ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump on Monday offered his clearest explanation to date about why he severed ties with the late Jeffrey Epstein, citing a personal betrayal involving stolen employees.

"For years, I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein," Trump told reporters during his trip to Scotland. "I wouldn’t talk because he did something that was inappropriate. He hired (my) 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’m glad I did, if you want to know the truth," Trump added, speaking at one of his commercial golf clubs.

Years after his friendship with Trump ended, Epstein was convicted of sex trafficking, and died in his New York jail cell in 2019.

Trump has been urged to release the full criminal file on Epstein, but to date has resisted, drawing criticism from opposition Democrats as well as the president’s own supporters.

Trump was also asked again about the possibility of a pardon for Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

"Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon," he reiterated. "But nobody’s approached me with it, nobody’s asked me about it. It’s in the news ... But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it."

Maxwell initiated two interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week, totaling around nine hours.

She was reportedly granted limited immunity and questioned about up to 100 individuals. The Justice Department has not revealed details of the conversations.

Trump also repeated that he never visited Epstein’s private island and denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming he once sent Epstein a drawing of a naked woman as a birthday gift.

"I don’t do drawings. I’m not a drawing person," he said. Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Journal, while publisher Dow Jones has said it stands by its reporting.

Calling the renewed attention around Epstein "a hoax," Trump blamed political opponents, including former President Joe Biden and former FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired in 2017. "It’s something ... that’s been built up way beyond proportion," he said.

House Democrats are now seeking access to the alleged Epstein "birthday book" where the drawing is said to appear.