A new Wall Street Journal report shows how deep Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club really were. The report also explains what finally made Trump ban Epstein from the resort. Epstein thought he was close friends with Trump from the late 1980s to the early 2000s and visited the Palm Beach club often.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Epstein also got regular spa services at his home from Mar-a-Lago employees. These workers were usually young women who went to Epstein’s nearby house for years. The employees warned each other about Epstein’s bad behavior, which included making sexual comments and exposing himself during appointments.
In 2003, an 18-year-old beautician who had been sent to Epstein’s home told her manager that Epstein had pressured her for sex. The manager then told Trump about this and asked him to ban Epstein from the club. Trump agreed and barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, but no one reported the incident to Palm Beach police, according to former employees and local law enforcement.
Trump’s wife warned everyone about Epstein’s creepy behavior
Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most well-known victims, had worked at Mar-a-Lago. Epstein’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her from the club in 2000 when she was just 16 years old. Giuffre, who said she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, died by suicide in April.
Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples, also told her husband and others that something was “off” about Epstein, former employees said. The Wall Street Journal found four other Mar-a-Lago employees whose names were in Epstein’s address book, which the FBI took in 2009.
Palm Beach police only started investigating Epstein in 2005 after a parent said he had molested a 14-year-old girl. He was arrested in 2006 after several teenage girls told police he had paid them for sex. Epstein was convicted in 2008 of getting a child for prostitution and asking for a prostitute. He spent 13 months in prison.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the story by saying the Wall Street Journal was writing “fallacies and innuendo” to attack Trump.
“No matter how many times this story is told and retold, the truth remains: President Trump did nothing wrong and he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago for being a creep,” she said. The controversy comes as questions continue about how the DOJ handled Epstein documents.
Trump and Epstein were friends for more than ten years before they stopped talking. Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges. Trump said in 2019 that he and Epstein hadn’t spoken in 15 years, but Epstein’s message book showed two calls from Trump in late 2004. Meanwhile, victims have questioned the DOJ’s redactions in the released files.
Published: Dec 31, 2025 02:38 pm