US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that he cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein after the convicted sex offender “stole” young women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago spa, a shift from earlier explanations of their fallout.
“He took people, I said, ‘Don’t do it anymore,’ they worked for me… then he took more,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from Scotland. “Once he did that, that was the end of him.”
Trump said Epstein had poached spa employees, including one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, Virginia Giuffre. “He stole her,” Trump said, after initially avoiding naming her.
Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, had claimed Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her from Mar-a-Lago in 2000 when she was a teen, leading to years of sexual abuse.
The White House had previously said Epstein was banned from Mar-a-Lago because he was acting like a “creep.” Now, Trump says the decision came after Epstein began “taking our people… hired by him, in other words, gone.”
The renewed remarks come amid growing pressure on the Trump administration to release sealed records related to Epstein. Despite past promises of transparency, the Justice Department recently said no more documents would be released, a move that frustrated many in Trump’s base, including conspiracy theorists who believe the case implicates powerful figures.
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View AllMeanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for helping Epstein abuse underage girls, was recently interviewed by Justice Department officials in Florida. Her lawyers say she is willing to testify before Congress, but only if she’s granted full immunity.
A House Oversight Committee spokesperson said the panel has no plans to offer such protections.