US President Donald Trump ‘never had the privilege' of visiting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's island
Trump's remarks were his latest effort to distance himself from the political furore over his administration's handling of files related to Epstein's case and renewed questions over his past relationship with the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019.
'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down,' Trump told reporters during a trip to Scotland.
'In one of my very good moments, I turned it down.'
Epstein owned a private island in the US Virgin Islands where he entertained prominent people from politics, business and entertainment. Prosecutors have alleged he used the compound to conceal the sex trafficking and abuse of under-age victims.
Trump, who socialised with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, also offered new insight into why their relationship ended.
The US president said he cut ties after Epstein attempted to recruit staff who worked for Trump.
'He hired help. And I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He stole people that work for me,' Trump said.
'He did it again. And I threw him out of the place persona non grata.'
Last week, White House communications director Steven Cheung said Trump had cut ties with Epstein because he regarded him as a 'creep'.
The White House has been under growing pressure from Trump's supporters and political opponents to release more information about the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein.
After Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this year promised to release additional materials related to possible Epstein clients and the circumstances surrounding his death, the Justice Department reversed course this month and issued a memo concluding there was no basis to continue investigating and no evidence of a client list.
Those findings sparked an angry outcry from some of Trump's supporters who have long believed the government was covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful.
Trump's efforts to deflect attention from the case have so far faltered. On Monday, the president again called the story 'a hoax'.
'It's a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion,' Trump said, saying Democrats controlled the Epstein files for several years and would have used them against him during the last presidential election if there was anything in them.
Trump flew with Epstein aboard his plane at least six times, according to logs for flights spanning from 1991 through 2005. None of those trips were to Epstein's private island.
Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
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The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, August 5
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Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has just held a press conference to reveal the Metro and new bus network has cut bus congestion on the Victoria Bridge — a previously notorious bottleneck — by 30 per cent. Loading We asked whether the Lord Mayor thought the new network might allow Brisbane buses to hit that 90 per cent on-time figure again. 'We're just over a month into the new network but there's already some evidence that some buses are actually running ahead of the scheduled timetable because there's far less congestion,' he said. 'So we're going to have to continue to tweak the timetables to make sure that they're as accurate as possible.' 2.50pm Today's headlines Thanks for joining us today for live coverage of news in and around Brisbane. 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'There's always some people that might have preferred it to have a one-seat journey, I understand that, but we need to grow up as a city, and we need to move to multi-seat journeys, because that allows us to service more destinations and allows us to have a more reliable system as well.' 11.32am Council opposition says Lord Mayor 'sat on his hands' over green bin rollout By Catherine Strohfeldt With the green bin rollout expected to span from this week until Christmastime, Brisbane City Council opposition leader Jared Cassidy has slammed the council's decision to roll green waste collection into its base waste services. Cassidy said some residents would be left waiting months for a green bin, despite the council's almost $50 waste utility fee increase already coming into effect. 'That's like paying a Netflix subscription but not being able to watch anything for three months,' Cassidy said. 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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Texas Governor orders the arrest of House Democrats who fled the state
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The Australian
2 hours ago
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Imperial Trump shows how to get things done
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The strike on Iran may have only increased Tehran's determination to get the bomb. Ukraine could yet stain his presidential record. The authoritarian way he has wielded executive power may be badly damaging the foundations of America's constitutional republic. But for now, on this July 4, as the US enters the 250th year since its rejection of kingship, what better way to celebrate than by crowning an emperor? Read related topics: Donald Trump
