Jeffrey Epstein: Trump once praised billionaire charged with sex trafficking minors for liking women 'on the younger side'

In light of Jeffrey Epstein's reported Saturday night arrest on charges of sex trafficking minors, a quote from Donald Trump praising the billionaire's fondness for young women has re-surfaced.

Trump biographer Tim O'Brien tweeted the quote from a 2002 profile of Epstein in New York Magazine, in which Trump says " I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

Trump's association with Epstein extends into allegations that women were lured directly into sex trafficking from Mar-A-Lago, with one woman claiming Epstein's then-girlfriend recruited her for prostitution as a 15-year-old when she worked as a locker room attendant at Trump's resort that Epstein frequented.

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After Jeffrey Epstein was reportedly arrested Saturday night on charges of sex trafficking of minors, links between the billionaire and President Donald Trump have emerged, including a 2002 quote from Trump that Epstein "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

Trump biographer Tim O'Brien tweeted the quote on Saturday, which is from a New York Magazine profile of Epstein, which also includes Trump saying he knew Epstein for 15 years at that point, and calling him a "terrific guy" and "a lot of fun to be with."

“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” - Donald Trump, 2002 https://t.co/3pbKrcFdn6 — Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) July 7, 2019

Few photos exist of longtime friends Trump and Epstein together, but a 2000 photo of the two, Melania Trump, and Epstein's then-girlfriend and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell show the four together at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

In 2017, Politico reported allegations that a woman who claims to have been a part of a sex trafficking ring run by Epstein was recruited directly from Mar-a-Lago in 1999 by Maxwell, where the woman, who was then 15-years-old, worked as a locker room attendant.

Read more: Jeffrey Epstein has reportedly been arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors

The 1999 accusations mirror the The Daily Beast's report of Epstein's Saturday night charges, which allege that Epstein's operation trafficked dozens of minors in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005, according to three unnamed law enforcement sources.

Epstein is already a convicted sex offender, having allegedly molested dozens of underage girls in Florida before signing a 2008 secret plea agreement that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and jail time. The plea deal, signed by federal judges that include Trump's current Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, was ruled unconstitutional by a Palm Beach judg in February.

Epstein's alleged sexual exploitation entailed him coercing minors – such as the 1999 Mar-a-Lago locker room attendant – into giving him "massages," followed by him allegedly molesting or sexually abusing them in his Upper East Side or Palm Beach residences.

The alleged trafficking involved Epstein flying minors aboard his private 727 jet between the New York and Florida residences. Epstein, a money manager and philanthropist, has donated to the Clinton Foundation repeatedly and lent his jet to former President Bill Clinton for overseas trips.

Neither the Trump Organization nor the White House immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment.