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DOJ releases Ghislaine Maxwell transcripts
The Justice Department connected Friday released transcripts of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's two-day interrogation with convicted enactment trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein subordinate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The transcripts — which tally for implicit 300 pages — came aft Blanche traveled to Florida past period to conscionable with Maxwell, pursuing pushback implicit the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case's fallout. The merchandise of the transcripts came arsenic the Justice Department besides turned implicit thousands of pages of files successful the Epstein lawsuit to the House Oversight Committee, which said it would publish, aft kid intersexual maltreatment worldly and immoderate accusation identifying victims is redacted.
The Justice Department besides released audio recordings of the Blanche-Maxwell conversation.
At the outset, Blanche told Maxwell the interrogation was not portion of a "cooperation deal." He said that she had immunity during their conversations, meaning the authorities wouldn't usage thing she said against her, but helium made nary promises to inquire the justice successful Maxwell's lawsuit for leniency. He did accidental that the authorities could prosecute her if she made mendacious statements during the interview.
"By you gathering with america today, we're truly conscionable meeting, I'm not promising to bash anything," helium said.
What bash the Maxwell-Blanche transcripts say?
Throughout the interviews, Blanche asked Maxwell astir her narration with Epstein and others successful the precocious financier's orbit. He besides asked astir immoderate of the allegations made against her and Epstein, who died successful national custody successful 2019 portion awaiting proceedings connected enactment trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison condemnation connected charges that she helped Epstein enlistee and maltreatment underage victims.
In immoderate cases, the names of accusers look to beryllium redacted.
Maxwell said she whitethorn person archetypal met President Trump successful 1990. She said her father, British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, was "friendly with him and liked him precise much," and helium was fond of Mr. Trump's ex-wive Ivana Trump.
Later successful the interview, Blanche asked astir Maxwell and Epstein's relationships with celebrated people, including Mr. Trump. She said Mr. Trump "was ever precise cordial and precise benignant to me," adding that "I respect his bonzer accomplishment successful becoming the President now." She besides said Mr. Trump and Epstein "seemed friendly," but she "only ever saw them successful societal settings," not backstage settings.
She said she "never witnessed the President successful immoderate inappropriate mounting successful immoderate way."
She besides claimed she "can't ever recollect" recruiting idiosyncratic from Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago nine to springiness Epstein a massage. Late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre had alleged that Maxwell recruited her portion she worked astatine Mar-a-Lago successful the aboriginal 2000s.
She besides addressed her narration with erstwhile President Bill Clinton, whom she claimed was "my friend, not Epstein's friend." She did not look to impeach Clinton oregon Mr. Trump of inappropriate behavior.
Maxwell describes her narration with Epstein
In 1991, Maxwell said she struck up a relationship with Epstein. Maxwell was asked by Blanche successful item astir her intersexual narration with Epstein, which she says started successful 1992. She told the lawman lawyer wide that it is simply a "misnomer" that she was with Epstein consistently arsenic a partner, and that she did not cognize helium had different girlfriends until the Epstein formation logs were released.
"Contemporaneously, I perfectly did not know," astir different women Epstein was with, Maxwell said, adding that by 1999, their narration had "foundered."
Maxwell told Blanche that contempt their carnal narration ending, she was inactive being paid by the disgraced financier, and that the 2 occasionally shared a furniture unneurotic arsenic "friends with benefits, if you will, conscionable not sex."
Maxwell said astatine archetypal she was paid $25,000 a twelvemonth to enactment for Epstein, starting successful 1992, and by the extremity of the payments successful 2009, she was being paid $250,000 per year. Between 2010 and Epstein's 2019 death, Maxwell said her narration with him was "almost nonexistent," though she acknowledges they exchanged occasional telephone calls and emails.
Maxwell addresses Epstein's lawsuit — and death
Maxwell told Blanche determination is "no list," referring to the conspiracy mentation that Epstein maintained a achromatic publication of clients who engaged successful intersexual enactment with minors connected his properties.
She speculated that she does not judge that Epstein died by termination successful jail, saying that "it's possible," but that it is imaginable helium was killed by different inmate.
"If it is so murder, I judge it was an interior situation," Maxwell said, adding that she does "not person immoderate crushed to judge that" helium was killed to screen up accusation Epstein had.
"I besides deliberation it's ludicrous, due to the fact that if that -- I besides hap to deliberation if that is what they wanted, they would've had plentifulness of accidental erstwhile helium wasn't successful jail. And if they were disquieted astir blackmail oregon thing from him, helium would've been a precise casual target," Maxwell said.
Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus thanked the Trump medication for releasing the transcripts successful a connection posted to X. He besides insisted that Maxwell is innocent.
"Ms. Maxwell answered each question. She did not garbage to respond and did not dodge immoderate question. She supported her answers with documents and different nonsubjective evidence. Her demeanor and credibility are wide for anyone to hear," Markus wrote.
Read the Ghislaine Maxwell interrogation transcripts
Sara Cook and Nick Kurtz contributed to this report.
Joe Walsh is simply a elder exertion for integer authorities astatine CBS News. Joe antecedently covered breaking quality for Forbes and section quality successful Boston.
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