On Monday, federal agents said they had also found “nude photographs of what appeared to be underage girls” while searching his Manhattan mansion.

Prosecutors have also argued Epstein was a risk of trying to influence witnesses after it was discovered he had paid a total of $350,000 to two people, including a former employee, in the last year.

The news of the payments came after the Miami Herald reported the circumstances of his state court conviction in 2008, which led to a 13-month jail term and a plea deal that allowed him to avoid a federal prosecution.

Donald Trump’s labour secretary Alexander Acosta resigned last week after coming under renewed criticism for overseeing the decade-old arrangement while he was US attorney in Miami.

Lawyers for Epstein said their client has stayed clean since pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution charges in Florida in 2008 and that the federal government is reneging on the plea deal.

On Wednesday, old footage of Mr Trump and Epstein at a party surfaced after the president tried to distance himself from the sex offender.

In the footage, Mr Trump is seen dancing with young women and sharing an exchange with Epstein. The conversation is largely drowned out by loud music, Mr Trump is seen pointing at women and appearing to say to Epstein: “Look at her back there – she’s hot.”

When asked about his relationship with Epstein following the financier’s arrest this month, Mr Trump said he “knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him”.

But Mr Trump added: “I had a falling out with him. I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”

But in a 2002 profile of Epstein in New York magazine, it appears Mr Trump was once on friendlier terms. He is quoted as saying: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Additional reporting by agencies