Jeffrey Epstein Lived in ‘Fear’ of Trump?

In an election-week surprise, author Michael Wolff is attempting to stir controversy around former President Donald Trump, claiming that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein “feared” Trump once he took office. The claims, which Trump’s team calls “fabrications,” are the latest in Wolff’s ongoing saga of sensationalism.

Jeffrey Epstein, a multimillionaire convicted of child sex crimes, died in a federal jail in 2019. But even in death, Epstein’s shadowy past has been a constant subject for speculation. Now, Wolff—a writer with a track record of dramatic and often-disputed tales—claims Epstein saw Trump as a threat and even feared him. According to Wolff, Epstein once said, “Trump has no scruples,” words that Wolff seems eager to spin into a dramatic storyline just days before the 2024 election.

Wolff’s recent interview snippets, which he alleges are from years of conversations with Epstein, are the first he’s released on Epstein’s view of Trump. Trump’s camp is having none of it, calling the timing of the release “blatant election interference.” A spokesperson for the Trump campaign added, “Michael Wolff is a disgraced writer who makes up stories to sell books. He has no credibility, no ethics, and clearly no shame.”

Epstein, well-known for his elite social circles, did cross paths with Trump in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, attending social events at Mar-a-Lago and elsewhere. But when rumors of Epstein’s criminal behavior first emerged, it was Trump who cut him off. Sources close to Trump have long maintained that Epstein was banned from Mar-a-Lago after Trump learned of the disturbing allegations surrounding him.

The fallout between Epstein and Trump came to a head over a real estate showdown in 2004, when both men bid on the Maison de L’Amitié, a sprawling Palm Beach estate near Mar-a-Lago. Trump won the bidding war, which reportedly left Epstein angry. Trump’s supporters note that, soon after, he distanced himself from Epstein altogether. The Trump campaign points to this bidding war as the point at which Trump put Epstein firmly out of his circle, well before Epstein’s darker truths were exposed publicly.

Wolff, known for Fire and Fury and Siege, has previously drawn criticism for the speculative nature of his reporting, which even mainstream outlets have labeled “gossipy” and “questionable.” Wolff’s claims now rest on a narrative that paints Epstein as someone so “terrified” of Trump that he believed the former president would “do anything to him.” However, given Epstein’s known criminal activities and the legal cases piling up against him, Wolff’s claims are sparking skepticism about their authenticity.

In a statement, Trump’s team condemned Wolff’s attempts to revive Epstein’s name for a “final grab at attention,” adding, “Michael Wolff has a long history of fiction writing, and his stories are desperate attempts to twist reality.”

With just days before voters hit the polls, Wolff’s last-minute Epstein claims are clearly aimed to influence. But for those familiar with Wolff’s style, the timing is all too transparent: as one Trump advisor noted, “Wolff has nothing left to sell but tabloid smears.”