Democrats and Republicans celebrated the new arrest of convicted pedophile and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein this week.
Epstein was arrested again on Saturday on the tarmac after arriving back from France on charges he trafficked underage girls from New York to Miami.
And Democrats were quick to pounce on one kind quote President Donald Trump gave about Epstein before his nefarious activities were known.
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“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” he said when he was just a real estate developer in New York City and not president.
“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. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” he said.
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These same Democrats stealthily avoided any mention of former President Bill Clinton who is alleged to have visited Epstein’s private island many times.
“Jane Doe No. 102 stated generally that she was required by Epstein to be exploited not only by Epstein but also Epstein’s ‘adult male peers, including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and/or other professional and personal acquaintances’ – categories Clinton and acquaintances of Clinton fall into,” court documents said.
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“Clinton frequently flew with Epstein aboard his plane, then suddenly stopped – raising the suspicion that the friendship abruptly ended, perhaps because of events related to Epstein’s sexual abuse of children,” it said.
But what they also did not see was the fact that, before anyone was going after Epstein, President Trump took action against him.
And is was the attorney of some of Epstein’s victims that told the courts that Trump, before he was president, took the action.
“Epstein was barred from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., ‘because Epstein sexually assaulted an underage girl at the club,, according to court documents,’” The Washington Post reported.
“I learned through a source that Trump banned Epstein from his Maralago [Mar-A- Lago] Club in West Palm Beach because Epstein sexually assaulted an underage girl at the club,” Fort Lauderdale lawyer Bradley Edwards’ said.
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The arrest, by the FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force, comes about 12 years after the 66-year-old financier essentially got a slap on the wrist for allegedly molesting dozens of underage girls in Florida.
For more than a decade, Epstein’s alleged abuse of minors has been the subject of lawsuits brought by victims, investigations by local and federal authorities, and exposés in the press. But despite the attention cast on his alleged sex crimes, the hedge-funder has managed to avoid any meaningful jail time, let alone federal charges.
The new indictment—which, according to two sources, will be unsealed Monday in Manhattan federal court—will reportedly allege that Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage girls in a now-familiar scheme: paying them cash for “massages” and then molesting or sexually abusing them in his Upper East Side mansion or his palatial residence in Palm Beach.
Epstein will be charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors—which could put him away for a maximum of 45 years.
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The case is being handled by the Public Corruption Unit of the Southern District of New York, with assistance from the district’s human-trafficking officials and the FBI.
Several of the billionaire’s employees and associates allegedly recruited the girls for Epstein’s abuse, and some victims eventually became recruiters themselves, according to law enforcement.
The girls were as young as 14, and Epstein knew they were underage, according to details of the arrest and indictment shared by two officials.
“It’s been a long time coming—it’s been too long coming,” David Boies, attorney for alleged Epstein victims Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Sarah Ransome said.
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“It is an important step towards getting justice for the many victims of Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise.
“We hope that prosecutors will not stop with Mr. Epstein because there were many other people who participated with him and made the sex trafficking possible,” he said.
Epstein used his wealth, power, influence and powerful friends to avert justice the first time her was charged, The Miami Herald reported.