Satirical statue of Trump and Epstein is taken down within 24 hours

A 12-foot statue depicting President Trump holding hands with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein appeared on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Tuesday morning and was removed by the National Park Service less than 24 hours later.

- BY JESSICA GELT

The saga, which made the rounds on late-night TV this week, did not stop there.

On Thursday, the group responsible for creating the statue an anonymous collective of "satirical activists" called the Secret Handshake said the National Park Service denied a second permit to reinstall the controversial statue, which featured a plaque reading, "We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend,' Jeffrey Epstein."

"The statue was removed because it was not compliant with the permit issued," Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace told CNN on Wednesday, citing a height discrepancy.

The statue, spray-painted bronze and titled "Best Friends Forever," was removed Wednesday at 5:30 a.m., said Carol Flaisher, a D.C.-based location manager who had been contracted by Secret Handshake to obtain the appropriate permit for the statue.

It's a job Flaisher says she's been doing for film and television throughout her 40-year career, and she has never seen a permitted display on the National Mall removed, she says. If there are issues with the permit, the NPS is required to give the applicant 24 hours' notice to fix the error before taking action. That notice was not given, Flaisher says.