Last week, a report in The Wall Street Journal alleged that Trump sent Epstein a card on his 50th birthday in 2003, with a drawing of a naked woman and inscribed “may every day be another wonderful secret”. Trump immediately denied doing so, claiming: “it’s not my language … it’s not my words.” He added he did not “draw pictures of women”.

The two socialized together frequently in New York City and Palm Beach from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. In 2002, Trump praised Epstein to a reporter as a “terrific guy” — and curiously added that he “likes beautiful women” on “the younger side.”

Here is a timeline of Epstein and Trump’s relationship. Though it is not known when Epstein and Trump first met, Trump told New York magazine in 2002 that he had known Epstein for 15 years, which would date back to the late 1980s. “Terrific guy,” Trump said in the 2002 interview.