Try GOLD - Free
Epstein accomplice denies seeing Trump act improperly
Los Angeles Times
|August 24, 2025
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice and former girlfriend, repeatedly denied in her interview with the Justice Department having witnessed any sexually inappropriate interactions with Donald Trump, according to records released Friday meant to distance the president from the sex-trafficking case.
NADINE Seiler holds an Epstein sign near National Guardsmen in Washington.
The Trump administration issued transcripts from interviews that Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche conducted with Maxwell last month as the administration was scrambling to present itself as transparent amid a fierce backlash over its refusal to disclose a trove of records from the case.
The records show Maxwell repeatedly showering Trump with praise and denying under questioning from Blanche that she had observed Trump engaged in any form of sexual behavior. The administration was presumably eager to make such denials public at a time when Trump has faced questions about his former longtime friendship with Epstein and as his administration has endured continued scrutiny over its handling of evidence from the case.
The transcript release represents the latest Trump administration effort to repair self-inflicted political wounds after failing to deliver on expectations that its own officials had created through conspiracy theories and bold pronouncements that never came to pass.
By making public two days’ worth of interviews, officials appear to be hoping to at least temporarily keep at bay sustained anger from Trump’s base as they send Congress evidence they had previously kept from view.
After her interview with Blanche, Maxwell was moved from the low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas to continue serving a 20-year sentence for her 2021 conviction for luring girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Her trial featured sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14 told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s homes.
This story is from the August 24, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Trump, stop with the blame game
Re “Trump ‘won't be extorted’ amid shutdown,” Nov.4
1 min
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
What the onslaught of layoffs means for Hollywood workers
THE WIDE SHOT
3 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
USDA orders states to 'undo' full SNAP payouts
Administration warns of penalties as governors sound alarm over funding.
4 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
A seemingly unlikely visitor to the White House
Al-Sharaa, first Syrian president to do so since 1946, once had ties to Al Qaeda.
4 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Super typhoon slams into storm-weary Philippines
Super Typhoon Fung-wong slammed ashore Sunday on the northeastern coast of the Philippines, where the massive storm had already left at least two people dead and forced more than a million people to evacuate from floodand landslide-prone areas, officials said.
3 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Lead, asbestos found in homes after fire cleanup
In a sample of still-standing homes within the area the Eaton fire’s ash settled, more than half had significant lead contamination even after extensive indoor remediation efforts, according to new findings from the grassroots advocacy group Eaton Fire Residents United. Additionally, a third of remediated homes tested positive for asbestos.
4 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Interesting but unbalanced pair in 'Nuremberg'
A timid approach undoes performances by Russell Crowe and Rami Malek.
3 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
1970s art scene comes to life in 'Peter Hujar's Day'
The New York-set film talks up big ideas about camaraderie and creativity.
2 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
With new show, siblings have reason to cheer
Liz and Jeff Astrof get the lift they need from coach Monica Aldama.
7 mins
November 10, 2025
Los Angeles Times
Remains of Israeli from earlier war are returned
Israel on Sunday confirmed that it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country.
4 mins
November 10, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size