Topline
Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell told the Justice Department she never witnessed any “inappropriate” behavior by powerful men connected to Epstein—including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton—according to a full transcript of the interview, though her truthfulness remains under heavy scrutiny.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Key Facts
The government released its full interview with Maxwell, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted over the course of two days in July, after the DOJ said it would interview Maxwell amid the public outcry over the agency refusing to release its full files on Epstein to the public.
Maxwell absolved President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein in her testimony, telling Blanche she “never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way,” though she acknowledged Trump and Epstein were “friendly like people are in social settings.”
She also said she did not believe President Bill Clinton had ever received a massage from any of Epstein’s sex trafficking victims, and more broadly said she “never, ever saw any man doing something inappropriate with a woman of any age.”
Maxwell did not corroborate the Wall Street Journal’s report on Trump sending a “bawdy” letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday, telling Blanche she did not have any recollection of Trump submitting a letter.
She also denied a number of other reports regarding her involvement with Epstein, including that she recruited masseuses from Mar-a-Lago to work with Epstein, that she was paid $30 million as a “reward” for recruiting women for Epstein and that she introduced the financier to Prince Andrew.
Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus thanked Blanche for making the transcript public in a statement on X on Friday, claiming the full interview makes “clear” that his client “is innocent and never should have been tried, much less convicted, in this case.”
What To Watch For
The transcript of Maxwell’s interview is one of a number of Epstein-related files the Justice Department is turning over to the House Oversight Committee in response to a subpoena for its documents on Epstein, with the DOJ turning over its first tranche of documents Friday afternoon. The committee told Forbes it intends to make those documents public, but it’s unclear when that will happen, as lawmakers intend to review the materials first to ensure victims’ identities are redacted.
What Did Ghislaine Maxwell Say About Trump?
Maxwell broadly praised the president in her interview with Blanche, saying she met the now-president through her father in the 1990s and she “like[s] him, and I’ve always liked him.” The Epstein associate told Blanche that “Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me” and praised his ascendance to the presidency, saying she “admire[s] his extraordinary achievement” in getting to the White House. Maxwell said she “certainly saw” Trump with Epstein and the two were “friendly,” and that both she and Epstein went to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. She didn’t believe the two men were “close friends,” however, and said she never saw Trump at Epstein’s house. When asked if Trump had ever received a massage from one of Epstein’s victims or done “anything inappropriate,” Maxwell responded, “Absolutely never, in any context.”
Why Ghislaine Maxwell’s Testimony Is Problematic
Maxwell’s testimony has come under scrutiny even before the transcript was released, due to the socialite’s history of alleged perjury. Maxwell was charged with perjury in 2020 for allegedly lying during a 2016 deposition in a civil lawsuit about Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse. The charges were later dropped after being separated from the other counts against Maxwell that eventually went to trial, as prosecutors agreed to drop the charges in exchange for Maxwell not pursuing a re-trial on her harsher sex trafficking charges. Maxwell has denied the perjury accusations. Her testimony has also raised questions due to the fact it could have been personally beneficial to her to say favorable things about Trump and absolve him from wrongdoing. Trump has not ruled out pardoning Maxwell, and she was moved to a different prison with much more minimal security following her interview. Her attorney Markus insisted following her DOJ interview that she had answered Blanche’s questions truthfully. Markus claimed Maxwell “wants to tell the truth” and argued there would not be a point to her lying, because anything she said could be “corroborated or disproven.”
Is There An Epstein ‘client List’?
Maxwell denied the existence of a so-called Epstein “client list” detailing the financiers associates, telling Blanche, “There is no list.” The socialite claimed the existence of the list was a rumor that evolved out of efforts by other parties to detail evidence or names of people associated with Epstein, but there is no list Epstein created that details people involved with his crimes. Maxwell’s testimony is in line with other reports suggesting the “client list” does not exist, including by Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown, who broke the story about Epstein’s widespread sexual abuse.
This story is breaking and will be updated.