Peak Net

https://www.facer.io/user/n7Z9aw5thR · at August 22, 2025

Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, told US officials that a highly discussed "client list" does not exist, according to a released transcript of her interview.

In a July interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell said she was "not aware of any blackmail" and did not witness any inappropriate conduct by President Donald Trump or former President Bill Clinton.

She also discussed her and Epstein's relationship with Prince Andrew and called allegations of him having sexual relations with an underage girl in her home "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 been adamant 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.

She spoke at length of Epstein's relationship with both Price Andrew and the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson.

Maxwell also spoke about Prince Andrew's alleged relationship with a woman, whose name has been redacted in the transcript.

She says she finds the allegations against the Duke of York "mind-blowingly not conceivable", partly due to the size of her house where the events allegedly took place.

She is asked about a "famous photo" of Prince Andrew and the unnamed woman, with Maxwell in the background. She tells Blanche this photo is fake.

The prince was accused by Virginia Giuffre, who is not named in the transcript, of sexually abusing her when she was 17. He denied the allegations but reached a financial settlement with her in 2022, which contained no admission of liability or apology.

A widely circulated photo shows him alongside Giuffre with Maxwell in the background. Andrew has previously disputed its authenticity.

Giuffre took her own life earlier this year. Her family has condemned the justice department for interviewing Maxwell and said she is a "monster" whose testimony cannot be trusted.

According to Maxwell, she first befriended Epstein in 1991, and subsequently developed a sexual relationship with him.

Even after that relationship ended, she said she was still paid by Epstein - up to $250,000 (£184,782) a year by 2009 - and remained "friends with benefits". She added that their relationship was "almost non-existent" between 2010 and his death.

Maxwell was asked for her thoughts on the death of Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

"I do not believe he died by suicide, no," she remarked, although she added that she does "not have any reason" to believe that he was killed in a bid to silence him.

"It's ludicrous," she said of theories that he was murdered. "I also happen to think if that is what they wanted, they would've had plenty of opportunity when he wasn't in jail."

"And if they were worried about blackmail or anything from him, he would've been a very easy target," she added.

Ahead of the release of the transcript, pressure had been mounting on Trump - including from many of his own supporters and from voices within his own political party - for more transparency on what the investigations into Epstein uncovered.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that Trump had been told by US Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared in the files.

He has never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the case - and on the campaign trail last year said he would publicise more information about the case.

But he reversed his position several months into his administration, saying the case was closed, and criticising supporters and journalists who continued to press him on it.

The Associated Press had reported that earlier on Friday, the House Oversight Committee received the first round of files - which they had subpoenaed for - from the justice department.

"The Committee intends to make these records public after thorough review to ensure any victims' identification and child sexual abuse material are redacted," a spokesperson for Oversight Committee Chair James Comer was quoted as saying by US media.

"The Committee will also consult with the DOJ to ensure any documents released do not negatively impact ongoing criminal cases and investigations."

at August 20, 2025

European leaders have been holding a virtual conference call to discuss what security guarantees they could give to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia. The discussion follows Monday’s unprecedented get-together in the White House hosted by Donald Trump. The US president met Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held talks with Britain’s Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato. The main topic was how to end the war in Ukraine, the continent’s biggest since 1945, and how Europe might stop Russia from attacking again.

What security guarantees might Ukraine get?

Zelenskyy has said that the details will be worked out and “formalised on paper” within a week to 10 days. As many as 30 countries – called the “coalition of the willing” – are likely to be involved, with some help from the US, although what that might mean is unclear. Speaking after his meeting on Monday with Donald Trump and European leaders in the White House, Zelenskyy said their support could take many forms.

One of those could be prysutnist (the Ukrainian word for presence), meaning they would provide troops. And it might include intelligence, as well as providing security in the air and on the Black Sea, or simply funds, he said.

The key question is, which European governments are willing to take part in a peacekeeping mission inside Ukraine? The UK and France have indicated they are ready to send soldiers as part of a “reassurance force”. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed: “We have to help Ukraine on the ground.” Germany is more sceptical. Many details have yet to be worked out. Would western troops be stationed along a ceasefire line or provide a more limited training role in big cities such as Kyiv and Lviv? And what rules of engagement would they have if they came under Russian fire?

How might the US contribute?

Trump has promised to coordinate a Europe-led peacekeeping operation in Ukraine. “When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” he said on Monday, sitting next to Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. The US president made clear European countries would be expected to carry most of the burden. “They are a first line of defence because they’re there. But we’ll help them out,” he said.

Ukraine wants to buy $90bn worth of US weapons and says they could form part of the security guarantee. Overall, however, Trump has been vague about how much the US would contribute. He has ruled out Ukraine’s membership of Nato, which Kyiv believes would be the best deterrent against a future Russian onslaught. There seems no prospect the US would send its own troops to take part in a peace-keeping mission. One more realistic option would be for the Pentagon to provide logistical support to a proposed “sky shield”. The plan envisages an air protection zone in the west and the centre of Ukraine, including over the capital Kyiv, enforced by European fighter jets.

What does Russia say?

According to Trump, Vladimir Putin agreed during their summit in Alaska that Ukraine required security guarantees. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has said that these would be outside the auspices of Nato, but would be the equivalent of article 5, Nato’s self-defence pact in which an attack on one is considered an attack on all. Russia’s interpretation of guarantees, however, seems different from Witkoff’s version. The Kremlin says it is categorically opposed to western troops in Ukraine. It is unlikely to accept a peacekeeping force as part of any deal.

Putin’s war goals, meanwhile, are unchanged and framed in terms of Russia’s own existential security needs. He is demanding the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, including territory Russia has been unable since 2014 to capture. Putin also wants Ukraine’s “demilitarisation and denazification” – meaning severe limits on the size of Kyiv’s army, as well as Zelenskyy’s removal. The intense diplomacy of the past few days may seem like progress. But Russia’s basic position hasn’t changed. Putin has shown no sign he respects Ukraine’s sovereignty or that he wants to stop the war. While Russia’s bombing continues discussion of security guarantees seems moot.

What does history tell us?

We have been here before. In 1994 Kyiv agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for international security assurances. Under the terms of the Budapest memorandum the US, Russia, the UK, China and France said they would ensure Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” and “political independence”. And to “refrain from the use and threat of force”.

At the time Ukrainian politicians thought giving up the country’s nuclear arsenal left it open to Russian attack. The Clinton administration was insistent. In May 1997 Russia’s president Boris Yeltsin signed a friendship treaty with his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kuchma. Russia recognised Ukraine’s post-Soviet borders. As part of the deal, Kyiv gave Moscow most of its navy, and leased the Crimean port of Sevastopol to the Russians for 20 years.

Neither agreement stopped Russian aggression. In 2014 the Kremlin used its troops stationed in Crimea to seize and annex the peninsula. Putin now says the whole of Ukraine is “historical Russia”. Ukraine’s experience of betrayal – with late 20th-century pledges proving to be worthless – means it will want better guarantees this time.

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What security guarantees might Ukraine get in return for a peace deal?

What security guarantees might Ukraine get?

How might the US contribute?

What does Russia say?

What does history tell us?

Ghislaine Maxwell interview transcripts released by US justice department

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