Trump and his administration recently faced scrutiny over their handling of Epstein’s sex abuse case after building up hype for the files’ release — only for the Department of Justice and FBI to say there was no evidence Epstein was murdered in jail, nor did he have a so-called “client list.”

For nearly 15 years, the two men socialized together in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Fla., before a falling out that preceded Mr. Epstein’s first arrest.

Trump and Epstein met around the time Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985, when Epstein was also living in Palm Beach, according to Trump, who told New York magazine in 2002 he had known Epstein for “15 years,