President Donald Trump sent masseuses from his Mar-a-Lago resort to the home of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for years, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
Per the report published on Tuesday, Trump sent young women who worked for the Palm Beach resort to Epstein’s home for massage sessions, a perk afforded to some members of the Florida club. The resort kept up this practice for years, even though Epstein was not a member of the club.
The outlet reported that “the house calls went on… even as spa employees warned each other about Epstein.” Employees told the paper that Epstein “known among staff for being sexually suggestive and exposing himself during the appointments.”
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell is known to have used the resort to recruit women and girls for the late sex trafficker. One of Epstein’s most vocal accusers, Virginia Giuffre, was pulled into Epstein’s orbit while working at Mar-a-Lago. Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, had refuted accusations that Trump was involved in Epstein’s sex crimes.
The president said earlier this year that Epstein’s poaching of employees like Giuffre was part of the reason their friendship came to an end. The report dug into the much-discussed falling out between Trump and Epstein in 2003. Per employees who spoke to the outlet, Trump barred Maxwell and Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after an 18-year-old employee returned from a house call and said that Epstein “pressured her for sex.”
When pressed on the situation earlier this year, Trump didn’t mention the misconduct. In Trump’s memory, he had it out with Epstein over his penchant for poaching employees from the Palm Beach resort.
“He did something that was inappropriate. He hired help,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata.”
Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the Journal of “writing up fallacies and innuendo in order to smear President Trump.” She added that the latest report reaffirms the White House stance that Trump did nothing wrong.
“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,” Leavitt said.
Read more
about this topic