Former President Donald Trump took several trips over the weekend on a private jet once owned by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The Miami Herald has confirmed that Trump’s campaign chartered a Gulfstream G550, marked with the tail number N550GP, for several campaign-related trips.
The Gulfstream G550, which was once registered under Epstein’s ownership with the tail number N212JE, became notable for its connection to the disgraced financier. Epstein used the jet for high-profile flights, including his final journey from Paris to New Jersey in July 2019, where he was arrested on sex-trafficking charges. Federal Aviation Administration records verify that the aircraft’s serial number, 5173, corresponds to Epstein’s former plane.
Trump’s campaign chartered the jet after his own Boeing 757, known as “Trump Force One,” faced mechanical issues and was forced to land in Billings, Montana. The Gulfstream was used to transport Trump and his team to campaign fundraisers in Aspen, Jackson Hole, and Denver.
The use of Epstein’s former plane, which has been repainted and modified since Epstein’s ownership, did not go unnoticed. Trump supporters and protesters gathered to watch the plane land in various locations, with some fans expressing disappointment that the jet was smaller than Trump’s usual 757. The Gulfstream’s previous association with Epstein did not escape attention, drawing renewed scrutiny to Trump’s past connections with the financier.
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The Trump campaign has stated that they were unaware of the jet’s prior ownership by Epstein.
A campaign spokesperson commented, “The campaign had no awareness that the charter plane had been owned by Mr. Epstein,” and explained that the charter was arranged through a long-standing vendor.
The jet, now managed by Threshold Aviation Group and operated by real estate executive James L. Previti, was sold by Epstein’s estate to N550GP LLC for $10.6 million. Previti, a noted Republican donor, has not responded to requests for comment regarding the plane’s use.
Trump and Epstein were once part of the same social circles, with Trump having flown on Epstein’s planes in the 1990s. However, no evidence has surfaced linking Trump to Epstein’s criminal activities.
There are numerous photographs of Trump and Epstein together in the 1990s, long before Epstein was arrested on solicitation charges in Palm Beach. Although tens of thousands of pages of documents have been unsealed in various Epstein civil cases, none of the documents released to date have provided evidence that Trump was involved in Epstein’s trafficking crimes.
