President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old financier charged this week with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, were once the only attendees at a party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where roughly two dozen women were brought in to entertain, a former Trump associate told The New York Times.

The women were flown in for a "calendar girl" competition that was requested by Trump, the former associate, George Houraney, told The Times.

"I said: 'Donald, this is supposed to be a party with VIPs. You're telling me it's you and Epstein?'" Houraney recalled.

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President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old hedge fund manager charged this week with sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, were once the only other attendees at a party with roughly two dozen women at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, a former Trump associate told The New York Times.

In 1992, the women were flown in for a "calendar girl" competition that Trump had requested, the former Trump associate, George Houraney, told The Times.

"At the very first party, I said, 'Who's coming tonight? I have 28 girls coming,'" Houraney said. "It was him and Epstein."

Read more: Meet Jeffrey Epstein, the financier arrested on suspicion of sex trafficking who's rubbed elbows with Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Kevin Spacey

He added: "I said: 'Donald, this is supposed to be a party with VIPs. You're telling me it's you and Epstein?'"

Houraney also apparently once warned Trump about Epstein.

"Look, Donald, I know Jeff really well, I can't have him going after younger girls," Houraney recalled telling Trump. "He said: 'Look I'm putting my name on this. I wouldn't put my name on it and have a scandal.'"

Houraney had a falling out with Trump after his girlfriend accused Trump of making unwanted sexual advances in the early 1990s.

A quote Trump gave about a decade after that reported 1992 party in which Trump spoke highly of Epstein has been circulating widely amid the new charges.

"He's a lot of fun to be with," Trump told New York magazine in 2002. "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life."

Trump has since distanced himself from Epstein, who faces sex-trafficking charges from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. The charging document alleges Epstein "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations."

On Monday, Epstein appeared in court and pleaded not guilty.

The White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, said Trump had not had contact with Epstein "in years and years and years."

"And he, like everyone else, sees these charges, the description of these charges against Epstein, as completely unconscionable and obviously criminal," Conway added. "Disgusting, really."

Trump on Tuesday told reporters Epstein was unavoidable as a prominent figure in the Palm Beach community: "I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you."