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.”