WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

While in Scotland, President Trump explained his split from Jeffrey Epstein, attributing it to Epstein's hiring of Trump Organization staff. He denied ever visiting Epstein's private island on Virgin Islands.

Before Donald Trump returned to power, he and several close allies promoted conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death. Now, they are facing backlash after the Justice Department said Epstein indeed died by suicide,

During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.

President Donald Trump on Monday took a break from his $10 million taxpayer-funded golf vacation in Scotland to announce new import tax increases on Americans and also to put forward a new explanation of why he broke from Jeffrey Epstein: because the child sex abuser was hiring away the help from Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump and Melania reportedly crossed paths in September 1998 when she was assisted in her immigration to the US by ID Models founder Paolo Zampolli.

Speaker Mike Johnson of Shreveport recessed the House a day early as the debate over the sex offender Jeffrey Epsein's case escalated.

Any time I say anything about Epstein, they’re like, ‘Why didn’t Joe Biden’s — why didn’t Joe Biden release the files?’ And this is what I say: Have you met Merrick Garland?” Tanden