Previous reports suggest Trump and Epstein had a falling out when Trump outbid Epstein for a property in Palm Beach.<\/b>
\nKey Facts
Trump said \u201cfor years, I wouldn\u2019t talk to Jeffrey Epstein\u201d because \u201che stole people that work for me,\u201d the president told reporters Monday during his visit to Scotland.
Previous reports have suggested Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein made advances towards another member\u2019s teenage daughter and that Epstein and Trump had a falling out when Trump outbid Epstein for a Palm Beach mansion in 2004.
Trump gave the new reason he said Epstein became \u201cpersona non grata\u201d to him as the blowback surrounding the Justice Department\u2019s decision not to release additional documents related to its Epstein investigation has continued for a month, bringing renewed attention to Trump\u2019s own personal relationship with Epstein.
Trump on Monday also repeated a claim he made last week that he never went to Epstein\u2019s island in the Caribbean, Little Saint James, telling reporters he was invited but \u201cturned it down\u201d and claiming, without evidence, former President Bill Clinton went there dozens of times, despite Clinton denying previously he ever visited the island. Tangent
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell recruited Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre to work as Epstein\u2019s personal masseuse in 2000 while Guiffre was working at Mar-a-Lago. Guiffre claimed she was groomed by Maxwell and Epstein to provide sexual services for Epstein and his wealthy circle, according to a deposition Guiffre gave that was made public in 2019.Crucial Quote
\u201cFor years, I wouldn\u2019t talk to Jeffrey Epstein . . . because he did something that was inappropriate,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cHe stole people that work for me. I said \u2018Don\u2019t ever do that again.\u2019 He did it again.\u201d Epstein then became \u201cpersona non grata,\u201d Trump said. Key Background
Trump and Epstein first became friends in the 1980s, around the time Trump bought Mar-a-Lago, and they were subsequently photographed together on multiple occasions up until the early 2000s. Trump also appeared on flight logs for Epstein\u2019s private jets seven times in the 1990s, and he told New York magazine in 2002 Epstein was a \u201cterrific guy,\u201d adding \u201cit is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.\u201d Previous reports have suggested the two had a falling out because Trump outbid Epstein for a Palm Beach mansion in 2004, while a 2020 book, \u201cThe Grifter\u2019s Club,\u201d claimed Epstein was banned from Mar-a-Lago because he made advances toward a member\u2019s teenage daughter. Trump has been forced to defend his prior relationship with Epstein amid backlash from his base over the Justice Department\u2019s decision announced earlier this month not to release additional documents related to its investigation into Epstein.<\/p>\n