A Wall Street Journal investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s time around Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club says Trump’s then wife Marla Maples raised concerns about Epstein years before a 2003 complaint by a teenage spa worker purportedly prompted Trump to ban Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell from the club.
The Journal reports that Maples, who married Trump in 1993, “widely shared” misgivings with staff soon after Mar-a-Lago opened in 1995—telling employees something about Epstein was “wrong” and “off,” and that she worried about his influence on Trump. Former employees said Maples also communicated that she didn’t want to spend time with Epstein and didn’t want Trump to either.
Why It Matters
The account adds fresh detail to a relationship that has come under intensified scrutiny in recent months as the Justice Department begins releasing large volumes of Epstein-related material under a new law—documents that, the Journal notes, include references to Trump, though being mentioned is not an indicator of wrongdoing.
It also places Maples at the center of an internal Mar-a-Lago storyline: staff unease about Epstein that, according to former employees, existed well before the incident the Journal says ultimately led Trump to cut Epstein off from the club’s spa.
What To Know
Epstein was a frequent visitor to Mar-a-Lago in the late 1990s and early 2000s—and the club was also dispatching spa employees, “usually young women,” to Epstein’s nearby Palm Beach mansion for massages, manicures and other services, per the Journal report. Former employees said Epstein wasn’t a dues-paying club member, but Trump told staff to treat him like one.
Those house calls continued for years even as spa employees warned one another about Epstein, whom staff described as sexually suggestive and known to expose himself during appointments, according to the Journal.
Appointments were booked through an account at the spa, with Maxwell scheduling on Epstein’s behalf, former employees told the paper.
The practice ended in 2003 after an 18-year-old beautician returned from a house call and reported to managers that Epstein pressured her for sex, the Journal reported, citing former employees. A manager faxed Trump with the allegations and urged him to ban Epstein, former employees told the paper; Trump responded that it was a “good letter” and told the manager to “kick him out.”
Former employees said the allegation was disclosed to Mar-a-Lago’s HR team, but they said it was not reported to Palm Beach police. The Journal reported police did not begin investigating Epstein until two years later, after a parent alleged he molested a 14-year-old girl; Epstein was arrested in 2006 after several underage teens told police he paid them for sex.
Despite the 2003 spa ban, Trump and Epstein continued to cross paths. In a late-2004 bankruptcy auction, they competed for a Palm Beach property (which Trump won), and Epstein’s message book showed two calls from Trump around the time of the auction.
What People Are Saying
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday the Journal was: “writing up fallacies and innuendo in order to smear President 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.”
Trump, when asked earlier this year why he stopped socializing with Epstein: “Because he did something that was inappropriate. He hired help. I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata.”
Trump, posting on Truth Social on Christmas Day: “I was the only one who did drop Epstein, and long before it became fashionable to do so.”
What Happens Next
The Justice Department has begun releasing thousands of Epstein-related documents in response to a law passed by Congress in November, and some of those records reference Trump. Being mentioned is not an indicator of wrongdoing.
As more Epstein material is released, The Wall Street Journal’s new reporting—particularly Maples’ purported warnings and the 2003 spa complaint—will likely sharpen questions about what Mar-a-Lago staff say they witnessed, how Trump responded internally at the time and the timeline of Trump’s claimed break with Epstein.
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