DOJ Releases Ghislaine Maxwell Interviews Amid Trump-Epstein Backlash
The US Department of Justice has released transcripts and audio recordings of interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former socialite and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls, was questioned over two days in July by Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche. The decision to make these records public has been presented as an act of transparency, but it has also been widely seen as a political move aimed at easing backlash against the Trump administration.
The interviews themselves shed light on Maxwell’s past, her connections, and her perspective on Epstein’s crimes, but they did not provide the kind of bombshells many of Trump’s critics—or supporters—were anticipating. When asked about Donald Trump, Maxwell recalled possibly meeting him in the early 1990s through her father, Robert Maxwell, who was friendly with Trump at the time. In the transcripts, she emphasized that she never saw Trump in any compromising or inappropriate context with Epstein. She even denied ever witnessing Trump at Epstein’s home or being part of the “massage settings” where many of the abuses took place. Those comments aligned with Trump’s longstanding effort to distance himself from Epstein.
Maxwell was also pressed on other high-profile figures. Questions focused on Bill and Hillary Clinton, both of whom had previously been linked to Epstein. Maxwell denied knowledge of any inappropriate conduct involving them, and she rejected suggestions that there was a “client list” of powerful individuals. She went so far as to claim that many of the rumors circulating about Epstein’s network were either exaggerated or simply untrue.
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Still, the transcripts contained some intriguing moments. Maxwell described Epstein’s changing behavior in the late 1990s, linking it to his use of testosterone, which she believed made him more aggressive. She also mentioned his habit of surrounding himself with masseuses, though she claimed she did not know he was sexually exploiting them. At one point, she even described him bragging about connections with African warlords, though she admitted she was unsure whether those claims were serious.
What stood out most, however, was Maxwell’s tone. At times she portrayed herself as a victim of Epstein’s manipulation, stressing her intelligence and privileged background as if to suggest she could not have been fully aware of what was happening. She also reiterated her belief that Epstein did not kill himself in jail, though she suggested his death may have been arranged within the prison system rather than by outside forces.
Her transfer to a minimum-security prison in Texas shortly after the interviews only fueled further speculation. Officials have not explained why the move was made, and Maxwell’s lawyer insists she has asked for nothing in return for her cooperation.
For the Trump administration, the release was clearly intended to calm the uproar after weeks of conspiracy theories and disappointment among his base, who had been led to believe more explosive revelations were coming. Instead, the transcripts seemed to downplay Trump’s connection to Epstein and offered little beyond Maxwell’s own attempts to defend or distance herself.
In the end, the Maxwell interviews may have bought the administration some breathing room, but they did not settle the lingering questions or put to rest the wider storm surrounding Epstein’s legacy and the powerful people once connected to him.
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