Virginia Giuffre's Family Questions What Trump Knew About Epstein Crimes

Virginia Giuffre's family is calling into question whether President Donald Trump really didn't know anything about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes ... after his comment claiming Epstein "stole" Virginia from Mar-a-Lago.

Here's the deal ... Trump was speaking to reporters Tuesday when his relationship with Epstein came up again -- and, he talked about a falling out he said they had when Epstein kept poaching his employees.

When asked if Virginia was one of the Mar-a-Lago employees -- who was working at Trump's private club in Florida when she was 16 -- the prez replied, "I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people. He stole her, and by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever."

Virginia's family responded in a public statement that Trump's comments shocked them ... specifically the part about Virginia being "stolen" from the club.

They write, "It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey 'likes women on the younger side ... no doubt about it.' We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed out later in the day that the press specifically asked about Virginia ... the president didn't bring her up out of nowhere.

The family also called on the president not to pardon Ghislaine ... calling her "a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life for the extraordinary violence and abuse she put not just our sister Virginia through, but many other survivors, who may number in the thousands."

As you know ... Virginia's family announced she died by suicide at her home in Australia back in April. She was just 41 years old.