Mar-a-Lago’s Dark Secret: Years of Sending Young Spa Workers to Jeffrey Epstein
New WSJ reporting on Epstein ties, Project 2025 warnings, and Ukraine peace traps raises tough questions about oversight, ignored signals, and global consequences
It’s New Year’s Eve 2025. As midnight approaches, many of us are making resolutions for 2026—often centered on family and how best to protect our children in an increasingly digital and unpredictable world.
A recent Anonymous video circulating online alleges disturbing connections between Trump and Epstein involving Miss Teen USA pageants—claiming unchecked access to young contestants and patterns of entitlement that echo broader concerns about powerful men and vulnerable teens. While the video’s claims are serious and warrant scrutiny, it serves as a stark reminder of the risks young people face, both online and in real life.
Just yesterday, on December 30, The Wall Street Journal published a major investigation uncovering new details about Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and its ties to Jeffrey Epstein—further fueling questions about oversight, ignored warnings, and the protection of young women in elite spaces.
Domestic:
Years of House Calls Despite Warnings For years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mar-a-Lago’s spa sent young female employees to Epstein’s nearby mansion for massages, manicures, and other services—despite him not being a dues-paying member (Trump had explicitly instructed staff to treat him as one). These house calls continued even as internal warnings mounted, only halting after a 2003 complaint from an 18-year-old worker.
The Routine House Calls to Epstein’s Mansion Epstein maintained his own spa account; Ghislaine Maxwell frequently booked appointments for him (and charged her own services to it). Young licensed cosmetologists and massage therapists were regularly dispatched just two miles to his home for years, even as red flags began to emerge among staff.
Staff Warnings and Epstein’s Known Behavior Spa employees cautioned each other privately: Epstein was known for sexually suggestive comments and sometimes exposing himself during appointments. Managers issued warnings to staff before sending them, but continued the practice anyway—citing his preference for “privacy” at home.
Early Concerns from Marla Maples As far back as the mid-1990s, shortly after Mar-a-Lago opened, Trump’s then-wife Marla Maples told staff and reportedly Trump himself that something felt deeply “off” and “wrong” about Epstein, expressing unease about his influence. Despite this, he kept attending club events and receiving services.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s Recruitment at the Spa Maxwell went beyond booking—she actively scouted young workers, offering unauthorized “extra cash” for private massages at Epstein’s home. This directly led to the 2000 recruitment of Virginia Giuffre (then 16; she died by suicide this year), and the Journal identified four other Mar-a-Lago employees listed in Epstein’s seized address book.
The 2003 Incident That Ended It The turning point came when an 18-year-old beautician returned from a house call and reported to managers that Epstein had pressured her for sex. She disclosed it to HR (yet it was never reported to police), and a manager faxed the allegations to Trump, who ordered Epstein banned from the spa.
The Aftermath and Lingering Questions Trump finally acted—but only after years of accumulated warnings and unease. Palm Beach police didn’t investigate Epstein until 2005, and the White House today dismisses the story as a smear, insisting Trump “kicked him out for being a creep.” The deeper question remains: why the prolonged delays, and why the silence?
Ongoing Epstein File Chaos DOJ is now reviewing “more than 5 million pages” of Epstein-related material, per the Guardian/NYT—weeks past the Dec. 19 deadline. They’re trying to enlist ~400 lawyers and say the review runs until at least Jan. 20. “Transparency” by chaos: dump, redact, retract, repeat.
Project 2025: Speaking in Code When Michael Cohen testified in 2019, he warned that powerful people rarely announce intentions openly—they speak in code. Project 2025, the 900-page Heritage Foundation blueprint backed by over 100 conservative groups, is the latest masterclass in this art. It never uses words like “extraction” or “consolidation of power.” Instead, it wraps radical restructuring in soothing terms: “accountability,” “freedom,” “choice,” and “reform.” The result is the most comprehensive plan in modern history to shift wealth, rights, and control from ordinary Americans to entrenched elites—while sounding entirely reasonable on the surface.
International:
Putin’s Peace Trap Just yesterday, Zelenskyy met Trump at Mar-a-Lago. The encounter stayed civil, with headlines noting “progress but no breakthrough.” Yet Trump’s remarks about Putin being “generous” toward Ukraine—offering cheap energy and electricity—echo Kremlin talking points almost verbatim. As Garry Kasparov has pointed out, this isn’t generosity toward a sovereign nation; it’s the vision of an energy-dependent vassal state.
False Guarantees and Surrender Without sustained Western pressure on Russia, any “deal” risks becoming Ukraine’s capitulation dressed as peace. The Budapest Memorandum already showed how security assurances can evaporate when convenient. A vague U.S. guarantee now—laced with caveats—could push Ukraine back into Moscow’s orbit while signaling to authoritarians worldwide that aggression pays.
The Cost of Weakness Ending the war through Ukrainian concessions would tell Putin and others that the free world no longer defends its values. Military conquest would again become profitable. Europe must unite and make clear: aggressors gain nothing, and the West will defend freedom—whatever the cost.
We live in a free nation where truth matters above power.
Reporters Joe Palazzolo, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Khadeeja Safdar have shone vital light into these shadows—reminding us of journalism’s role in holding the powerful accountable.
Even tonight, Trump turned New Year’s into anger, posting about “FREE TINA PETERS” and wishing enemies “rot in Hell”—framing lies as martyrdom. But it’s really about truth: the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Epstein’s full story—of enablers and ignored warnings—must not fade. There must be justice.
My New Year’s resolution is simple but firm: to talk more openly with the younger generation about the risks in the world—online and offline—creating everyday dialogue where questions are always welcome and nothing is hidden.
The approach is clear: don’t hide the dangers—talk about them openly so children learn to recognize and report them. Many parents choose strict boundaries, such as banning TikTok entirely for young kids or removing them from group chats where the tone feels unhealthy. Ultimately, transparency, clear limits, and ongoing conversation often prove more protective than total avoidance alone.
Happy New Year! Let’s light it up, the night is young! 🍾🥳