D
onald Trump's biographer Michael Wolff claims that the falling out between Trump and financier Jeffrey Epstein was over a real estate deal gone sour, not Epstein's alleged sex trafficking. According to Wolff, in 2004, Epstein believed he had made a high bid on a Palm Beach house for $36 million, but Trump went behind his back and offered $40 million, which Wolff alleges came from Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.

    The house was later sold to Rybolovlev for $95 million, just two years after Trump's purchase. Epstein was furious, feeling betrayed by Trump's actions, and began threatening him with lawsuits and media claims of money laundering. Wolff says that Trump panicked and may have even informed the police about Epstein's activities, leading to a 15-year investigation into Epstein's sex trafficking charges.

    Wolff recounts this story in his book "Siege," which Epstein read and became alarmed by, fearing he had said too much. Three weeks later, Epstein was arrested on his return from Paris. This account contradicts Trump's claims that he cut ties with Epstein over the financier poaching young women from Mar-a-Lago's spa.