Trump explains how he ended friendship with Epstein

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him. Trump did not say what his employees did or where they worked, and the White House declined further comment. But the White House had previously offered a different explanation for the falling-out. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in a statement last week: "The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep." Epstein killed himself, authorities say, in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump and his top allies stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein's death before Trump returned to power. They are now struggling to manage the fallout after the Justice Department said Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide and that it would not release additional documents about the case. The president and his allies, some of whom are now in the administration, had promised to release the files. The case has dogged Trump at home and abroad and even followed Vice President JD Vance during an appearance in his home state of Ohio on Monday. A small group of protesters assembled outside a factory in Canton that Vance toured, holding signs that spelled out "JD Protects Pedophiles" and indicating that "GOP" stands for "Guardians Of Pedophiles." The Republican president spoke at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland, as he sat with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the leaders had met and were answering questions from U.S. and U.K. journalists. Asked to explain why the relationship had faltered, Trump said, "That's such old history, very easy to explain, but I don't want to waste your time by explaining it." He then explained, saying he stopped talking to Epstein after "he did something that was inappropriate." "He hired help and I said, 'Don't ever do that again,'" Trump said. "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, persona non grata." "I threw him out and that was it. I'm glad I did, if you want to know the truth," Trump added. Trump recently directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of sealed grand jury transcripts in the case. One federal judge has denied that request; a second judge has yet to rule. Vance on Monday visited the factory to promote Trump's tax cut and border bill, but also addressed the Epstein matter, saying the president wants "full transparency" in the case. "The president has been very clear. We're not shielding anything," Vance said in response to a reporter's question. "The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and, frankly, to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case." "Some of that stuff takes time," Vance said, adding that Trump has been "very clear. He wants full transparency." Trump had said back in 2019 that Epstein was a fixture in Palm Beach but that the two had had a falling-out a long time ago and he hadn't spoken with Epstein for 15 years. Trump on Monday also denied contributing to a compilation of letters and drawings to mark Epstein's 50th birthday, first reported on by the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the letter, believed to be from Trump, included a drawing of a woman's body. "I'm not a drawing person," Trump said. "I don't do drawings of women, that I can tell you." Trump also said he declined Epstein's invitation to visit a private island the financier owned. "I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island," Trump said. "In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island." ___ Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Canton, Ohio, contributed to this report.