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—as DOJ released a full transcript and audio of its interview with Maxwell Friday as prosecutors started handing over their Epstein files to Congress.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.