Trump says he turned down visit to Epstein's island
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President Trump at Trump Turnberry golf club in Scotland on Monday. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump said Monday that he never had "the privilege" of traveling to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's island, emphasizing he "did turn it down."
The big picture: Scrutiny over the administration's handling of the Epstein case has plagued the president in recent weeks, now following him across the pond as he sat for a bilateral meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
- Amid those swirling questions, several head-turning headlines have explored Trump's relationship with Epstein, with whom the president said he had a falling out.
- Trump has repeatedly slammed the ongoing Epstein saga as a "hoax," placing blame, without evidence, on his White House predecessors.
Driving the news: "For years, I wouldn't talk to Jeffrey Epstein," he told reporters Monday while sitting beside Starmer.
- "He did something that was inappropriate," Trump said, explaining that Epstein had hired away people who worked for him, and after warning Epstein off, it happened again.
- "I threw him out of the place, persona non grata. I threw him out, and that was it," he said.
- The White House has previously said Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a "creep."
What he's saying: Trump — who has previously said he never went to the convicted sex offender's island, Little St. James — said a number of people in Palm Beach were invited to the now-notorious location.
- "In one of my very good moments, I turned it down," the president said. "I didn't want to go to his island."
- Trump's name is mentioned in flight logs from Epstein's plane, per ABC News, though most flights were between Palm Beach, Florida and Teterboro, New Jersey.
The president told reporters Monday he hasn't been "overly interested" in the sticky Epstein file storyline, which has flooded through Capitol Hill, describing it as a "a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion."
- He argued that if his political enemies "had something" on him in the files, they would have released them. But he added, "they can easily put something in the files that's a phony."
State of play: Amid the furor, attention has turned toward imprisoned Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week and has been subpoenaed by a House committee.
- Trump on Monday did not rule out clemency for Maxwell, whose family and lawyer have urged a review of her case, saying he's "allowed to give her a pardon" but that no one has approached him with the question.
- "Right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it," he added.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
