President Donald Trump said Monday that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein ended years ago after the disgraced financier repeatedly crossed a line, hiring individuals who previously worked for him. That betrayal, Trump said, led him to cut ties and ban Epstein from his private Mar-a-Lago club.
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland, Trump dismissed the issue as “old history” but nonetheless offered an explanation when pressed by reporters.
“He hired help and I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again,’” Trump said. “He stole people that worked for me. I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata.”,
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“I threw him out and that was it. I’m glad I did, if you want to know the truth,” he added.
Trump did not identify which staff were involved or where they had worked previously. The White House declined to elaborate. However, last week, communications director Steven Cheung offered a simpler explanation: “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep.”
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Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, has remained a lingering controversy for Trump. Before returning to power, Trump and his allies frequently stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death. Now, they face growing scrutiny after the Justice Department reaffirmed that Epstein died by suicide and announced it would not release additional case files.
The president and several senior officials had previously pledged transparency and promised to release those documents.
The Epstein controversy has also followed Trump’s running mate, Vice President JD Vance. During a stop in Canton, Ohio, where Vance was promoting Trump’s tax and immigration bill, a handful of protesters accused him of shielding predators, holding signs that read “JD Protects Pedophiles” and “GOP = Guardians of Pedophiles.”
Vance responded to a reporter’s question about Epstein by reiterating the administration’s commitment to full disclosure.
“The president has been very clear. We’re not shielding anything,” he said. “The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and, frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.”
“Some of that stuff takes time,” Vance added. “But the president has been very clear. He wants full transparency.”
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Trump also denied ever contributing to a booklet of letters and drawings that reportedly marked Epstein’s 50th birthday. A letter attributed to Trump and cited by the Wall Street Journal allegedly included a sketch of a woman’s body.
“I don’t do drawings of women, that I can tell you,” Trump said, according to AP’s report.
In 2019, Trump had described Epstein as a familiar figure in Palm Beach but claimed they hadn’t spoken in over 15 years, citing a long-standing falling-out.
More recently, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of sealed grand jury transcripts in the Epstein case. One federal judge has already denied that request, while another is still reviewing it.
