(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Monday gave more details about why his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein went south, and told reporters he hasn’t been asked for a Ghislaine Maxwell pardon.
Trump continues to face questions on Epstein, and his administration’s handling of files related to the deceased financier and convicted sex offender accused of sex trafficking minors, even overseas during a working visit to Scotland.
In a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry, Trump was pressed if a pardon for Maxwell was something he would consider and continued not to rule it out.
“Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” Trump said. “But nobody’s approached me with it, nobody’s asked me about it. It’s in the news, that — that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, sat down for two meetings last week with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. ABC News reported that sources say it was Maxwell who initiated the talks, and that she was granted limited immunity.
Blanche has not revealed what the Justice Department learned from the some nine-hour interview, only saying he would share additional information at the “appropriate time.” Maxwell’s attorney has said she was asked about 100 different people during their conversations.
Trump was also asked on Monday about parts of his relationship with Epstein, particularly their falling out.
“But for years, I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t talk because he did something that was inappropriate. He hired help, and I said, ‘don’t ever do that again.’ 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 continued.
Trump did not offer any specifics, but as ABC News has previously reported, Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide in April, had accused Maxwell of recruiting her while she was working as a locker-room attendant at Mar-a-Lago in 2000 and bringing her to Epstein’s home for a massage.
Trump went on to say he never went to Epstein’s island, and instead listed other high-profile individuals he claimed went to the island, including former President Bill Clinton. Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
“I never had the privilege of going to his island,” Trump said, “and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down, I didn’t want to go to his island.”
The president repeated his denial of a Wall Street Journal report that he allegedly sent Epstein a letter that included a drawing of a naked woman in 2003 for Epstein’s 50th birthday, which the Journal reported was included in a birthday book made for Epstein that contained letters from numerous Epstein associates.
Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and claims the letter does not exist. Dow Jones, the owner of the Journal, has said it has “full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting” and will defend against the lawsuit.
“I don’t do drawings. I’m not a drawing person,” Trump said on Monday. “I don’t do drawings. Sometimes you would say, would you draw a building? And I’ll draw four lines and a little roof, you know, for a charity stuff. But I’m not a drawing person. I don’t do drawings of women, that I can tell you.”
Meanwhile, House Democrats are requesting a copy of the alleged “birthday book” and an attorney who has represented hundreds of Epstein’s victims said that the estate was in possession of the book. ABC News has not confirmed the existence of the letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein for the book.
Trump on Monday also continued to say, without providing evidence, that the controversy was a “hoax” perpetrated by his political enemies, including former President Joe Biden and former FBI Director James Comey.
“Well, I haven’t been overly interested in it,” Trump said of the Epstein files. “You know, it’s something, it’s a hoax that’s been built up way beyond proportion.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
