A post circulating on social media claims that Jeffrey Epstein only moved into his Upper East Side brownstone in 1996, aiming to disprove Stacey Williams’ account that former president Donald Trump groped her after they left Epstein’s brownstone in 1993.
“Late winter of 1993 I was on a walk with Jeffrey [Epstein] from his brownstone on the Upper East Side down Fifth Avenue, when Jeffrey looked at me and said “You know let’s go stop by and see Trump”.”
Strange: Epstein only moved into the Wexler mansion on 9 East 71st in 1996. https://t.co/nNWp3TeKzy
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 24, 2024
Verdict: Misleading
The claim is misleading. Epstein had rented an Upper East Side residence between 1992 and 1996, according to news reports. This rental property was located near Wexner’s mansion and Fifth Avenue, aligning with the details of Williams’ story.
Fact Check:
Social media posts share a video of Stacey Williams recalling, “In late winter of 1993, I was on a walk with Jeffrey [Epstein] from his brownstone on the Upper East Side down Fifth Avenue, when Jeffrey looked at me and said, ‘You know, let’s go stop by and see Trump.’”
The posts allege that this account is inaccurate, claiming that Epstein only acquired billionaire Les Wexner’s property on East 71st Street in 1996. However, archived records indicate that Epstein rented a separate townhouse at 34 East 69th Street from 1992 to 1996, corroborating his residence on the Upper East Side during the time described by Williams.
BuzzFeed News reported in 2019 that Epstein’s rental was previously a government-owned building, taken over by the State Department during the Iranian revolution. Records show that he paid $15,000 a month for this home, located one block from Fifth Avenue and two blocks from Wexner’s mansion.
The claim cites a New York Times article from January 1996 in which Epstein says Wexner “never spent more than two months” at the East 71st mansion he later sold to Epstein. While Epstein officially acquired Wexner’s property in 1996, his prior rental property situates him in the same neighborhood as early as 1992.
The claim was first reported on by Lead Stories.