Trump, Clinton flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane multiple times, pilot testifies
NEW YORK - A former pilot for Jeffrey Epstein testified Tuesday that he never saw evidence of sexual activity on planes he flew for his boss and his guests including multiple flights with Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr. was the first witness at Ghislaine Maxwell's trial in New York City.
Visoski Jr. was responding to questions by a defense lawyer when he acknowledged that he never encountered sexual activity aboard two jets he piloted for roughly 1,000 trips between 1991 and 2019.
He said he stayed in the cockpit for the majority of flights, but would sometimes emerge to go to the bathroom or get coffee.
Although he was called as a witness by the government, Visoski’s testimony seemed to aid the defense of Maxwell as he answered questions posed by Maxwell attorney Christian Everdell about what he saw when he straightened up the aircraft after a flight.
Visoski didn’t hesitate when Everdell asked him if he ever saw sexual activity when he went for coffee or found sex toys when he cleaned up.
"Never," the pilot answered to both questions. He said he never saw used condoms either.
And when he was asked if he ever saw sex acts with underage females, he answered: "Absolutely not."
The pilot said Epstein never warned him to stay in the cockpit during flights and also encouraged him to use a bathroom near the rear of the plane that would require him to walk past the plane’s couches.
He said he never saw any children on his planes who were not accompanied by their parents.
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When Everdell asked him about a teenager who prosecutors say was sexually abused by Epstein before she became an adult, Visoski said he believed she was "mature" when he was introduced to her.
He also acknowledged that Clinton was a passenger on a few flights in the 2000s and he had piloted planes with Britain’s Prince Andrew, the late U.S. Sen. John Glenn of Ohio — the first American to orbit Earth — and former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, "more than once."
Epstein’s plane was derisively nicknamed "The Lolita Express" by some in the media after allegations emerged that he had used it to fly teenage girls to his private island, his New Mexico ranch, and his New York City townhouse.
Ghislaine Maxwell listens in court. (Jane Rosenberg)
Maxwell faces sex trafficking charges and recruiting and grooming young girls for Epstein to abuse.
Prosecutors say there’s evidence Maxwell knew that the victims, including a 14-year-old, were below the age of consent and that she arranged travel for some between Epstein’s homes, including his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, his posh Manhattan townhouse and at other residences in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and London.
Epstein killed himself at a Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. Authorities charged Maxwell in July 2020, arresting her after tracking her to a $1 million New Hampshire estate where she had been holed up during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.