Maria Farmer, an artist and one of the earliest women to accuse Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell of sexual abuse, has told The New York Times that she urged the FBI to investigate Donald Trump nearly three decades ago.
Farmer said she first reported Epstein and Maxwell to officials in 1996. According to the report, she also mentioned Trump’s name due to a disturbing encounter she experienced the year before at Epstein’s Manhattan office.
“I have long wondered what law enforcement did with my complaints in 1996 and again in 2006,” Farmer told The Times. She said she raised Trump’s name again during a 2006 FBI interview, pointing at an incident from 1995.
In her account, Farmer said she was called to Epstein’s office late at night in 1995. She showed up wearing running shorts. Trump, dressed in a suit, arrived soon after.
According to Farmer, Trump stood over her, staring at her legs. Epstein then walked in and told Trump, “No, no. She’s not here for you.” The two men left the room, and Farmer said she overheard Trump say he thought she was 16 years old.
Farmer, who was in her mid-20s at the time, said she never witnessed Trump act inappropriately toward other women but described the encounter as deeply unsettling.
WHITE HOUSE CALLS STORY ‘TIRED’
Till now, no law enforcement agency has accused Trump of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Trump has never been named as a suspect in any Epstein-related investigation.
The White House quickly responded to Farmer’s account. Communications director Steven Cheung told The Times, “The president was never in his (Epstein’s) office. The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep.”
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt added, “Dumb NYTimes reporters are desperately recycling news stories to try to link President Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. These stories are tired and pathetic attempts to distract from all the success of President Trump’s administration.”
Trump’s past with Epstein has been under scrutiny, especially from his own supporters. In 2002, Trump called Epstein a “terrific guy,” and old videos show them partying together. But by 2019, Trump publicly stated he was “not a fan” of Epstein and said they had not spoken in years.
Farmer’s story may also shed light on why Trump’s name could appear in Epstein-related files that have not yet been made public. Epstein-related files reportedly include names, tips, and evidence collected during Epstein and Maxwell’s investigations. Epstein committed suicide in jail in 2019 awaiting trial for sex trafficking. Maxwell was later sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
CONTROVERSY OVER EPSTEIN FILES
Farmer’s interview was published just days after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump sent Epstein a sexually suggestive birthday greeting in 2003. Trump dismissed that report as false and filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the newspaper and its owners.
Trump has since tried to distance himself from Epstein and even called for the release of grand jury testimony from Epstein’s prosecution, saying he has “nothing to hide.”
– Ends
With inputs from Reuters