Jeffrey Epstein's jailed ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell has consistently denied witnessing sexual misconduct by Donald Trump in interviews with the U.S. Justice Department, according to documents released Friday that show the Republican leader's efforts to disassociate himself from the compromised financier.
Trump's team has released pages of transcripts of conversations between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last month, a move that comes as the administration seeks to show openness after criticism for withholding material related to the sex-trafficking case.
According to the materials, during interrogations, the former socialite invariably emphasized the impeccable behavior of the ex-president, denying the existence of any compromising episodes.
The release of the denials comes at a time of heightened debate about Trump's relationship with Epstein and increased scrutiny of the administration's handling of evidence in the case.
The disclosure of the interviews is seen as another attempt by the administration to soften the political fallout from its own miscalculations, including the advancement of unsubstantiated hypotheses and promises that went unfulfilled.
The release of the two days of interviews appears to be aimed at temporarily pacifying Trump supporters while simultaneously turning over previously withheld material to Congress.
“I have never personally been present at a massage session involving the president,” Maxwell is quoted as saying in the transcript.
“I have not observed him in compromising situations. His behavior has always been in line with the norms. During our communication, he demonstrated impeccable manners.”
According to the convicted woman, her acquaintance with Trump allegedly began in 1990 through her father, media mogul Robert Maxwell, who owned the New York Daily News.
She mentioned frequent visits to the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, including solo visits, but noted a cessation of contact since the mid-2000s.
Asked about possible knowledge of wrongdoing by Trump, Maxwell said: “Never, under any circumstances, from Epstein or anyone else.”
The British socialite, convicted in 2021 of aiding and abetting the exploitation of minors, testified against Blanche in a Florida federal court under the protection of qualified immunity, which guarantees immunity except in cases of perjury.
Following the interview, Maxwell was transferred from a maximum-security prison in Florida, where she is serving a 20-year sentence, to a general correctional facility in Texas.
The defendant's lawyers and the federal prison service have not commented on the reasons for the transfer, but defense attorney David Oscar Marcus has stated on social media that his client was “unfairly convicted.”
At the same time, the Ministry of Justice began to transfer investigation documents to the relevant committee of the House of Representatives, which are supposed to be made public after the personal data is edited.
Interest in the case has been fuelled by Epstein's connections to influential figures including Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Trump, who announced he had severed ties with the financier long before the criminal case was launched.
Maxwell noted that Clinton was initially a personal acquaintance of hers, denying his involvement in Epstein's massage practices. According to her, their communication was limited to two dozen joint flights.
She also called the late Virginia Giuffre's claims of receiving money for intimate encounters with Prince Andrew absurd, denying any such incidents at her London home.
“If there was any possibility for Clinton to participate in massage treatments, it was excluded by my presence,” the convicted woman stated.
Maxwell distanced herself from Epstein's criminal activities, acknowledging only his interest in young women but denying knowledge of the involvement of minors.
“Initially it was about 20-year-olds, later the age was lowered, but I didn't see it as criminal behavior,” she explained to Blanche.
Epstein, arrested in 2019 for sexually exploiting teenagers, died a month later in a New York cell in circumstances classified as suicide.
The situation has intensified domestic political tensions after the FBI and Justice Department announced that they were closing the case, dispelling conspiracy theories about the existence of a “client list” and additional materials that Attorney General Pam Bondi said were missing.
The move sparked outrage among conspiracy theorists and Trump supporters who had been expecting revelations about the elites, fueled by statements from officials including former FBI Director Cash Patel, who claimed to the media before his appointment that he had control over Epstein’s “black book.”
The culmination came in February with a White House presentation where right-wing activists were shown materials marked “Declassified,” mostly containing publicly available information.
After the failure of this PR campaign, Bondi announced that she would examine a “massive array” of hidden evidence, which raised new expectations, but the Justice Department later said that further publication was inappropriate, citing the need to protect victims.
Trump, trying to smooth over the fallout, shut down discussions about Epstein at a cabinet meeting, calling supporters who believe in “conspiracy myths” naive.
Within the administration, the conflict reached its climax during a confrontation between Bondi and Dan Bongino in the White House, after which the latter temporarily stopped being active on social media.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
