The financier Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender facing federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy, can be linked to a slew of famous people. Now, US prosecutors are asking for those who rode on his private jet, dubbed the "Lolita Express," to come forward with information about his conduct.
The names listed in Epstein's "black book," first reported on by Gawker in 2015, are far-flung and include President Donald Trump, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Ted Kennedy, Alec Baldwin, and Courtney Love. (The president — who once called Epstein a "terrific guy" who "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side" — said on Tuesday that the two haven't spoken in 15 years.)
But who exactly rode in Epstein's private passenger jet?
Well, former President Bill Clinton, for one, was a "Lolita Express" passenger, according to flight logs obtained by Fox News in 2016. Those records show that Clinton took at least 26 trips aboard the private vessel from 2001 to 2003, traveling with fellow passengers, who were identified with their initials or first names, including the name "Tatiana," according to Fox News.
Epstein also financed a private plane that took Clinton, the actor Kevin Spacey, and the comedian Chris Tucker to Africa to tour HIV/AIDS project sites, according to a 2002 New York magazine profile on Epstein that cited Page Six. A 2003 Vanity Fair profile of Epstein also said that the supermarket magnate Ron Burkle and the sports and entertainment agent Casey Wasserman, the grandson of the Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman, were on that trip.
Clinton's spokesperson, Angel Ureña, told The Associated Press that the former president took four trips on Epstein's plane between 2002 and 2003, with staff and Secret Service always onboard. He added that Clinton "knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York ... He's not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida."
Other former passengers include the lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who has defended Epstein in court; Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary and Harvard president; the supermodel Naomi Campbell; and the scientist Steven Pinker, according to flight logs of the jet obtained by Gawker in 2015.
In the Vanity Fair piece, Dershowitz told the magazine, "I'm on my 20th book … The only person outside of my immediate family that I send drafts to is Jeffrey." In 2015, however, he relayed to The American Lawyer that he was an Epstein acquaintance, describing the relationship as "entirely professional."
For those who rode on Epstein's private plane, "you would much rather be visiting the Department of Justice and engaging a conversation about what you saw rather than making the DoJ find you," Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor, told Bloomberg. "There's a much greater potential for influencing the parameters of an interview and the scope of cooperation by going in voluntarily than becoming a compulsory guest."
- Read more:
- Meet Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire financier arrested for alleged sex trafficking who's rubbed elbows with Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Kevin Spacey
- Jeffrey Epstein: Trump once praised billionaire charged with sex trafficking minors for liking women 'on the younger side'
- Nancy Pelosi calls for Labor Secretary Alex Acosta's resignation over deal cut for Jeffrey Epstein
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website to receive confidential support.
