President Donald Trump has claimed that he cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein after he “stole” staff from him. The president appeared to suggest he threw the late paedophile financier out of his Mar-a-Lago club and did not talk to him “for years” after he poached people who worked for him.

President Trump now says he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein repeatedly “stole” spa employees — a rationale Trump had never publicly stated before.

Previous reports suggest Trump and Epstein had a falling out when Trump outbid Epstein for a property in Palm Beach.