Trump Exposed Prince Andrew's Epstein Ties in 2015, Uncovered Video Shows
Trump warned of sex trafficker's 'Pedophile Island' during old interview
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Before he entered politics, Donald Trump exposed Prince Andrew's links to Jeffrey Epstein and warned reporters about the convicted sex offender's "cesspool" private island, also known as "Pedophile Island," newly uncovered video from 2015 shows.
At the time, Trump was warning about former President Bill Clinton's relationship with Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell last year while awaiting child sex trafficking charges.
Trump said he'd heard Clinton had visited the Caribbean island, which he described as a "cesspool," before telling the Bloomberg reporter to "just ask Prince Andrew, he'll tell you about it."
Andrew, the Duke of York, is under increasing pressure to speak to U.S authorities about his friendship with Epstein, which continued for years after he was jailed for child sex crimes.
The prince has previously admitted that he visited Epstein on the Caribbean island but says he never witnessed or suspected any of Epstein's crimes.
However, multiple witnesses have claimed that not only did Andrew see the abuse, but he also took part in it himself.
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Trump's remarks on Epstein came at the conservative gathering CPAC in February 2015, before he had entered the presidential race.
In a Q&A session with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump was asked for his view on Bill Clinton and said: "Nice guy, got a lot of problems coming up in my opinion with the famous island with Jeffrey Epstein."
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Later, Trump was asked to expand on that in an interview with Bloomberg and brought up Prince Andrew apparently unprompted.
"That island was really a cesspool, there's no question about it," Trump warned.
"Just ask Prince Andrew, he'll tell you about it. The island was an absolute cesspool," he added.
Asked whether the issue would affect Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, Trump said that "it could be a political problem" for the Clintons.
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At the time, Epstein was already a known pedophile because of his 2008 conviction in Florida and was currently embroiled in a lawsuit with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the woman who alleges she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew as a teenager.
Before Epstein's conviction, he had a network of powerful friends including Andrew and the Clintons.
The island in question was Little St James, a spot in the US Virgin Islands which Epstein bought for $7.95million in 1998.
Bill Clinton is known to have flown on Epstein's "Lolita Express" private jet and one alleged Epstein victim claims she saw the former president on the island.
The Virgin Islands sued Epstein's estate earlier this year, claiming the late sex offender raped and trafficked dozens of women and young girls on the island.
The complaint alleges that Epstein's abuse spanned from 2001 to 2018 and targeted girls who appeared to be as young as 11 or 12.
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Andrew, 60, has been at loggerheads with US prosecutors for months after they claimed he was failing to co-operate with their Epstein probe.
Andrew's last verbal interview on the subject - his BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis - was widely seen as a disaster and led to his resignation from public life just days later.
The prince was criticized for failing to show any empathy towards Epstein's victims, and many of his explanations for his behavior attracted mockery.
In a subsequent statement, he said he "regretted my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein" and "deeply sympathized with everyone who has been affected."
"Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required," he said at the time.
Prosecutors renewed their appeal for Andrew to give evidence as they announced the charges against Epstein's alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, saying that "we would welcome Prince Andrew coming in to talk with us."
However, they say he has so far refused to cooperate with their investigations.
