Epstein’s influence remained a mystery even as journalists began investigating him

Evidence

Mainstream media started taking an interest in Epstein in 2002, after he flew former president Bill Clinton and actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker around five African countries on his private jet. These early profiles raised more questions than answers. How did this college dropout and former high school math teacher gain the trust of business titans? Why was his client list so secret, other than Les Wexner of The Limited? Even Donald Trump, seemingly unprompted, made a peculiar comment about Epstein to New York magazine: “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 579

Categorization

• CANDY: The Trump ‘beautiful women’ quote is an oddly entertaining detail with shock value.