WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and threw the now-disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

Dogged by questions on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal even from Scotland, President Donald Trump again sought to put distance between himself and the sex offender — offering one of his most thorough personal explanations to date on his former relationship with the disgraced financier.

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.

President Donald Trump said he cut ties with friend Jeffrey Epstein because the wealthy financier and sex offender "stole people that worked for me."

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he "never had the privilege" of visiting Jeffrey Epstein's island, saying he turned down an invitation from the convicted sex offender in what the president called a moment of good judgment.

The president struggles to shift the conversation away from Epstein as his supporters demand the release of files about the case.