The "Lolita Express" is the nickname given to a Boeing 727-100 aircraft that was owned by the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The aircraft was a Boeing 727-100 registered N908JE. [1] Epstein also owned a Gulfstream jet, a twin-engine Cessna 421 and a private helicopter. [2] The airplane had a Bloomberg Terminal installed so Epstein could work while onboard. [2] The jet was nicknamed the Lolita Express by the locals in the Virgin Islands, because of its frequent arrivals with apparently underage girls. [2] The name references the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov about Dolores Haze, a 12-year-old girl and her rape and sexual assault by middle-aged college professor Humbert Humbert. [2]
Epstein traveled in the airplane frequently, logging "600 flying hours a year ... usually with guests on board". [3]
In 2002 Epstein travelled on the airplane to Germany for a week "meeting with various government officials and financial types" and subsequently travelled to Brazil. [4]
Sex parties involving underaged teenage girls allegedly occurred onboard the aircraft, organized by Ghislaine Maxwell. [2]
In 2003, Epstein flew to Cuba aboard his plane with Colombian president Andrés Pastrana Arango at the invitation of Cuban president Fidel Castro. According to Fabiola Santiago of the Miami Herald , Epstein was likely considering relocating to Cuba in order to escape U.S. law enforcement; Epstein was under investigation from U.S. law enforcement at the time. [5]
In 2009, Epstein's brother Mark claimed Donald Trump had flown on the plane at least once. He later told The Washington Post that Trump flew "numerous times" on Epstein's airplane, although Mark was present on only one of the flights. [6] [7] According to Michael Corcoran, Trump flew Epstein on his own airplane at least once. [8] In a conversation with author Michael Wolff recorded in 2017, Epstein claimed that Trump and his third wife Melania Trump had sexual intercourse for the first time onboard the aircraft. [9] Nadia Marcinko was a regular traveller with Epstein on the aircraft. [10]
In September 2002, Epstein flew Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, and Chris Tucker to Africa in this jet. [4] [11] [12] Flight records obtained in 2016 show Bill Clinton flew 27 times on the same jet to at least a dozen international locations. [13]
Flight logs did not list any Secret Service detail for at least five flights on a 2002 trip to Asia, [13] and the Secret Service stated that there is no evidence of the former president making a trip to Epstein's private island. [13] In 2019, a Clinton spokesperson stated that, in 2002 and 2003, Clinton took four trips on Epstein's airplane, making stops on three continents, all with his staff and Secret Service detail. [14] At the time of Epstein's 2019 arrest, Clinton's spokeswoman Angel Ureña stated that Clinton had "not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida". [15] [16]
Notable passengers who travelled on the aircraft included businessman Ron Burkle, model Naomi Campbell, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and the former United States Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers. [2]
Epstein sold the aircraft in 2017 and it was subsequently destroyed. [17]
Epstein's brother, Mark, recalled in 2009 that Trump had flown on Epstein's plane at least once
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)26 trips aboard the "Lolita Express" -- even apparently ditching his Secret Service detail for at least five of the flights.
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