Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Jeffrey Epstein pilot claims he flew Trump and Prince Andrew

Pilot says he flew many big names to all parts of the world on disgraced financier's private plane many times

In a courtroom sketch, Lawrence Visoski, long-time pilot of Jeffrey Epstein, gives evidence during the New York trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein associate accused of sex trafficking. Reuters

Jeffrey Epstein’s former pilot has detailed some of the big names he flew on the late financier’s private plane, including Britain's Prince Andrew, actor Kevin Spacey, and former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

Mr Clinton flew on the Epstein planes “a couple of times” in the 1990s, pilot Lawrence Visoski, who is giving evidence for the government, said on the second day of the sex-trafficking trial of Epstein's former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Mr Visoski said Mr Trump flew more than once.

He said he often shuttled Epstein and guests between Epstein's properties in New York, Florida, New Mexico, Paris and the Caribbean.

He also said Prince Andrew flew on Epstein's plane.

None of the people he named have been accused of wrongdoing in the criminal case against Ms Maxwell.

Prince Andrew faces a civil case that centres on accusations made by a woman who says he sexually abused her when she was a teenager.

Mr Visoski said he did not see any evidence of sexual activity on planes as he flew his boss and others for nearly three decades.

Although he was called as a witness by the government, Mr Visoski’s evidence seemed to aid the defence of Ms Maxwell as he answered questions posed by her lawyer, Christian Everdell, about what he saw when he straightened up the aircraft after a flight.

The pilot did not hesitate when Mr Everdell asked him if he ever saw sexual activity when he went for coffee or found sex devices when he cleaned up.

“Never,” the pilot answered to both questions.

And when he was asked if he ever saw sex acts with minors, he answered: “Absolutely not.”

The New York court also heard that Ms Maxwell was “number two” in the hierarchy of Epstein's employees.

Mr Visoski said Epstein explained to him that he hired Ms Maxwell in the 1990s to manage his properties and other aspects of his personal life so he could focus on his businesses.

The evidence comes on the second day of Ms Maxwell's trial in Manhattan Federal Court.

Prosecutors have charged Ms Maxwell with recruiting and grooming four underage girls to give Epstein erotic massages, describing them as a “ruse” for sex abuse.

“Ms Maxwell was number two. Mr Epstein was a big number one,” Mr Visoski told jurors. “He knew he was going to get busy so Ghislaine was his go-to person to handle everything that was not business related.”

Ms Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other crimes, including two perjury charges that will be tried at a later date. She faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Her lawyers have said the British socialite is being made a scapegoat for crimes Epstein committed. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.

Agencies contributed to this report