Donald Trump has come under renewed pressure following remarks in which he appeared to suggest he knew that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had recruited Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Speaking to reporters earlier this week, President Trump said Epstein had been “taking people who worked for him,” adding: “The women were taken out of the spa, hired by him — in other words, gone.”
When asked if Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein and his associate was among those individuals, Trump responded: “Epstein stole her.”
Giuffre previously stated that she first encountered Maxwell at Trump’s Palm Beach estate while working there as a teenager.
She later accused Epstein and Maxwell of trafficking her to powerful men, including Prince Andrew, who has denied wrongdoing.
Trump’s comments have prompted a response from Giuffre’s family, who said they were “shocked” by his words and questioned whether he had knowledge of Epstein and Maxwell’s criminal activity.
In a statement, the family said: “It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been ‘stolen’ from Mar-a-Lago.”
“It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey ‘likes women on the younger side’.”
They added: “We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.”
Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s offences and has said he distanced himself from the disgraced financier years before his arrest.
Earlier this week, Trump insisted he “never had the privilege” of visiting Epstein’s island in the US Virgin Islands, where many of the alleged offences are said to have taken place.
“I was invited, but I never went,” Trump said, adding that he had cut ties with Epstein “because he did something that was inappropriate.”
Despite this, new photographs released this month showed Epstein attending Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
Footage of the pair laughing together at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show in 1999 has also re-emerged, casting further doubt on the nature of their past relationship.
When asked about the footage, Trump appeared surprised, saying: “You’re kidding me.” He later dismissed the videos as “fake news”.
A statement from the White House press team pushed back strongly against the coverage, accusing media outlets of “disgustingly” using public event footage to infer “something nefarious”.
“The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep,” the statement read. “This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”
Epstein, who was facing federal charges for sex trafficking at the time of his death in 2019, had built a network of powerful associates including politicians, business leaders and royals.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in trafficking underage girls to Epstein’s residences.
Giuffre was one of the most high-profile women to speak publicly about Epstein’s operations, filing civil suits and securing a settlement with Prince Andrew in 2022.
Her death earlier this year was ruled a suicide by authorities. Her family have said they remain committed to seeking justice for survivors and holding those with knowledge to account.
Trump’s latest remarks have reignited questions about how much he knew during his association with Epstein, and whether further disclosures could emerge ahead of November’s election.
Editing by M10News Political Desk | Contact: politics@m10news.com
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