This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
PALM BEACH, Florida – Why did President Donald Trump end his friendship with fellow Palm Beacher Jeffrey Epstein years ago?
The commander in chief answered that question Tuesday, saying the convicted pedophile "stole" female staffers from his spa at Mar-a-Lago.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Epstein hired away numerous spa workers despite being repeatedly told not to. He said some of the gals were young women, including then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.
"Everyone knows the people that were taken and it was the concept of taking people that work for me is bad," Trump said.
"But that story has been pretty well out there, and yes, they were [young women] … People were taken out of the spa, hired by [Epstein]. In other words, gone. And other people would come and complain 'this guy is taking people from the spa,' I didn't know that. And when I heard about it, I told him, 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not [the] spa.' I don't want him taking people, and he was fine. Then not too long after that, he did it again and I said, '[You're] out of here.'"
When a reporter asked if Giuffre was one of the employees hired away from the spa, Trump responded: "I don't know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so, I think that was one of the people, yeah.
"He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know. None whatsoever."
The president noted the hiring spree by the disgraced financier was "the end" of his time at Mar-a-Lago.
"I don't want to say any number, you're talking about a number of years ago. But yeah, he took people and I said, 'Don't do it anymore, they work for me.'
"And he took beyond that, he took some others. And once he did that, that was the end of him."
In April, Giuffre reportedly committed suicide at age 41. She previosuly asserted Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her to perform sex acts.
She told the BBC in December 2019 that Prince Andrew sexually abused her three times at Epstein and Maxwell's homes when she was 17, an allegation which the prince denied.
