 "Epstein reveals his close ties with Trump in newly discovered tapes, ex-prez's campaign calls them 'false smears'")
Just days before the highly anticipated US Presidential elections, a New York author and journalist released audio tapes that appear to detail the close relationship between former US President Donald Trump and late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The tapes in question were released as a part of the Fire and Fury podcast series by Michael Wolff.
Wolff has authored three books about Trump’s first term in office and 2020 bid for a second. He was supported by James Truman, former NME journalist and Condé Nast editorial director. The tapes deal with Epstein’s thoughts about the inner workings of the former US president’s inner circle.
Wolff noted that the recordings were made during a 2017 discussion with Epstein about writing his biography. The convicted sexual predator died by suicide, two years later while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The wealthy financier was known for his ties with the rich and powerful figures in the United States and overseas.
Tapes are just the tip of the iceberg
Wolff claimed that the excerpts of the tape are a mere fraction of some “100 hours of Epstein talking about the inner workings of the Trump White House and about his longstanding, deep relationship with Donald Trump”. While speaking with New York magazine in 2002, the former president once lauded Epstein, calling him a “terrific guy'.
The conversation at that time became eerie after Trump hinted at Epstein’s interest in women “on the young side”. But later Trump claimed the pair had fallen out 15 years before Epstein was convicted on a prostitution solicitation charge in Florida in 2008.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you,” the president said after Epstein was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019. In the bombshell tapes, Epstein recalled how then-president Trump played his circle off against each other. “His people fight each other and then he poisons the well outside,” he said.
“He will tell 10 people ‘Bannon’s a scumbag’ and ‘Priebus is not doing a good job’ and ‘Kellyanne has a big mouth – what do you think?’ he added, referring to Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus and Kellyanne Conway.
Epstein went on to continue with his exposition of Trump’s approach to management. “So Kelly[Anne] – even though I hired Kellyanne’s husband – Kellyanne is just too much of a wildcard. And then he tells Bannon: ‘You know I really want to keep you but Kellyanne hates you.’”
Trump campaign responds
The Trump campaign dismissed the tapes and called them “fabricated”. In response to the podcast, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign national press secretary, said, “Wolff is a disgraced writer who routinely fabricates lies in order to sell fiction books because he clearly has no morals or ethics.” She went on to accuse the author of making “outlandish false smears” and engaging in “blatant election interference on behalf of Kamala Harris”.
Wolff concluded the podcast by sharing the difference between the fates of the two men. “Here are these two guys both driven by a need to do anything they wanted with women: dominance and submission and entertainment. And one of them ends up in the darkest prison in the country and the other in the White House," he said.
With inputs from agencies.
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