Maria Farmer, an artist and one of the earliest accusers of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, has accused former President Donald Trump of lying about his alleged presence at Epstein’s Manhattan office in the 1990s.
In an emotional interview on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront on Monday, July 21, Farmer recounted a disturbing encounter she says took place in 1995 when she was 25 years old. At the time, Epstein had recruited her for art-related work and summoned her to his office one evening.
Dressed in exercise shorts after running to the meeting, Farmer says she was left waiting when she noticed a “tall, imposing” man in the room—Donald Trump.
“He walked up a few feet from me and just stood over me in a very imposing way,” she recalled. “He looked at me like he was in on some secret or something. It was really weird, like smirking. And I felt threatened.”
Farmer said she reacted with an “ugly” face, prompting Trump to back off just as Epstein emerged from his office.
According to Farmer, Epstein turned to Trump and said, “Oh no, she’s not here for you. Follow me.”
“What made it feel even more uncomfortable,” Farmer said, “was the implication — was someone else in the other room?”
As Trump walked away, she claims she heard him mutter under his breath, “Oh, I thought she was 16.”
“Rude is an understatement,” Farmer said. “It doesn’t matter what age I was — it was inappropriate, demeaning, and threatening.”
Trump has long denied having any involvement in Epstein’s crimes or being part of any “Epstein files.” Speaking to NBC News last month, he said, “That’s called ‘old news.’ That’s been talked about for years. Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it — it’s old news.”
The White House has backed Trump’s denials. Communications Director Steven Cheung told CNN, “The President was never in Epstein’s office. In fact, the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep.”
Farmer swiftly fired back. “He’s lying,” she said. “They’re being disrespectful to the fact that I’ve given up my entire life for this case, just to have it investigated. I’m really sorry for him — that he’s caught — but he’s lying. I don’t appreciate it.”
She maintained that the encounter took place around 9 p.m. and said it was “absolutely inappropriate” for Trump to be there.
“They were best friends at the time,” Farmer added. “Epstein joked to me that after his divorce, he ‘inherited Trump’ and Ghislaine [Maxwell] inherited Ivana. It was known among the staff and everyone that they were close.”
Farmer and her sister Annie were among the first victims to report Epstein’s abuse to authorities. In 1996, she told both the NYPD and the FBI that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually assaulted her. She also reported that her younger sister Annie, then just 15, had also been abused.
On May 29, 2025, Farmer filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, alleging that federal agencies failed to protect her and other victims. She claims she urged the FBI to investigate Trump’s ties to Epstein in both 1996 and again in 2006 — but no action was taken.
“The government has not held any of the people I’ve reported accountable,” she told CNN.
