Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ she is unaware of any Epstein 'client list'

By Luc Cohen, Andrew Goudsward and Jack Queen

NEW YORK, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, told a top Justice Department official in July that she was not aware of any "client list" belonging to the late financier and never saw President Donald Trump behave inappropriately, according to a transcript of an interview released on Friday.

"I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way," Maxwell said, according to the transcript of her two-day interview last month with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "The President was never inappropriate with anybody."

During the interview, the imprisoned 63-year-old former British socialite also said she did not witness any sexual abuse by Epstein, her longtime boyfriend, and did not implicate any other prominent individuals in wrongdoing.

"He kept a lot to himself and he didn't like to share," Maxwell said, of Epstein. "He was not a sharer. Well, at least not with me."

The Justice Department's release of the transcripts and audio recordings of Maxwell's interview comes amid intense public curiosity about Epstein, a multimillionaire who socialized with the cultural and political elite, and as Trump, a Republican, tries to tamp down a political crisis stemming from the Justice Department's decision not to release files from its investigation of Epstein despite its earlier pledges to do so.

Maxwell spoke with Blanche on the condition that she not be prosecuted for any self-incriminating statements she were to make, but she could be prosecuted if she lied in the interview.

Maxwell was previously charged with perjury for lying in a 2016 deposition about her knowledge of Epstein's alleged behavior, though prosecutors dropped those charges after a jury found her guilty of sex trafficking in 2021.

During Maxwell's month-long trial in Manhattan, jurors heard emotional and explicit testimony from four women who said Maxwell recruited and groomed them for abuse by Epstein. Three of the four said Maxwell herself touched their bare breasts or took part in the encounters, which often began as massages.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty.

Epstein's death, coupled with his friendships with powerful people like Trump and former Democratic President Bill Clinton, has fueled conspiracy theories that other people were involved in his crimes, and that he was murdered to cover that up. No one other than he and Maxwell have been charged with crimes.

Blanche asked Maxwell if Epstein maintained any "client list."

"There is no list that I am aware of," Maxwell said.

Maxwell, who pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges brought against her in 2020, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction. David Markus, Maxwell's attorney, said in a statement on Friday that the interview supports Maxwell's argument that she is innocent.

"She supported her answers with documents and other objective evidence. Her demeanor and credibility are clear for anyone to hear," Markus said.

Markus has previously said Maxwell has not held discussions with Trump about a possible pardon, but that she would welcome " relief."

'VERY CORDIAL'

Blanche's interview of Maxwell on July 24 and July 25 came as Trump sought to quell criticism from his conservative base of supporters and congressional Democrats over the Justice Department's decision not to release the files.

A week after the interview, Maxwell was moved from a low-security prison facility in Florida to a less-restrictive prison camp in Texas.

Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During Maxwell's trial the financier's longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied flying on the plane.

Maxwell told Blanche she never saw Trump receive a massage or engage in other inappropriate activity. Many of Epstein's alleged victims say their unwanted sexual encounters with him began as massages.

"As far as I'm concerned, President Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me," Maxwell said, according to the transcript. "And I just want to say that I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the President now."

It is rare for a Justice Department official as senior as Blanche - who has also served as Trump's personal lawyer - to directly interview a criminal defendant.

Blanche asked Maxwell about her and Epstein's interactions with a spate of prominent Democrats including Bill and Hillary Clinton, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and billionaire Democratic donor George Soros. Maxwell did not implicate any of those individuals in wrongdoing.

Maxwell said she worked with Bill Clinton on his philanthropic endeavors, and that he used Epstein's plane for a trip to Africa. But she said Clinton never visited Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein was accused of abusing some girls.