Testimony

Epstein case, Maxwell: 'Trump polite, never in inappropriate contexts. There is no list"

The Justice Department released the transcript and audio of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former confidante sentenced to 20 years. The woman denied compromising ties with the US president and questioned Epstein's suicide, while attempting to have her conviction overturned

22 August 2025Aggiornato il 23 agosto 2025, ore

4' min read

Key points

What's in the transcripts
Reactions
The state of proceedings against Maxwell
From the first complaints to the non-prosecution agreement (2005-2008)
The Reopening of the Federal Front and Death in Prison (2019)
The Maxwell Inquiry and Process (2020-2022)
What has (and has not) emerged

4' min read

On Friday 22 August,the US Department of Justice (DoJ) released transcripts and audio of two days of questioning (late July) of Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, Jeffrey Epstein's former confidante sentenced to 20 years. Maxwell said she never saw Donald Trump behave inappropriately, denied the existence of a "client list" and questioned whether Epstein committed suicide. All while asking the Supreme Court to overturn the conviction and after a transfer to a minimum-custody penitentiary in Texas that sparked protests from victims.

What's in the transcripts

In the prosecutor's office in Tallahassee (Florida), questioned by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell repeated several times that she had never seen Trump in "inappropriate contexts" and that she considered him "a gentleman". He called the idea of a blackmail apparatus 'fairy tales' and assured: 'There is no list'. The full transcripts and audio are online at the US Department of Justice website.

On Epstein's death, which occurred in prison on 10 August 2019, she said she did not believe the suicide angle. The official position, however, remains the opposite:the New York medical examiner certified suicide by hanging and the DoJ Inspector General's report (2023) branded as a "combination of negligence and misconduct" the very serious failures of New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center - where Epstein had been held from July 2019 to 10 August that year, when he was found dead in his cell - without finding evidence of murder.

After interrogation, Maxwell was transferred from the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee - a federal women's prison located in Florida - to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan (Texas), a minimum security facility. The move - which took place in early August - outraged some victims and family members, who spoke of 'preferential treatment'.

Caso Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell trasferita in carcere di minore sicurezza: l'esterno della struttura

The reactions

The legal organisations assisting the victims criticised: lawyer Brittany Henderson called Maxwell's statements 'aimed at gaining leniency' and 'weightless' in light of his history of proven falsehoods in court. More generally, the victims objected as much to the transfer to a less severe prison as to the tone of the interrogation, which was deemed 'accommodating'.

Meanwhile, on the political front, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell for a jailhouse deposition (11 August) and forced the Justice Department to hand over hundreds of pages of documents on the Epstein/Maxwell case, announcing their publication (with blackouts to protect victims).

The state of proceedings against Maxwell

Maxwell was arrested in 2020, tried in New York in late 2021 and convicted on 29 December 2021 on 5 out of 6 counts, including child sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for the purpose of sexual misconduct. On 28 June 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years. The Second Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in 2024.

In April 2025, she filed a petition with the Supreme Court (appeal no. 24-1073) alleging that the non-prosecution agreement - the pact between the prosecution and a defendant in which the government waives the right to initiate or continue criminal prosecutions in exchange for certain conditions, e.g., acknowledgement of guilt on other counts, cooperation with the authorities, or victim compensation - signed by Epstein in 2007 in Florida should have protected her.

On 14 July, the Justice Department responded by asking that the appeal be dismissed. The judges will consider whether there are any federal issues worthy of review, including the issue - raised by the defence - of extending commitments made by one DoJ office to other districts.

From the first complaints to the non-prosecution agreement (2005-2008)

In 2005, the Palm Beach police launched an investigation into Epstein: dozens of teenage girls paid for 'massages' resulting in abuse emerged. In 2007, as the FBI prepares a broad federal indictment, the Florida federal prosecutor's office - then headed by R. Alexander Acosta - negotiates the non-prosecution agreement: Epstein pleads guilty in state court, serves 18 months (with ample time off), registers as a sex offender and in return gets the Florida federal prosecutor's office to drop action against him and 'potential co-conspirators'. The victims are not informed before the signing, a choice that the DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility in 2020 called a 'serious error of judgement', although it found no 'disciplinary wrongdoing' on the part of federal prosecutors.

The Reopening of the Federal Front and Death in Prison (2019)

In July 2019, the Manhattan DA's office indicts Epstein for sex trafficking and conspiracy. A few weeks later, Epstein dies at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center. The coroner certifies suicide by hanging. In 2023, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice confirms the suicide and documents systemic deficiencies in the detention facility (shifts not worked, malfunctioning cameras, skipped protocols). The alternative theories were not substantiated by the official investigation.

The Maxwell Inquiry and Process (2020-2022)

In 2020, the Manhattan DA's office indicted Maxwell for recruiting, grooming and preparing girls (some aged 14-17) for Epstein. Four women identifiable as 'Jane', 'Kate', 'Carolyn' and Annie Farmer testified in court, reconstructing a script of 'massages' that became abuse and an active role for Maxwell in normalising and facilitating the criminal conduct. The jury found her guilty (5 out of 6 counts), then came the 20-year sentence.

What has (and has not) emerged

Over time, the Epstein orbit has grazed politicians, managers and celebrities. The new transcripts show Maxwell dismissing allegations and inferences about Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and many others, denying both observed misconduct and the existence of a "client list" or blackmail apparatus. The DoJ, in a memo released in July, said it had found no credible evidence of either a 'client list' or blackmail scheme, despite political pressure to desecrate all material.

Caso Epstein, Trump: "Ha 'rubato' giovani che lavoravano nella mia Spa, tra cui Virginia Giuffrè"

A specific chapter concerns the United Kingdom because among the figures implicated in the Epstein case is Prince Andrew, Duke of York, son of Queen Elizabeth II. The British aristocrat had been accused by Virginia Giuffre of having sexual relations with her when she was 17 years old, accusations that were always rejected by the prince. On 15 February 2022, Andrea closed the civil case with an out-of-court settlement involving a 'substantial donation' to a victims' charity; the amount was not made public. Giuffre later died by suicide in April 2025 in Australia, as confirmed by her family.