New revelations from former staff members have shed light on the moment when the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was officially barred from Donald Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. The incident, which occurred in 2003, was triggered by a formal complaint from an 18-year-old beautician who alleged that Epstein had pressured her for sex during a visit to his private residence.
The Complaint That Led to the Ban
According to accounts given to The Wall Street Journal by former employees, the young woman, who worked at the club's spa, reported that Epstein had been sexually suggestive during appointments and had on occasion exposed himself. This was not an isolated concern; female staff members had reportedly been quietly warning each other about Epstein's inappropriate behaviour for some time. The staff also claimed that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's girlfriend at the time, used the spa's premises to approach young workers for private, unauthorised jobs outside the club.
Following the beautician's serious complaint in 2003, a manager at Mar-a-Lago took decisive action. The manager sent a fax to then-owner Donald Trump, outlining the allegations and explicitly recommending that Epstein be banned from the property. The employees stated that Trump reviewed the matter and responded that it was appropriate to sever all ties with Epstein. Notably, this complaint was not forwarded to the Palm Beach police at the time.
Epstein's Unofficial 'Member' Status
Despite the ban, the former employees provided crucial context about Epstein's prior relationship with the club. They clarified that Jeffrey Epstein was never a fee-paying member of Mar-a-Lago. However, throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, he regularly received visits at his home from the club's spa staff for services like massages and manicures. Staff were instructed to treat him "like a member," and appointments were typically booked using an internal account, often by Ghislaine Maxwell herself.
Employees' Account Supports Trump's Long-Standing Claim
The narrative from the former employees broadly aligns with Donald Trump's repeated public statements over the years. Trump has consistently claimed that he removed Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago around 2004, once describing him as a "creep." Trump's version has centred on Epstein allegedly poaching staff from the club's spa.
"People were taken out of the spa, hired by him, in other words, gone. And other people would come and complain, 'This guy is taking people from the spa,'" Trump said in a statement last July. "I didn't know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him... 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people.'... And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, 'Out of here.'"
When pressed on whether those workers were young women, Trump confirmed, "the answer is yes, they were." He was also asked if one of those hired away was Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein who died by suicide last year. Trump responded, "I think she worked at the spa. I think that was one of the people. He stole her." He added that Giuffre had "no complaints" about Mar-a-Lago itself.
These employee accounts provide a detailed backdrop to a chapter in the long and disturbing saga of Jeffrey Epstein, confirming the timeline and circumstances under which he was declared persona non grata at one of America's most famous private clubs.
