President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday he had a falling out with admitted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "a long time ago."
"I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him," Trump said, adding Epstein was a "fixture in Palm Beach."
"I had a falling out with him a long time ago," Trump continued. "I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn't a fan."
Trump previously praised Epstein as a "terrific guy" and once welcomed him aboard his private plane, according to court documents released Tuesday. But Trump allegedly banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, sometime before 2011 because Epstein "sexually assaulted a girl at the club," reports the New York Post.
Trump on Tuesday also said he feels "very badly" for his Labor Secretary, Alex Acosta, who was the U.S. attorney in 2008 when Epstein was offered a secret plea deal by federal prosecutors for similar accusations.
"I can tell you that for two and a half years he has been just an excellent Secretary of Labor," Trump claimed, adding, "he's done a fantastic job. Part of it is our economy is so good, our numbers at record lows paid so many good things happening. The fact is he's been a very good Secretary of Labor."
Many Democrats have called on Acosta to resign following Epstein's indictment on sex trafficking charges.
Epstein only served 13 months in prison for felony prostitution charges and received immunity from federal sex-trafficking charges that could have sent him to prison for life in 2008.
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