Trump maria farmer

Checked on February 3, 2026
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Executive summary

Maria Farmer, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s earliest accusers, has told reporters she twice urged law enforcement to investigate people in Epstein’s circle — including Donald Trump — after a “troubling” 1995 encounter in Epstein’s Manhattan offices that left her feeling intimidated [1] [2]. Farmer has never alleged Trump committed sexual assault, but her accounts and sworn filings that she reported Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to police in the 1990s and later filed an affidavit in 2019 have renewed scrutiny over why names like Trump’s might appear in law‑enforcement files [3] [4].

1. Who Maria Farmer is and what she reported in the 1990s

Maria Farmer is an artist who went to authorities in 1996 and is widely reported as among the first to alert law enforcement about Epstein and Maxwell’s conduct; her contemporaneous complaints alleged sexually abusive behavior by Epstein and that photographs of younger relatives were taken and misused, matters later included in released FBI notes and Farmer’s public accounts [4] [5]. She has said she reported concerns to both the New York Police Department and the FBI, and that she has long wondered how those early complaints were handled by investigators in 1996 and again in 2006 [1] [2].

2. The specific encounter Farmer describes involving Donald Trump

Farmer recounts a single late‑night moment in 1995 when, while at Epstein’s Manhattan office wearing running shorts, Donald Trump entered and she felt he stared at her in a way that made her uncomfortable before Epstein intervened and escorted Trump out — an interaction she has described as “troubling” but has not framed as a criminal accusation against Trump [3] [6]. Farmer says that the encounter, and Trump’s apparent closeness to Epstein, led her to suggest to investigators that they look into Epstein’s social circle, including Trump [1] [2].

3. What Farmer has put into legal and public record

Farmer filed a sworn affidavit in 2019 alleging that she and her sister were assaulted by Epstein and Maxwell in 1996, and her original 1996 handwritten complaint later appeared among documents released by the Department of Justice — which include her description of stolen photos of her sisters and other allegations against Epstein [3] [4]. Farmer has sought access to records and has expressed a desire to testify before Congress about what she reported and how authorities responded; she has also publicly discussed wanting to see the sealed Epstein files opened [7] [8].

4. The media, official responses and limits of what’s known

Reporting across outlets has repeated Farmer’s account that she asked the FBI to probe people in Epstein’s orbit, including Trump, and characterizes her as a key early complainer; the White House has disputed some accounts of Trump’s presence at Epstein’s office, and Trump has in other coverage sued media outlets over related reporting, calling certain articles false and defamatory [9] [3]. Analysts warn that even release of grand‑jury or investigative files may not decisively answer all questions about who knew what and when, and the existence of a name in files does not by itself prove wrongdoing — a point raised in coverage of the documents and legal experts quoted in reporting [10] [4].

5. Competing narratives and possible agendas

Farmer’s recounting amplifies longstanding political and public interest in Epstein’s network, and it has been used by critics to demand transparency about prominent figures; allies of Trump frame such reports as politically motivated or unproven, while advocates for victims cast attention on institutional failures to act on early complaints [11] [12]. Media outlets vary in emphasis — some foreground Farmer’s role as an early accuser and the details of her affidavit, others stress that she has not accused Trump of criminal conduct — and each presentation can serve differing political and reputational agendas [5] [6].

6. What remains unresolved

What is indisputable from published reporting is that Farmer reported Epstein in 1996, later filed affidavit material, and has recounted a 1995 interaction involving Trump that prompted her to ask investigators to look broadly into Epstein’s circle [4] [1]. What is unresolved in available public documents and reporting is whether that interaction implies further involvement by Trump in criminal activity, whether records in sealed files will change public understanding, and how investigators in the 1990s treated Farmer’s specific allegations — questions that current reporting says remain open and subject to access to more files or testimony [10] [7].

Want to dive deeper?
What do the 1996 FBI notes from Maria Farmer’s complaint say, and how were they handled by investigators?
How have courts and the Department of Justice treated requests to unseal Epstein-related files mentioning public figures?
What did Maria Farmer’s 2019 affidavit allege in detail, and how has it been used in later legal actions?