Trump Hasn’t Spoken to Jeffrey Epstein in 10 or 15 Years, Conway Says

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump hasn’t spoken to or seen accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in 10 to 15 years, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said a day after federal prosecutors unveiled charges against the well-connected fund manager.

“I talked to the President this morning. He hasn’t talked to or had contact with Epstein in years and years and years,” Conway told reporters Tuesday. “The president told me this morning, he hasn’t talked to Epstein -- he doesn’t think he’s talked to him or seen him in 10 or 15 years.”

Trump’s hasn’t commented publicly about Epstein since his indictment was unsealed Monday. The president’s ties to Epstein have come under scrutiny, owing in part to an 2002 New York Magazine story in which Trump is quoted describing Epstein as "a terrific guy," based on having known him for 15 years.

"If Jeffrey Epstein, based on these charges, never sees the light of day again, I won’t shed a tear," Conway said Tuesday.

Trump said he didn’t know the details of the Epstein case when reporters asked him about it on Sunday as he departed his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort.

Epstein, a jet-setter famous for ferrying prominent figures including Trump and former President Bill Clinton to his Palm Beach, Florida, compound on a private jet that was later nicknamed the Lolita Express by the tabloids, is accused of sex acts with girls as young as 14.

Clinton released a statement Monday saying he “knows nothing” about the alleged crimes.

Trump’s Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta, also is under renewed scrutiny because of his role in brokering 2008 plea agreement in secret with Epstein that allowed him to escape serious punishment for earlier allegations of sexual misconduct. Acosta was as a U.S. attorney in South Florida at the time.

Conway, speaking Tuesday at the White House, repeatedly defended Acosta, saying these issues were raised during his Senate confirmation and that the focus should instead be on Epstein.

The indictment follows Epstein’s arrest Saturday upon returning from overseas and came just hours after federal agents used a crowbar to enter his Manhattan townhouse. The charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison if he’s convicted. Prosecutors in Manhattan asked a judge to hold Epstein in jail until his trial; his bail hearing will resume July 15.

Epstein pleaded not guilty to the charges.

To contact the reporters on this story: Terrence Dopp in Washington at tdopp@bloomberg.net;Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kasia Klimasinska at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net, Kathleen Hunter, Elizabeth Wasserman

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