60 Minutes Obeys in Advance

[AZJonnie]

23. Not that I necessarily trust Epstein as a source but he also told Michael Wolff that in the FL RE deal

that led to them falling out in 2002, that his thought on how Trump could've come up with the $40M at that time (because he was very deep in the hole at the time after string of business failures and nobody would loan him cash) was from the Russians. And sure enough a Russian bought the property off him around 2008 IIRC. For a ridiculously huge profit based on the market at the time, which was of course absolute shit. And Epstein was pissed that Trump 'stole' that property by out-bidding Epstein at auction, even though Epstein is the one that told him about it, asked him to just come along and see it as a friend who knows real estate and advice him, then snaked it from him.

This is why, when I think of the infamous birthday card came only a year earlier, I see it as very possible what it *really* was is an attempt at blackmail, because Epstein knew what he was up to, laundering Russian money. The card was a "you keep my secrets, I'll keep yours" type of thing. One thing Trump is actually good at is crime-ing. I don't think he would've made the mistake of sending that card if *he* was involved in Epstein's illegal things with minors. But he would blackmail somebody like that, to save his own ass, in a NY minute.