Statue of Trump and Epstein hand-in-hand reappears near US Capitol
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A statue depicting US President Donald Trump and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein holding hands on the National Mall in Washington on Oct 2.
PHOTO: TIERNEY L. CROSS/NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON – A statue depicting US President Donald Trump holding hands with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and sex offender, has reappeared in Washington after it was removed by the authorities last week.
The bronze-painted work, originally titled Best Friends Forever
A collective of anonymous and satirical installation artists, who dub themselves The Secret Handshake, said they reinstalled the statue at its original site on the mall after obtaining permission from the National Park Service (NPS).
“Just like a toppled Confederate general forced back onto a public square, the Donald Trump (and) Jeffrey Epstein statue has risen from the rubble to stand gloriously on the National Mall once again,” a representative for the group told The Los Angeles Times.
The statue, which stands more than 3m tall, was first installed on Sept 24, but it was taken down within 24 hours by NPS officials.
The Department of the Interior, which oversees the park service, said the statue was removed “because it was not compliant with the permit issued”, according to CNN.
A temporary permit for the statue’s reinstallation was approved on Sept 30, the eve of the US federal government shutdown, CNN reported.
The statue was damaged during its dismantling on Sept 25 but has since been restored.
The so-called Epstein files – named after the New York financier and who died in prison in 2019 before his federal trial for sex crimes – have been the focal point of a controversy engulfing the second presidency of Mr Trump, who was a long-time friend of Epstein.
In July, the Trump administration said it had discovered no new evidence justifying the release of additional documents or the opening of a new investigation into the matter.
Epstein died while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls recruited to provide him with sexual massages.
The authorities ruled his death a suicide, but it has fuelled countless conspiracy theories among Mr Trump’s voter base that he was murdered to prevent him from implicating high-profile figures. AFP
