made public. The department releases an 11-hour video of the scene outside Epstein’s cell during hours before and after his death, showing that no one entered or left the room. But a minute of footage is missing, prompting further speculation. Bondi says the missing minute is due to the Bureau of Prisons resetting the video.
Rightwing media and commentators begin to lash out at the justice department. Laura Loomer, the 32-year-old conspiracy theorist whose influence over Trump has come under scrutiny, accuses Bondi of “covering up child sex crimes”.
“NO ONE IS BUYING THIS!! Next the DOJ will say ‘Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed.’ This is over the top sickening,” Alex Jones, the rightwing commentator and conspiracy theorist, writes on social media.
On Truth Social, the rightwing, Trump-owned platform where people are usually united in their praise for the president and his administration, numerous users criticize the government over Epstein.
Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the FBI who spent years pushing conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death, reportedly clashes with Bondi at the White House. Bondi accused Bongino of leaking to news outlets, after NewsNation reports that the FBI had wanted to release more information on Epstein “months ago”, but was prevented from doing so.
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