(Bloomberg) -- Jeffrey Epstein told a judge he never used a foreign passport found in his New York City mansion, saying it was given to him by a friend.
Epstein said in a letter filed Thursday that he is a lifelong American citizen and has no other foreign citizenship.
Epstein was arrested in New Jersey after stepping off his private jet from Paris and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy. Since then, he's been held in jail. Epstein will learn Thursday whether he'll be allowed to go home or must spend the time before trial behind bars.
On Wednesday, prosecutors said Epstein hasn't said how he obtained the passport, and still hasn't disclosed whether he is a citizen or a legal permanent resident of a country other than the U.S. The existence of the passport is one reason to deny his request for bail, they said.
In his new filing, Epstein said he was given passport by a friend as some Jewish-Americans were “informally advised at the time” to carry identification with a non-Jewish name when traveling in case of hijacking.
“He never used the document to travel internationally and never presented it to any immigration or customs authority,” his lawyers wrote. “The passport stamps, predating his receipt of the document, do not reflect Mr. Epstein's entries or exits. His expired US passports, seized by the government and in its possession, would verify his true travel.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net
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