White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday that President Trump hasn’t been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein in 10 to 15 years after the wealthy financier was arrested and charged Monday with sex trafficking.
“I talked to the president this morning. He hasn’t talked to or had contact with Epstein in years and years and years,” Conway told reporters on the White House driveway. “Over a decade at least, he said.”
{mosads}Trump and Epstein are known to have run in the same social circles years ago. Trump told New York magazine in 2002 that Epstein was a “terrific guy” who’s “a lot of fun to be with.”
Later Tuesday, Trump was asked about his relationship with Epstein during an Oval Office meeting with the emir of Qatar. The president claimed he had a “falling out” with the financier, but would not elaborate.
“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump said. “He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”
He did not comment on the new charges against Epstein.
The president was asked Sunday as he left his New Jersey golf club whether he had any comment on Epstein’s arrest.
“No, I don’t know about it,” Trump responded. “That I don’t know about.”
Prosecutors in New York City on Monday unsealed charges against Epstein alleging that he engaged in sex acts with girls as young as 14 and used them to recruit other minors. Prosecutors said they found hundreds of pictures of nude or partially nude young women and girls during a search of Epstein’s Manhattan home.
Epstein has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump’s Labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, has come under pressure for his role in a 2008 plea deal that he oversaw as a U.S. attorney in Florida that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence.
Several Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have called on Acosta to resign over his role in the plea deal.
Updated at 2:09 p.m.