Trump says Epstein 'stole' Virginia Giuffre and other young women from Mar-a-Lago spa
"People were taken out of the spa, hired by him. In other words, gone," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from Scotland to Washington, where he continues to face fallout from his administration's handling of files related to Epstein.
"And other people would come and complain, 'this guy is taking people from the spa.' I didn't know that," Trump continued. "And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said, 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa.' I don't want him taking people. And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again and I said, 'out of here.'"
MORE: Trump, in Scotland, gives more details about his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein
Trump was then asked if one of those women was Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide this past April at the age of 41.
Giuffre, ABC News previously reported, had accused Ghislaine Maxwell of recruiting her when she was 17 years old working as a locker-room attendant at Mar-a-Lago in 2000 and bringing her to Epstein's home for a massage. Maxwell denies those allegations.
"I don't know. I think she worked at the spa, I think so, I think that was one of the people. Yeah, he stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, none whatsoever," Trump responded.
The comments appear to be the most detailed Trump has made publicly about the circumstances surrounding his falling out with Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. At the time of Epstein's arrest, Trump said they hadn't spoken in 15 years.
Last week, White House communications director Steven Cheung had said Epstein was kicked out of Trump's club "for being a creep."
Then on Monday, Trump framed their falling out as a result of Epstein poaching his employees after being warned not to.
Asked about the apparent discrepancy between the two reasons, Trump asserted they are "the same thing."
"You know, it's sort of a little bit of the same thing," he said. "But no, he took people that work for me, and I told him, 'don't do it anymore.' And he did it. I said, 'stay the hell out of here.'"
Trump was asked by one reporter during the Air Force One gaggle, "Mr. President, Epstein has a certain reputation, obviously, but just curious where some of the workers that were taken from you were some of them young women?"
He went on to respond, "Well, I don't want to say, but everyone knows the people that were taken. And it was the concept of taking people that work for me is bad. But that story has been pretty well out there. And the answer is yes, they were."
MORE: Democratic senators ask Blanche to commit that DOJ won't advocate for pardon or commutation for Maxwell
Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, is now publicly lobbying for a pardon.
She appealed to Congress on that point on Tuesday so she could testify "openly and honestly" before the House Oversight Committee. When Maxwell sat down for nine hours of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week, her attorney David Markus said they hoped Trump "exercises that power in the right and just way."
Blanche has not revealed what was discussed in the meetings, saying only that he would do so at the "appropriate time." Maxwell was granted limited immunity to speak with Blanche, sources told ABC News.
President Trump continued to leave open the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell on Monday, saying he had the authority to do so but hadn't been asked.
"It's in the news, that -- that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it," Trump said.
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