A Guide to the Jeffrey Epstein Saga

Plus: Ghislaine's Life on the Lam

View in browser | Update preferences SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS MATTHEW LYNCH, EXECUTIVE EDITOR It's indisputable that two decades ago, the man who is now president of the US was pretty chummy socially with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a serial sexual predator who killed himself in a federal jail in 2019. This was indisputable during Donald Trump's first term in office as well, but it's been a much larger headache for him this go round. That's due in large part to his habit of appointing Epstein obsessives to prominent positions in his new administration and not foreseeing the chaos that it might sow. As we enter another week with the Epstein "files" furor driving the news cycle, we're devoting today's VF Daily to the scandal: our archival reporting on Epstein's origins, and our more recent work making sense of the still-unfolding political implications of Trump's broken-off friendship. More tomorrow… Inside Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump's Epic Bromance BY CRAIG UNGER Beginning in the late '80s, the infamous sex trafficker and the future president (and their mutual friend Ghislaine Maxwell) palled around for almost two decades. In an excerpt from his book, American Kompromat, the author exposes their shared tastes for private planes, shady money, and foreign-born models—many of them "on the younger side." READ MORE Up to Speed GUIDE The MAGA-Epstein Drama, Explained BY BESS LEVIN From Elon Musk to Pam Bondi, here's where the MAGA-Epstein drama stands. READ MORE MEDIA Trump's $10 Billion Suit Over "FAKE" Epstein Letters BY KATIE HERCHENROEDER A sitting US president filing a lawsuit against a news outlet over a story is an unprecedented move, according to First Amendment experts. READ MORE REPORT How Ghislaine Maxwell Is Capitalizing on the New Epstein Wave BY DAN ADLER The British socialite, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for facilitating her late ex-boyfriend's sexual abuse, is pleading her case amid fresh outcry over the broader saga. READ MORE POLITICS How Trump Is Losing His Grip on MAGA BY MOLLY JONG-FAST After years of fanning the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy flames, Team Trump fails to deliver the goods. READ MORE From the Archive The Mogul and the Monster BY GABRIEL SHERMAN Of the many mysteries that still surround the life and crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, the source of his wealth, and thus his power, might be the greatest. His relationship with his most prominent client, billionaire retail magnate Leslie Wexner, holds the key: "Les knows everything about me. He knows every experience I've had," Epstein once told a friend. VF's Gabriel Sherman profiles the man behind Epstein's enormous wealth. READ MORE More From the Archive The Horrors of Jeffrey Epstein's Private Island In 2019, VF spoke to two employees who worked at the local airstrip on St. Thomas. Locals say Epstein was flying in underage girls long after his conviction for sex crimes—and authorities did nothing to stop him. "It was like he was flaunting it." Dating the Monster Epstein was a monster who portrayed himself as a "man of mystery," says one of his ex-girlfriends. But Epstein also epitomized the larger transactional nature of fin de siècle New York society—the sociopath who proved the rule. Inside Ghislaine Maxwell's Life on the Lam For a year leading up to her arrest, the vanishing act of Jeffrey Epstein's longtime friend, lover, and alleged accomplice vexed the authorities, the press, and the women who accuse her of luring them into a web of sexual abuse. MORE FROM VANITY FAIR POLITICS BUSINESS HOLLYWOOD STYLE ROYALS CELEBRITY This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.