The Epstein files did not tell me much I did not already know, although I must say I was astonished at the low-brow water-cooler gossip from people who have high-brow jobs. Why certain high-profile people wasted time typing anything to Epstein, let alone wondering such unlikely things as, for example, if Donald Trump has a cocaine habit, is beyond me. (Trump famously disapproves of drugs and alcohol because of the early tragic demise of his brother, Fred).

But I was intrigued to read of Epstein’s seeming obsession with Trump – a man whose character and psychology he claimed to know well – and yet to whom he had no access after 2004. Instead, Epstein appears to have relied on Steve Bannon and Trump’s biographer, Michael Wolff, for any inside information on what was going on in the Trump White House. (Predictably, he parlayed this “inside knowledge” to the Russians and presumably anyone else he thought he could sucker into paying him.)

But why did Epstein remain so obsessed with Trump for years after their relationship was over?

That’s the question that nagged me while reading these emails in which Epstein and his friend group discusses Trump more than anyone – or anything – else.

Watch and read my thoughts on Vicky Ward Investigates.