‘He stole my staff’: Trump reveals why he cut ties with Epstein for poaching Mar-a-Lago spa staff including Virginia Giuffre

US President Donald Trump has claimed he fell out with Jeffrey Epstein after the disgraced financier poached workers from his Mar-a-Lago spa, including Virginia Giuffre, the woman at the centre of the sex abuse case involving Prince Andrew.

Trump: ‘He stole her’ from Mar-a-Lago spa

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from Scotland, Trump gave one of his most detailed explanations yet about his past ties with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking underage girls.

“People were taken out of the (Mar-a-Lago) spa, hired by him, in other words, gone,” Trump said, adding, “When I heard about it, I told him, I said, ‘Listen, we don’t want you taking our people.’” He added, “And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, ‘Out of here.’”

Trump confirmed that one of the spa workers hired by Epstein was Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. “I think she worked at the spa. I think that was one of the people. He stole her,” Trump said. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year at her home in Australia.

No new details from FBI as pressure builds

Before taking office, Trump had promised to release more details about Epstein. However, when the FBI and Justice Department said in July they had not found anything new, some of Trump’s supporters were left disappointed. Calls for further investigations have since grown, with more attention being paid to Trump’s past relationship with Epstein.

Maxwell demands clemency in return for testimony

The Justice Department has moved to unseal grand jury records linked to Epstein’s case and interviewed his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, last week. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, met with Maxwell over two days, though no details of the conversation were shared.

Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence, has said she is willing to testify before a House committee, but only if granted clemency or formal immunity. In a letter to the committee, her lawyers said, “If Ms Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing, and eager, to testify openly and honestly, in public.”

They added she would also need to see questions in advance, would not testify from the Florida prison where she is held, and would only appear after the Supreme Court decides on her appeal. Without these conditions, her lawyers said she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right toremainsilent.