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By Jenna Sundel and Gabe Whisnant
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The Justice Department on Friday released transcripts of interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime associate, in a move the Trump administration cast as a step toward transparency after weeks of backlash over its refusal to disclose other records in the sex-trafficking case.
The transcripts show Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of luring teenage girls to be abused by Epstein, praising President Donald Trump and telling Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on July 24 that she never saw him engage in sexual behavior.
The Trump administration appeared eager to highlight those denials as the president faced renewed questions about his past ties to Epstein and criticism over the handling of case records. The transcripts cover two days and nine hours of questioning last month by Blanche at a Florida courthouse.
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Maxwell said she never saw Trump in "any inappropriate setting in any way," according to the transcripts.
"The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects," she said, according to the transcripts.
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Why It Matters
The release comes as the administration grapples with anger from Trump supporters who had been primed to expect damaging revelations about prominent figures allegedly connected to Epstein. Officials have insisted many records remain under seal to protect victims, even as conspiracy theories over Epstein's death and alleged "client lists" continue to circulate.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18 in Florida. He was indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors in 2019.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019 while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
The DOJ and FBI announced they found no incriminating "client list" in their review of Epstein's case. The agencies also determined that "no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."
In the transcript released Friday, Maxwell tells Blanche that there is no Epstein client list.
Ghislaine Maxwell DOJ Transcript: What We Know
Maxwell recalled possibly first meeting Trump around 1990, when her father, newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, owned the New York Daily News. She noted her father's fondness for Trump's then-wife, Ivana Trump, who shared his Czechoslovakian background.
"I may have met Donald Trump at that time, because my father was friendly with him and liked him very much," Maxwell said, according to the transcript.
Maxwell said she never saw Trump "in any type of massage setting," according to the transcripts. When asked if she ever heard Epstein or anyone else say Trump "had done anything inappropriate with masseuses," she responded, "Absolutely never, in any context," per the transcripts.
Following the interview with Blanche, Maxwell was transferred from a low-security Florida federal prison to a minimum-security facility in Texas. Neither her lawyer nor the federal Bureau of Prisons has explained the move.
The Epstein case continues to capture public attention due to Epstein's social connections with prominent figures, including former President Bill Clinton and Trump. Neither is accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
Trump has said that his relationship with Epstein ended years before his 2019 indictment and death.
Maxwell told Blanche that Clinton was originally her friend, not Epstein's, and said she never saw him receive a massage or believed he ever did. She said their only interactions were on roughly two dozen trips aboard Epstein's plane.
Maxwell also praised Britain's Prince Andrew and rejected as "rubbish" late accuser Virginia Giuffre's claim that she was paid to have a relationship with Andrew and that he had sex with her at Maxwell's London home.
Was Ghislaine Maxwell pardoned?
Trump has not pardoned Maxwell, but he has commented on the possibility while speaking to the press.
"Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it, nobody's asked me about it," Trump told reporters last month. "It's in the news about that—that aspect of it, but right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it."
Trump told reporters on Friday that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to give "everything" the Department of Justice (DOJ) has on the Epstein files to the House Oversight Committee should they request them.
"I'm in support of keeping it totally open. I couldn't care less," Trump said in an apparent change in stance after fiercely resisting their release earlier this summer.
What People Are Saying
Ghislaine Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to the transcripts released by the DOJ: "President Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me. And I just want to say that I find, I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the President now. And I like him, and I've always liked him. So that is the sum and substance of my entire relationship with him."
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in an X post announcing the transcripts: "Except for the names of victims, every word is included. Nothing removed. Nothing hidden."
What Happens Next
Maxwell has appealed her case to the Supreme Court, but the Court has yet to decide whether it will hear the case.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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Update 8/22/25, 5:24 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 8/22/25, 7:15 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and remarks.
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