Before the House Oversight Committee released some files on the Jeffrey Epstein case, the Department of Justice made another release of information related to the disgraced financier.
Here are some of the key things to know about the audio and a transcript of the DOJ’s interview with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, which was released the same day the department turned over an initial batch of Epstein files to the Oversight Committee:
• First, a couple things to keep in mind: Maxwell is a convicted sex offender with ongoing appeals, and the Justice Department during President Donald Trump’s first term labeled her a liar. The Maxwell interview conducted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ultimately does not add much to the public knowledge of Epstein. But after it took place, she was moved to a lower-security prison camp, in a move the administration has yet to publicly explain.
• Maxwell didn’t implicate Trump or anyone else: The Epstein accomplice said she never witnessed anything untoward in Trump’s friendship with the disgraced financier, and never heard of any allegations that Trump acted inappropriately. She also said there is no so-called Epstein client list.
• She also did not come clean herself: Maxwell denied that Epstein paid her millions of dollars to recruit young women for him, including anyone from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. She also denied witnessing any nonconsensual sex acts.
• Her answer on Epstein’s suicide: Maxwell theorized on the cause of Epstein’s death in prison, which is the subject of intense scrutiny and conspiracy theories. “I do not believe he died by suicide, no,” she said. Asked to speculate on who might have killed Epstein, she said she didn’t know.
• High-profile names: The transcripts only redacted the names of victims and left in the names of well-known people who Maxwell and Blanche discussed, including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Harvey Weinstein, and others. She did not directly implicate any of them in wrongdoing.
• Maxwell made a point to flatter Trump: She complimented Trump for “his extraordinary achievement” of becoming president, adding, “I like him, and I’ve always liked him.”