US President Donald Trump on Monday said he had a fallout with Jeffrey Epstein, an infamous American financier, as the latter ‘stole’ people who worked for him. The duo once shared a good friendship but Trump said he terminated Epstein’s Florida club membership because of his repeated ‘betrayals’.
However, the White House had earlier given a different explanation over the separation between the two friends. “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep,” AP quoted Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, as saying in a statement last week.
Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, the aforementioned news agency reported citing official accounts.
Trump faces backlash
Before Donald Trump returned to power, he and several close allies actively promoted conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death. Now, they are facing backlash after the Justice Department reaffirmed Epstein indeed died by suicide, adding that no further documents related to the case would be released.
Some of Trump's current administration members, along with the president himself, had previously pledged to make those files public.
While speaking to the media during his UK visit, Trump, upon being asked about the issues that led to his fallout with Epstein, said, “he did something that was inappropriate. He stole people that worked for me. I said, don't ever do that again. He did it again, and I threw him out of the place. I'm glad I did.”
Trump backs transparency in this case, says JD Vance
Former President Trump recently instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue the public release of sealed grand jury transcripts related to the case. While one federal judge has already rejected the request, a ruling from a second judge is still pending.
During a visit to the factory on Monday to highlight Trump’s tax cuts and border security legislation, Senator Vance also spoke about the Epstein case. He stated that the president is committed to ensuring “full transparency” in the matter.
