President Trump is revealing new details about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and why it ended. After being pressed by reporters, he also addressed questions about a pardon for Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump says he ended his years-long friendship with Epstein because Epstein hired away employees who worked at Mar-a-Lago.
“He stole people that work for me. I said don’t ever do that again. He did it again. I threw him out of the place, persona non grata, and that was it. I’m glad I did, if you want to know the truth,” he said.
Trump and Epstein had been friends for more than a decade, socializing in New York and Palm Beach.
On Monday, the president said he never accepted an invitation to visit Epstein’s private Caribbean island, where underage girls were allegedly trafficked for sex.
“I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down. But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. One of my very good moments—I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island,” Trump said.
When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said they hadn’t spoken in 15 years.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for helping Epstein with sex trafficking his victims, met for nine hours over two days last week in Florida with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Sources say she initiated the meeting and received limited immunity for the statements she made.
Asked about a pardon for Maxwell, the president did not take it off the table.
“Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody’s approached me with it. Nobody’s asked me about it. It’s in the news—that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it,” he said.
It’s still not known what information Maxwell may have given the attorney general. Her attorney said she did not ask for a pardon and none was offered, although she is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction on sex trafficking, claiming she was unjustly prosecuted.
