Money, women, status: explosive words about Trump - Epstein tapes published for the first time

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Money, women, status: explosive words about Trump - Epstein tapes published for the first time Article by David Schmitz • 7 hours • 3 minutes reading time The New York author and journalist Michael Wolff has published tapes that apparently show that Donald Trump had a close relationship with the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump, who wants to move back into the White House, has always denied such a friendship. The tapes, which were published as part of a podcast by Wolff, author of several books about Trump, together with James Truman, the former editor-in-chief of Condé Nast, contain Epstein's thoughts about Trump's inner circle, according to the Guardian. Wolff explained that the recordings were made during a conversation with Epstein in 2017 about his biography, the British newspaper reported. Trump and Epstein: tapes indicate a close relationship Epstein committed suicide around two years after the conversation while awaiting the start of his trial for sexual offenses. Despite his crimes, the wealthy financier is considered to be at the heart of a circle of the rich and powerful in the US and overseas, which included many famous names. The tape excerpt that has now been published is only a fraction of around "100 hours in which Epstein talks about the inner workings of Trump's White House and about his long-standing, deep relationship with Donald Trump," Wolff explained. Tapes of Jeffrey Epstein: "Deep relationship with Donald Trump" Trump once publicly praised Epstein in a conversation with "New York Magazine" in 2002, calling the later convicted sex offender "a great guy" and hinting at an interest in "young women." However, Trump also claimed that the two had fallen out 15 years ago, before Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution in Florida in 2008. "I was not a fan of his, I can tell you that," Trump finally declared after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019. In the recordings now published by the podcast "Fire and Fury," Epstein recalls how then-President Trump played his circle off against each other. "His people fight each other and then he poisons the well outside," Epstein explained, according to the Guardian. Trump regularly played his followers Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus and Kellyanne Conway off against each other like "courtiers in a competitive battle," it continues. Trump's campaign team rants against New York journalists "Wolff is a disgraced author who routinely fabricates lies to sell fiction books because he clearly has no morals or ethics," was the statement from a press spokeswoman for Trump's campaign team on the release of the audio recordings. The Trump camp also spoke of "outrageous false slanders" and "blatant interference" in the US elections in favor of Kamala Harris, as the Guardian reported. Meanwhile, the journalist Wolff explained in the podcast that he had become an "outlet" for Epstein at the time. Epstein wanted to express his "disbelief at someone" "whose sins he knew so well - and then that person was actually elected president." Epstein was completely preoccupied with Trump at the time of the audio recordings, Wolff continued. "I think he was afraid of him," the journalist added. Wolff on Epstein and Trump: "I think he was afraid of him" In his podcast, the journalist paints a picture of two wealthy men from the 1980s who were connected by their shared interests in money, women and status. Recently, there have been new allegations of harassment against Trump - Epstein is said to have played a role in this. Stacey Williams has made allegations against Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is said to have "groped" her in 1993. According to this, Epstein is said to have brought his then girlfriend Stacey Williams, a "Sports Illustrated" model, to Trump's penthouse in 1993 and then "encouraged" the future US president to grope Williams. Williams recently described the allegations to the "Guardian" and spoke of a "twisted game". For podcast author Wolff, this seems to fit the picture well: "They were two men, both driven by the need to do whatever they wanted with women: dominance, submission and entertainment," said the journalist in the podcast. "One of them ends up in the darkest prison in the country - and the other in the White House."