Takeaways from Justice Department interviews of Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell

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In the hundreds of pages of transcripts from Justice Department interviews of Ghislaine Maxwell, the erstwhile woman of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein spoke glowingly of President Donald Trump, called him a “gentleman successful each respects” and describing him arsenic “friendly” with Epstein.

Both Trump’s supporters and his Democratic opponents person clamored for documents astir the lawsuit to beryllium made public. In the transcripts released Friday, Maxwell besides details what she knew of Epstein’s interactions with different high-profile men, including erstwhile President Bill Clinton, existent Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Britain’s Prince Andrew, saying she ne'er observed untoward behaviour from immoderate of them.

Here are cardinal takeaways:

What documents were released by the government

The transcripts are from interviews Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted with Maxwell past month. The sit-down came arsenic the Trump medication scrambled to contiguous itself arsenic transparent amid backlash among adjacent immoderate of Trump’s astir loyal supporters implicit a perceived breached committedness to merchandise much accusation connected Epstein’s case.

Trump has faced questions astir a long-ago relationship with Epstein and arsenic his medication has endured continued scrutiny implicit its handling of grounds from the sex-trafficking case.

The ire peaked erstwhile Attorney General Pam Bondi said past period that Epstein did not permission down a “client list,” aft earlier suggesting it was connected her desk, and said nary different grounds would beryllium released.

Blanche aboriginal interviewed the imprisoned Maxwell astatine a Florida courthouse.

What Maxwell said astir Trump

The transcripts amusement Maxwell repeatedly denying nether questioning from Blanche that she had observed Trump engaged successful immoderate signifier of intersexual behavior

Maxwell recalled knowing astir Trump and perchance gathering him for the archetypal clip successful 1990 erstwhile her paper magnate father, Robert Maxwell, was the proprietor of the New York Daily News.

“I whitethorn person met Donald Trump astatine that time, due to the fact that my begetter was affable with him and liked him precise much,” Maxwell said, according to the transcript, saying that her precocious begetter had been fond of Trump’s then-wife Ivana “because she was besides from Czechoslovakia wherever my dada was from.”

“As acold arsenic I’m concerned, President Trump was ever precise cordial and precise benignant to me,” Maxwell said. “I respect his bonzer accomplishment successful becoming the president now. And I similar him, and I’ve ever liked him. So that is the sum and substance of my full narration with him.”

Maxwell told Blanche she didn’t cognize however Epstein and Trump met nor however they became friends.

“I surely saw them unneurotic and I retrieve the fewer times I observed them together, but they were friendly,” she said. “I mean, they seemed friendly.”

Maxwell said she recalled lone seeing Epstein and Trump successful societal settings, not backstage settings. Asked by Blanche if she ever observed Trump receiving a massage, she answered: “Never.”

“I really ne'er saw the President successful immoderate benignant of massage setting,” Maxwell said. “I ne'er witnessed the President successful immoderate inappropriate mounting successful immoderate way. The President was ne'er inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, helium was a man successful each respects.”

When Maxwell past saw Trump

Maxwell estimated that she hadn’t seen Trump since the mid-2000s, again successful a societal setting. Asked if she ever heard Epstein oregon anyone other accidental Trump “had done thing inappropriate with masseuses” oregon anyone other successful their orbit, Maxwell replied: “Absolutely never, successful immoderate context.”

Maxwell said she and Epstein would spell to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, often separately, though she didn’t accidental specifically erstwhile that was. She said she “loved going there” and that Epstein would “maybe spell himself to the spa. I surely did.”

Maxwell said RFK Jr. and Epstein were friends

While being quizzed astir which almighty men were friends with Epstein, Maxwell told Blanche that Epstein did cognize Robert Kennedy Jr., who leads the Health and Human Services Department nether Trump. Maxwell said they went connected a travel unneurotic “dinosaur bony hunting successful the Dakotas” successful the aboriginal 1990s.

Asked by Blanche if she had immoderate recollection of immoderate inappropriate behaviour involving Kennedy connected the trip, Maxwell replied: “I ne'er saw thing inappropriate with Mr. Kennedy.”

What she said astir Epstein and Prince Andrew

Maxwell spoke favorably of Britain’s Prince Andrew and dismissed arsenic “rubbish” the precocious Virginia Giuffre’s assertion that she was paid to person a narration with Andrew and that helium had enactment with her astatine Maxwell’s London home. She denied introducing Epstein to Prince Andrew, utilizing a British idiom to picture however she felt they wouldn’t person thing successful common.

“I couldn’t ideate them being friends. Two chalk and cheeses would ne'er — I mean, for real, there’s thing determination to link them,” she told Blanche.

Maxwell questioned the details of Giuffre’s claim, telling Blanche that she wasn’t adjacent successful London erstwhile the purported enactment happened. Rather, she said, she was successful the state celebrating her mother’s 80th birthday.

Maxwell said her location is truthful tiny — astir 900 quadrate feet (83.6 quadrate meters) with choky quarters — that it would’ve been physically intolerable to person enactment successful the bathroom, arsenic Giuffre claimed.

Giuffre became an advocator for enactment trafficking survivors aft emerging arsenic a cardinal fig successful Epstein’s prolonged downfall. The prince settled with Giuffre successful 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to marque a “substantial donation” to her survivors’ organization.

Maxwell discussed different high-profile men

Asked astir trips she went connected with high-profile men, Maxwell said it was hard to retrieve details, arsenic they became a “blur.”

“And aft a while, you know, successful the unthinkable occupation that you have, each of you, that erstwhile you’re truthful precocious pressured and you’re spending truthful overmuch clip with bonzer radical similar you bash with President Trump, it — it tin blur,” she said. “It conscionable does.”

Blanche pressed Maxwell connected whether she knew definite high-profile names, specified arsenic Elon Musk and erstwhile New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Maxwell said she met Musk astir 2010 oregon 2011 during an lawsuit for the co-founder of Google that Epstein did not be and past saw Musk again aboriginal astatine the Oscars.

Maxwell told Blanche she was friends with Cuomo’s ex-wife, Kerry, but had lone met him a fewer times and she didn’t deliberation Cuomo knew Epstein. Maxwell said she had nary recollection of either antheral flying connected Epstein’s level oregon ever visiting his homes.

Maxwell’s interrogation wasn’t lone adjuvant to Trump, but besides different one-time White House occupant with Epstein ties: erstwhile President Bill Clinton.

Maxwell told Blanche that Clinton was initially her friend, not Epstein’s, and that she ne'er saw him person a massage — nor did she judge helium ever did.

The lone times they were together, she said, were the 2 twelve oregon truthful times they traveled connected Epstein’s plane.

“That would’ve been the lone clip that I deliberation that President Clinton could person adjacent received a massage,” Maxwell said. “And helium didn’t, due to the fact that I was there.”

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Michael R. Sisak, Adriana Gomez Licon, Alanna Durkin Richer and Matt Brown contributed reporting.

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Kinnard tin beryllium reached astatine http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

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