Donald Trump says Epstein took Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago
Australian Giuffre, who lived near Perth, died by suicide in April 2025.
She had claimed she was sex
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Family of Epstein accuser Giuffre urge Trump to keep Maxwell in prison
Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April. Photo: AFP The family of deceased Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre is urging US President Donald Trump not to grant clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein abuse underage girls. Giuffre's family also said it was "shocking" to hear Trump say this week that Epstein had poached Giuffre from the Mar-a-Lago club, where she worked at the spa in 2000. The family said Trump's comment raised questions about whether he was aware of Epstein's sexual abuse at the time. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing. Giuffre said she was a victim of Epstein's sex trafficking from 2000 to 2002, starting when she was 16. She died by suicide in April at age 41. Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell posing for a photo in 2001 when Giuffre was 17. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP Trump has given some of his most expansive public comments yet about his falling out with Epstein. The family's statement comes as Trump has faced pressure to make public documents from the federal investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and his longtime girlfriend Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. Deputy US Attorney-General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, last week met with Maxwell . Maxwell's lawyer David Markus has called on Trump to grant her relief, but Trump has said he has not thought about whether to pardon her. "The government and the President should never consider giving Ghislaine Maxwell any leniency," Giuffre's family said in the statement. "Maxwell destroyed many young lives." A senior Trump administration official said no leniency for Maxwell was being given or discussed. Ghislaine Maxwell pictured with her partner at the time, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Photo: AFP / US District Court for the southern district of New York "That's just false," the official said. Markus did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump and Epstein socialised in the 1990s and 2000s, before what Trump has called a falling out. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump said he told Epstein to "stay the hell out" of Mar-a-Lago after finding out Epstein was poaching Trump's workers, including Giuffre. "He stole her," Trump said. In their statement, Giuffre's family said Maxwell recruited her from Mar-a-Lago in 2000. An aerial view of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP The family said that was years before Epstein and Trump had their falling out, pointing to a 2002 New York magazine article in which the president was quoted calling Epstein a "terrific guy" who liked women "on the younger side". "It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions," Giuffre's family said, referring to Trump's Air Force One comments. Asked by a reporter on Thursday if he knew why Epstein was taking his employees, Trump said he did not. "I didn't really know really why, but I said if he's taking anybody from Mar-a-Lago, if he's hiring or whatever he's doing, I didn't like it and we threw him out," Trump said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Trump had been responding to a reporter's question about Giuffre and did not bring her up. "President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees," Leavitt said. At Maxwell's trial in 2021, Juan Alessi, the former manager of Epstein's Palm Beach home, testified that he drove with Maxwell to meet Ms Giuffre at nearby Mar-a-Lago. He said he then saw Giuffre at Epstein's home for the first time that evening, and saw her at the home many times thereafter. - Reuters
Otago Daily Times
12 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Tourist allegedly assaulted
An Australian tourist was allegedly assaulted in his car while making a U-turn in Buckingham St, Arrowtown, on Friday. The 50-year-old victim had accidentally entered the one-way street in the wrong direction about 8.45pm. He was turning his vehicle around, when a 56-year-old Queenstown man kicked the side of it before allegedly assaulting the driver. The man, who was charged with assault, threatening behaviour and intentional damage, will appear in the Queenstown District Court in September.
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- NZ Herald
NZ's dangerous underworld: Gangs, drugs and a lot of money
His latest book, Underworld: The new era of gangs in New Zealand, is the third in a series he's released since 2020 – and the latest instalment delves deeper into our country's dark underbelly of gangs, guns, drugs and money – lots and lots of money. He told The Front Page that New Zealand is seeing unprecedented volumes of methamphetamine and other drugs turn up on our shores. 'When I first started reporting, one kilo of meth was a big deal, and it was a front-page story. These days, even the smallest of drug dealers would have far more than one kilo in the back of the car. Now we are talking imports of 400 to 700 kilograms,' he said. Despite some record-breaking busts, like the 613kg of meth intercepted at Auckland Airport in 2022, New Zealand's appetite for drugs remains high. 'Those big busts [are] having quite a negligible impact on how much drugs are actually being consumed,' Savage said. 'We can see through wastewater testing that for a long time we were consuming about 15 kilos of meth per week. Then last year, it was more than double every single week.' Organised crime groups have spent decades solidifying their presence in New Zealand. Drug importation and sales now rely on a global network, which includes Asian syndicates and Mexican cartels collaborating with local gangs. While homegrown gangs have been instrumental in distributing drugs throughout the country, it's the Australian imports that have come with an international contact book. 'What has really changed in the last 10 years, in particular, is members of Australian motorcycle gangs being deported here and establishing truly international crime groups. 'They had genuine connections to supply lines overseas, not just in Asia, but to the South Americas, Mexico and the US. 'It's no coincidence that [large drug imports] happened around the same time that we started seeing deportees come here. They've also brought more of a brazen, arrogant approach to the underworld. 'It's not just the Aussie gangs now that are doing these big imports, but they were certainly the ones that kicked things off. Savage said while police are doing the best they can, the only way the supply of drugs is going to dry up is if the demand for drugs dries up. 'We certainly need to be looking more into investment in rehabilitation, counselling opportunities for people who are tied up in addiction ... 'The answers lie within each community ... There are always people in there that are doing amazing work with young people; they just need some support,' he said. Listen to the full episode to hear more about New Zealand's dark underbelly, and what could be done to fix it. The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016. You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
