Ghislaine Maxwell calls Trump 'gentleman', says she never saw him act inappropriately: DOJ transcripts

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: Ghislaine Maxwell made claims about President Donald Trump during a newly released DOJ interview, denying ever seeing him in "any inappropriate" setting with Jeffrey Epstein. 

As speculation grows over Trump’s alleged ties to the convicted sex offender, Maxwell’s remarks add a new layer to the ongoing public scrutiny. 

On Friday, the US Department of Justice released the full transcript and audio recordings of Maxwell’s two-day interview, conducted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The release includes redacted transcripts and multiple audio files, seven parts plus test recordings from day one, and four parts from day two.

What did Ghislaine Maxwell say about Trump’s ties to Epstein?

According to the transcripts, Ghislaine Maxwell stated that she never witnessed Donald Trump acting inappropriately.

“I actually never saw the president in any type of massage setting,” Maxwell said. “I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects."

Maxwell also spoke about Trump’s social relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, though she admitted knowing little about its origins.

“I don’t know how they met, and I don’t know how they became friends,” she said. “I certainly saw them together, and I remember the few times I observed them together, but they were friendly. I mean, they seemed friendly."

She added that she didn’t believe the two were especially close. “I think they were friendly, like people are in 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.. in any private settings,” she said.

Ghislaine Maxwell reveals her meeting and interactions with Donald Trump

In her interviews, Ghislaine Maxwell said she first met Donald Trump in the 1990s through her father. She described Trump as “always very cordial and very kind to me.”

She added, “Well, I just want to say for my relationship with President Trump — relationship's a big word — but I just want to say that I met him or I believe I may have, because of my father, in the '90s. "

She continued, "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."

Maxwell also recalled the last time she saw Trump, which she said was in a social setting during the mid-2000s. When asked whether she had ever heard rumors or witnessed Trump acting inappropriately with "masseuses or anyone" else in her social circle, she responded firmly, “Absolutely never, in any context."

Ghislaine Maxwell says Donald Trump got 'swept into' Epstein controversy

Maxwell also claimed that Trump was unfairly pulled into the controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.

“I also focused on how I think the president got swept into some of this unnecessarily, by the way,” she said during the interview.

While distancing herself from conspiracy theories, Maxwell suggested there may have been political motivations behind the way Trump’s name was used. “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, But I do believe that there is animus in some areas that may have contributed to how the use of the president to harm him, that I find deeply offensive," she said.

She acknowledged, “And whilst I can't obviously say definitively that that is what it is, I would like to show you what I see so that you can evaluate it and do with that as you see fit if it needs to be addressed."

"I've seen it, it struck me and I would like to give it to you,” Maxwell told investigators.

Maxwell also commented on Epstein’s 50th birthday “book,” a 2003 collection of cards sent to him by acquaintances. She said she had no memory of Trump sending a card and found no evidence of one during her review of documents related to her legal proceedings.