Donald Trump Jr.’s Christmas Eve engagement to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson lit up Mar‑a‑Lago and MAGA social media feeds but it has also dragged a familiar ghost back into the Trump orbit: Jeffrey Epstein.

Amidst the polished engagement photos and effusive social media posts lies a troubling narrative. Bettina Anderson’s late father, banker Harry Loy Anderson Jr., played a pivotal role in endorsing Jeffrey Epstein, a man who later became notorious for his criminal activities, as he established his tax haven in the Virgin Islands. This revelation brings to light new concerns about the individuals within the Trump family’s orbit and their intentions.​

During a Christmas Eve gathering at Mar-a-Lago, Trump Jr. proposed to Anderson, who described the occasion as “the most unforgettable weekend,” expressing her joy at feeling like “the luckiest girl in the world.” Media coverage painted her as a prominent figure in Palm Beach, emphasizing her social connections and familial roots in the community.​

However, the coverage often glossed over Bettina Anderson’s familial ties, particularly her father’s background. Harry Loy Anderson Jr. was a significant figure in Palm Beach’s banking sector and had longstanding ties with Epstein, aiding the financier in embedding himself within the island’s financial and political circles.

Independent researcher Jason Powers highlights that Anderson operated within the same elite banking sphere that facilitated Epstein’s tax maneuvers in the U.S. Virgin Islands, an area where the disgraced financier obtained substantial tax reductions while developing his notorious Little St. James estate.​

A recent investigation by the New York Times delves into Epstein’s financial schemes, revealing how so-called “respectable” professionals assisted him in securing profitable deals and lenient oversight. Among these professionals was Harry Loy Anderson Jr. The report notes that in 1999, Anderson penned a letter to the U.S. Virgin Islands Industrial Development Commission endorsing Epstein’s request for significant tax advantages.

Independent researcher Jason Powers notes that Anderson operated in the same elite banking world that enabled Epstein’s tax engineering in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction where the sex trafficker secured huge breaks while building his now‑infamous Little St. James enclave.​

Banker Father Called Epstein a ‘Gentleman of the Highest Integrity’

A recent New York Times investigation into Epstein’s money scams details how “respectable” professionals helped him lock in lucrative deals and friendly oversight. Among them was Harry Loy Anderson Jr. The Times reports that in 1999, Anderson wrote to the U.S. Virgin Islands Industrial Development Commission to support Epstein’s bid for massive tax incentives.

In that letter, Anderson told officials that Epstein “enjoys an excellent reputation in our community” and described him as “a gentleman of the highest integrity,” effectively serving as a character witness while Epstein sought to route his operations through the territory’s generous tax program. The Times notes that Palm Beach National Bank, long associated with Anderson, held Epstein’s accounts for roughly eight years as he moved money through various entities now linked to fraud and abuse.

Kim Iversen, in her breakdown of the “respectable people” who vouched for Epstein, points directly at Anderson. She says Anderson “absolutely knew what Jeffrey Epstein was up to,” arguing that his bank was “being used to pay off a lot of the women” and to keep the machine running behind a facade of legitimacy.​

Epstein’s Web and the Trump Orbit

Iversen poses the question few in legacy media will touch: why do so many “top echelon” political and financial figures keep intersecting with Epstein’s network? She notes that Anderson’s letter did not simply praise Epstein’s manners; it helped secure a tax deal that underwrote his Virgin Islands empire. “They were helping him get that tax haven on Little St. James,” she argues, pointing to how bankers, lawyers and fixers turned a blind eye in exchange for fees and access.​

Powers’ Substack piece, “The Ghost of Epstein Past,” digs further into Loy Anderson’s career, tracing his roots back to Bear Stearns, where Epstein first emerged as a rising operator. Powers suggests that Anderson stood at a crossroads of old‑line Wall Street and the Palm Beach power scene, making him an ideal validator for Epstein’s transition into Caribbean deal‑making.​

Against that backdrop, Don Jr.’s engagement does more than add another glamorous face to the Trump family tree. It connects the former first son to a household whose patriarch helped keep Epstein afloat at a critical moment. While there is no evidence Bettina Anderson herself had any involvement with Epstein, the symbolism is hard to ignore for a movement that campaigned on “draining the swamp.”​

Epstein’s Shadow Over ‘America First’

Iversen warns her viewers that this pattern—polished insiders quietly smoothing the path for predators like Epstein, then reappearing at the edges of political dynasties—should worry anyone who still takes “America First” seriously.

The concern is not that Don Jr. is personally tied to Epstein’s crimes, but that the same elite circles that once protected and enriched Epstein continue to supply spouses, donors, advisers and validators to the political class. In this view, Harry Loy Anderson Jr.’s glowing praise of Epstein—calling him a man of “highest integrity” with an “excellent reputation”—was not an isolated lapse in judgment but part of a culture that prioritizes connections and tax breaks over victims and the rule of law.​

As Bettina Anderson steps into the Trump inner circle, that culture edges closer to the heart of MAGA. If the movement is serious about confronting the legacy of Epstein and the system that enabled him, it will have to ask hard questions about why so many of those “respectable people” keep resurfacing next to the Trumps—and whether “America First” still means anything when the ghosts of Epstein’s bankers are sitting at the family table.

The post Don Trump Jr. Engages Epstein‑Tied Banker’s Heiress Whose Father Praised Pedophile as ‘Man of Highest Integrity’ appeared first on National File.