Justice Department releases transcripts of interviews with Epstein aide Ghislaine Maxwell

WASHINGTON − The Justice Department on Aug. 22 released transcripts of interviews that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted last month with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned former girlfriend and associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, in which she absolved President Donald Trump of any wrongdoing.

"The President was never inappropriate with anybody," Maxwell says at one point in the two days of marathon interviews on July 24 and 25. "In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects."

Maxwell is angling for a possible pardon by Trump, with whom she interacted socially years ago.

The release of the redacted documents was accompanied by digital audio files of the interviews conducted by Blanche − the DOJ's No. 2 official and Trump's former personal defense lawyer − with Maxwell at a site near the Florida prison where she was serving 20 years for sex trafficking crimes linked to Epstein.

The Trump administration has been heavily criticized in recent weeks over its earlier refusal to release the massive trove of investigative records that the Justice Department and FBI possess in connection with the case. Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting prosecution on sex trafficking charges, prompting a wave of conspiracy theories about who else might be connected to the sex ring he allegedly operated with Maxwell's help.

David Oscar Markus, Maxwell's lawyer who was present for the July 24 and 25 interviews, described his client after the release of the transcripts as a scapegoat who is trying to help the Justice Department get to the bottom of the Epstein case despite what he said were false claims by some of his – and her – accusers.

"Ghislaine Maxwell is innocent and never should have been tried, much less convicted, in this case," Markus said in a statement to USA TODAY. "The materials newly released by the Department of Justice make this clear.  Ms. Maxwell answered every question. She did not refuse to respond and did not dodge any question. She supported her answers with documents and other objective evidence. Her demeanor and credibility are clear for anyone to hear."

"We are thankful to the Department of Justice and to Todd Blanche for making these tapes and transcripts public so that people can judge for themselves," Markus said. "We are also grateful to the President for his continued commitment to the truth in this matter and for refusing to cave to the mob."

The following are excerpts from Maxwell's interviews with the DOJ.

Maxwell says she won't 'sugarcoat' Epstein's misdeeds

Maxwell said she believes Epstein did a lot of the things he was accused of – but not all of them.

“I’m not here to defend him in any respect whatsoever,” she said. “I don't want to, and I don't think he requires, nor deserves any type of protection or – from me in any way, to sugarcoat what he did or didn't do.”

But Maxwell said Epstein changed during the time she knew him.

“I don't think that the man I met is the man that he became,” she said. “I believe he became that man over a period of time.”

'He never loved me and I wasn't his type,' Maxwell says of Epstein

At one point in the interviews, Maxwell suggested that documents in her criminal case caused her to question whether Epstein was truthful with her. There were "indications" that Epstein was telling others "that he never loved me and I wasn't his type," and telling people to lie to her or conceal things from her, she said.

Seeing those documents caused her to think Epstein lied to her to control her, she said.

Maxwell gave the example of Epstein telling her that Les Wexner, a former Victoria Secret CEO, didn't want to be seen with her "too much" because of allegations of financial misdeeds involving her media mogul father's company. But now, Maxwell said she thinks Epstein said that to stop her from traveling with him when Wexner would be involved.

"It was just a way to park me," Maxwell said.

Maxwell weighs in on Epstein's death

Maxwell also told Blanche she didn’t believe Epstein died by suicide, but also said she didn’t think he was killed to silence him from incriminating others in the sex trafficking conspiracy.

“Do you think there was somebody on the outside of prison… who wanted him dead so badly that he would've, or she would've, you know, caused him to be killed on the inside?” Blanche asked.

“I don't see that,” Maxwell said. “I think, is it possible? Of course it's possible. But I don't know of any reason why, and I don't believe in the blackmail or in any of this, I don't think Epstein had a hit on like that.”

“If it is indeed murder, I believe it was an internal situation,” due to a conflict with other inmates or management, she said.

Conspiracy theories about whether Epstein died by suicide intensified earlier this year when glitches in the camera system at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was being housed, became public.

Critics call Maxwell interviews a cover-up for Trump

Critics have said that Blanche's two days of interviews with Maxwell, without the case investigators and prosecutors, were likely an attempt to get the former British socialite – who is appealing her conviction – to absolve Trump of any wrongdoing.

In at least some portion of the interviews, Maxwell appears to do just that.

Although Trump and Epstein have both said they were longtime friends before they had a falling-out, Maxwell describes them this way: "I think they were friendly like people arein social settings."

"I don't – I don't think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the President in any of – I don't recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance," she said, referencing Epstein's residence. "I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way."

At another point, Maxwell tells Blanche how much she admires Trump.

"President Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me. And I just want to say that I find – I – I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the President now," said Maxwell. "And I like him, and I’ve always liked him.”