Overview

• In a July 22 CNN interview, Mark Epstein described his brother’s “very close” 1990s friendship with President Trump and recounted a 1999 in-flight joke revealing their familiarity.
• CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck published previously unseen photos and video showing Epstein attending Trump’s wedding to Marla Maples and socializing with his children at a restaurant opening.
• The repeated jest about Trump sleeping with married women highlighted the informality and mutual confidence that characterized their relationship.
• The Trump administration has sought to minimize the depth of the relationship, insisting the pair were not close even as it has yet to deliver the promised “Epstein files.”
• Congressional and public pressure has increased for the release of grand jury testimony and other files to clarify the full extent of Trump’s ties to Epstein.