The late Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime pilot testified Tuesday about some of the famous people he flew on the disgraced financier’s private planes, naming Prince Andrew and former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump among his many passengers.
“I certainly remember President Trump, but not many people associated with him,” Larry Visoski, who said he worked for Epstein from 1991 to 2019, told a Manhattan federal courtroom in the sex-trafficking trial of Epstein’s longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell, according to the New York Daily News.
Visoski, who is the trial’s first witness, said he flew a number of high-profile guests of Epstein ― including the actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, and violinist Itzhak Perlman ― and could see them as they boarded. He said the cockpit door was always closed during the flights, but that he was welcome to walk through the passenger area if he wanted to use the restroom, The New York Times reported.
Visoski said he didn’t believe that any of the passengers on Epstein’s plane were underage unless they were accompanied by a parent. He also said he never saw any sexual activity or evidence of it having taken place.
“I certainly did not,” he answered, according to the Times, when asked whether he saw any sex acts involving underage girls.
Visoski said he could recall meeting one of Epstein’s accusers, who has said that she was 14 when Epstein and Maxwell recruited her for sex with Epstein and other powerful men. Visoski said he remembered her being “a mature woman with piercing powder-blue eyes.”
Some of the celebrities identified as Epstein’s past guests, including Clinton ― who in 2002 praised Epstein’s philanthropist work in Africa ― have said that they were not aware of any misconduct taking place. Trump, who in 2002 called Epstein an old friend and a “terrific guy,” also told reporters in 2019 that he “was not a fan” of Epstein and that they had a falling out years ago.
Prince Andrew, who is accused of sexually abusing a teenager who was trafficked to him by Epstein and Maxwell, has publicly denied the allegations against him but also has not made himself available for questioning by U.S. prosecutors. These allegations are not part of the case being tried against Maxwell in New York.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to charges that she groomed underage victims for sex with Epstein and others. Epstein was behind bars awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019 when he was found dead in his cell, with his official cause of death ruled suicide by hanging.
Prosecutors have said that the sex abuse occurred at Epstein’s private properties, including his estate in Palm Beach, Florida; his Manhattan townhouse; a Santa Fe, New Mexico, ranch; a Paris apartment; and a luxury estate in the Virgin Islands.
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