Updated @ 12:49 PM EDT on July 31, 2025
President Trump provided fresh information Tuesday about the reasons behind his disagreement with Jeffrey Epstein almost twenty years ago, telling reporters on Air Force One that the conflict included workers at the Mar-a-Lago spa.
Trump has stated on numerous occasions that he expelled Epstein from his club because he hired employees from outside Mar-a-Lago. In response to a question about whether the employees who were let go were young women, Trump said, “the answer is yes, they were.”
“In other words, people were removed from the spa that he had employed. ‘This guy is removing people from the spa,’ would be the complaints of others. Trump stated. “I was unaware of that. ‘Listen, we don’t want you taking our folks, whether it was spa or not, I don’t want them taking anybody,’ I informed him after learning about it. And he was all right. Shortly afterward, he repeated the action. ‘Out of here,’ I added.
Additionally, Trump was questioned about if Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the people who accused Epstein of sexual abuse and later became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors, was one of the employees that Epstein had taken. In the beginning of this year, Giuffre committed suicide.
“I’m not sure. She was employed at the spa, I believe. I believe so. That was one of the people, I believe. Trump told reporters, “He stole her.” “And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.”
Giuffre stated in a 2016 deposition given in her lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein associate, that she began working at Mar-a-Lago in the summer of 2000 at the age of 16.
The timing of Trump and Epstein’s disagreement over the employees is unknown. Trump has long insisted that he was pals with Epstein before the scandal-plagued businessman was charged with prostitution solicitation in 2006.
The comments came at the conclusion of a trip to Scotland that was occasionally dominated by inquiries into Trump’s past relationship with Epstein, even as the president on Sunday announced a draft new trade agreement with the European Union. Trump was unable to avoid the political drama in Washington, D.C., regarding his administration’s handling of the convicted sex offender’s papers, even if he was located far away.
Reporters questioned Trump on Monday about the timing of the trade statement and if it was an effort to shift the conversation.
“That had nothing to do with it,” Trump replied, adding, “you gotta be kidding with that.”
When Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss the food issue in Gaza, he was met with even more questions. Trump clarified that he severed his association with Epstein because he had hired employees from outside his Florida club, deeming his actions “inappropriate.”
“He stole from my employees.” “Never do that again,” I said. Once more, he did it. Trump added, “And I threw him out of the place persona non-grata.”
Trump maintains that the matter is a hoax that has been exaggerated by his political rivals, despite the fact that the president’s own MAGA constituency is mostly driving the demand for additional information.
Maxwell asks for immunity
Even nevertheless, the White House has found it difficult to get past the Epstein scandal as numerous members of Congress, including Maxwell, the longtime Epstein confidant who is presently serving a 20-year jail sentence for aiding Epstein in sexually abusing young girls, continue to demand answers.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell for a deposition last week, and a number of House Republicans have urged the Trump administration to make Justice Department documents from the Epstein probe public.
Maxwell’s lawyers requested immunity from the committee on Tuesday in order to testify on her behalf. Her legal team also stated that they would like to delay the appearance in the hopes that the Supreme Court will hear her case first in a letter to the panel that NPR was able to access.
According to the letter, Maxwell’s lawyers first thought she would either refuse to testify or assert her Fifth Amendment rights. But they argued that may be changed by testifying under specific conditions.
In a three-page letter, Maxwell’s lawyers, David Oscar Markus, Leah Saffian, and Melissa Madrigal, stated, “If a safe and equitable way forward can be established, we would like to find a way to cooperate with Congress.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., requested Maxwell’s testimony on August 11 in the subpoena, but her lawyers said it was premature. They contended that when they meet again in October, the Supreme Court might consider her case.
Maxwell’s request for immunity, according to the committee, goes too far.
“The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwell’s attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,” a representative for the committee told NPR.
The panel has not ruled out delaying the high-profile meeting with Maxwell, which they had wanted to have at the jail in Tallahassee, Florida, where she is currently serving her term.
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