WASHINGTON — The late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, told Justice Department officials last month that President Trump was “never inappropriate with anybody” in the time the disgraced financier and future commander in chief were friends.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in December 2021 of sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, sat for two days of interviews led by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in Tallahassee, Fla., last month.
“I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way,” Maxwell told Blanche of her interactions with Trump when he was still an associate of Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Maxwell said Trump was ‘never inappropriate’ while he and Jeffrey Epstein were friends. Getty Images
Audio and transcripts of the interviews were released Friday as the Trump administration seeks to quash rampant speculation about Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell Aug. 10, 2019.
Maxwell, 63, went on in the interview to push back on almost every conspiratorial accusation leveled about Epstein since his first guilty plea in Florida to soliciting sex from a minor, which saw him confined for 13 months — much of that time on work release.
Those included allegations that the disgraced financier had a so-called “client list” of rich and influential associates who were either involved in or blackmailed by Epstein to keep quiet about a shadowy sex trafficking ring that preyed on girls as young as 14.
Maxwell likened the claims to “a Salem witch trial” frenzy against powerful politicians like former President Bill Clinton.
“That narrative that was created and then built upon, and it just mushroomed into what — basically this is like a Salem witch trial,” she explained.
Audio and transcripts of the interviews with Ghislaine were released Friday.
“People have gone and lost their minds for this thing. I understand that. But the issue is, how do you satisfy a mob who can’t understand the lifestyle? Because it’s like P. Diddy in redux on TV with Clintons and Trump,” Maxwell continued.
“I mean, it’s — it’s bananas. And while some of it is real — he [Epstein] did do those things, I’m definitely not disputing that,” she added.
“But this was a man, they didn’t even believe he had a real business. I happen to believe he did.
“He’s not that interesting,” Maxwell summed up her former lover at one point. “He’s a disgusting guy who did terrible things to young kids.”
Maxwell did break with the official story on one point, saying of Epstein “I do not believe he died by suicide,” contradicting the conclusion of a July 6 memo released by the DOJ and FBI.
She added that it was “possible” the 66-year-old was targeted in his Manhattan jail by others, but she didn’t believe that his so-called “blackmail” was being avenged.
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“I don’t think Epstein had a hit on like that. If it is indeed murder, I believe it was an internal situation,” she claimed.
“In prison, where I am, they will kill you or they will pay — somebody can pay a prisoner to kill you for $25 worth of commissary. That’s about the going rate for a hit with a lock today.”
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee revealed that it had also received copies of the Maxwell transcripts “in addition to many other records” on Friday following a request to the DOJ, per a spokeswoman.
“It’s a lot—tens of thousands of pages,” the committee rep added of the first document production.
“The Committee intends to make these records public after thorough review to ensure any victims’ identification and child sexual abuse material are redacted. The Committee will also consult with the DOJ to ensure any documents released do not negatively impact ongoing criminal cases and investigations.”