Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, informed US officials that a highly talked about “client list” does not exist, as per a released transcript of her interview.
During a July interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell stated she was “not aware of any blackmail” and did not witness any improper conduct by President Donald Trump or former President Bill Clinton.
She also discussed her and Epstein’s relationship with Prince Andrew and dismissed allegations of him having sexual relations with an underage girl in her home as “mind-blowingly not conceivable”.
Maxwell is seeking a pardon from Trump and has been accused of lying to federal officials.
The interview took place as the Trump administration was under continued pressure to disclose more information about Epstein – with whom Trump was friendly before, according to the president, they fell out in 2004.
Shortly after the interview with Blanche – who previously worked as Trump’s personal attorney – Maxwell was moved from her Florida prison to another low-security prison in Texas. It’s unclear why the move was made.
The White House has firmly stated that “no leniency is being given or discussed” in Maxwell’s case.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a sex trafficking scheme, and has petitioned the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction. Her attorney has said they would “welcome” a pardon from the president.
Pressure has also been growing from Trump’s own Republican Party for more transparency around investigations of Epstein. But the president has accused his political opponents of using the case to distract from what he sees as his administration’s victories.
In the transcripts – which amount to 300 pages, some heavily redacted – Maxwell said that while she believes Trump and Epstein were friendly “in social settings”, she does not think they were close friends.
“I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting,” she said, alluding to the massage services that some victims have said were used to enlist them in Epstein’s crimes. “The President was never inappropriate with anybody.”
“In the times I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects,” she added.
She also said she doesn’t recall Trump sending Epstein 50th birthday note in 2003, which drew recent headlines after the note was reported in the Wall Street Journal.
In the interview, Blanche also asked Maxwell about the alleged “client list” of high-profile personalities that has become the object of conspiracy theories in recent years.
Maxwell was asked about several other well-known figures, including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, actor Kevin Spacey, model Naomi Campbell and Prince Andrew – whom she denied she introduced to Epstein.
The list of his high-profile associates had become a focal point for conspiracy theorists who insisted that it was being kept hidden by the “deep state” to protect prominent participants in Epstein’s crimes.
Several figures in Trump’s administration – including FBI Director Kash Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino – repeated those claims in the past, although they have since backtracked.
“There is no list,” Maxwell said.
She also spoke about Prince Andrew, whose relationship with Epstein led to a fallout where he stepped down from royal duties.
She called it a “flat untruth” that she’d been the one who introduced the Duke of York to Epstein.
“First of all, let’s just state, I did not introduce him to Prince Andrew,” she said.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd3pe6189go?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
