‘I turned it down': Trump speaks out on fallout with Epstein, denies ever visiting his private island
'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down,' Trump told reporters while in Scotland. 'In one of my very good moments, I turned it down,' he said, according to Reuters.
Trump is facing renewed questions about his past connection with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019. Epstein owned a private island in the US Virgin Islands, which prosecutors say was used to carry out sex trafficking and abuse of underage girls.
Trump and Epstein were known to have socialised in the 1990s and early 2000s. On Monday, Trump said their relationship ended after Epstein tried to hire staff who were working for him.
'He hired help. And I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He stole people that work for me,' Trump told reporters. 'He did it again. And I threw him out of the place persona non grata,' Reuters quoted him as saying.
Last week, White House communications director Steven Cheung said Trump had ended the friendship after deciding Epstein was a 'creep.'
The White House is under pressure from both Trump's supporters and critics to release more information related to the US Justice Department's handling of the Epstein case.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had earlier promised to release more details about Epstein's possible clients and the circumstances of his death. But this month, the Justice Department said it found no reason to continue the investigation and said there was no client list.
The decision led to criticism from some of Trump's supporters, who believe there is still more information that has not been made public.
On Monday, Trump called the attention around the case 'a hoax.'
'It's a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion,' he said. Trump claimed that if there had been anything serious in the Epstein files, Democrats would have used it against him in the last election, Reuters reported.
Flight records show Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least six times between 1991 and 2005, though none of those flights were to Epstein's island. Trump has denied being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
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