President Trump said Monday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

Speaking to reporters in Scotland on Monday, the president was asked about his relationship with the late Epstein and why the pair fell out in the mid-2000s. Trump called the squabble “such old history,” explaining that he gave Epstein the boot after he poached employees from Trump’s businesses.

White House aides have made it clear that no one in the administration is allowed to talk about Epstein without high-level vetting as Trump attempts to change the subject.

Trump said he ended his friendship with Epstein after Epstein hired his staff. He denied involvement in Epstein tributes and supports full case transparency.

Any time I say anything about Epstein, they’re like, ‘Why didn’t Joe Biden’s — why didn’t Joe Biden release the files?’ And this is what I say: Have you met Merrick Garland?” Tanden

The case of Jeffrey Epstein, sex offender and former friend of the president, has blown up into a major headache for the White House.

He—the president, their leader, the martyr who had endured scandals and prosecution and an assassin’s bullet on their behalf—had repeatedly told them it was time to move on, and that alone should suffice. Why, he groused, would the White House add fuel to the fire, would it play into the media’s narrative?

A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes.