Family members of a prominent Jeffrey Epstein accuser said they were “outraged” by the Justice Department’s decision to release transcripts from Ghislaine Maxwell’s testimony last month to a federal prosecutor, arguing it provided Maxwell a “platform to rewrite history.”
“The content of these transcripts is in direct contradiction with felon Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction for child sex trafficking,” the family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre said in a statement. The family added, “This travesty of justice entirely invalidates the experiences of the many brave survivors who put their safety, security, and lives on the line to ensure her conviction, including our sister.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last month questioned Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges, for two days as part of a stated effort by the Trump administration to uncover more information about Epstein’s crimes.
The Justice Department on Friday released audio and transcripts of the two-day interview, during which Maxwell disputed several allegations of wrongdoing against her and Epstein, including by Giuffre, who died by suicide in April.
Giuffre accused Maxwell of grooming her to be sexually abused by Epstein and trafficked to several of his powerful friends, including Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Giuffre separately sued Andrew in 2021 alleging he sexually abused her as a minor, which he has denied. The two later settled the case for an undisclosed amount in 2022.
During the interview last month with Blanche, Maxwell said Giuffre’s allegation against Andrew “doesn’t hold water,” and disputed key facts in the case, including an alleged photo of Giuffre with Andrew.
“I believe that this whole thing was manufactured, and I can point you to some potentially corroborating evidence of this,” Maxwell told Blanche.
Giuffre’s family accused the deputy attorney general of not sufficiently challenging Maxwell’s assertions during her testimony, suggesting that by publicly releasing the interview, the Justice Department provided Maxwell the opportunity to dispute her case in the court of public opinion.
“During [Deputy Attorney General] Todd Blanche’s bizarre interview, she is never challenged about her court-proven lies, providing her a platform to rewrite history,” the family statement read.
Maxwell also said she never witnessed any inappropriate conduct from any man, including Donald Trump. She denied the existence of an incriminating “client list” of individuals who benefited from Epstein’s crimes and maintained her innocence after being convicted of sex trafficking in 2021.
On Sunday, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., criticized Maxwell’s statements to Blanche, claiming that she has the motivation to say anything that could potentially get her pardoned.
“They go and they do this interview without the presence of a prosecutor who actually knows the facts,” Schiff told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” referring to Blanche.
“She wants a pardon. She says exactly what her lawyers tell her is going to be necessary to get a pardon. No one should be surprised here,” Schiff added.
In a statement, Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus called Schiff "flat-out wrong."
"Ghislaine Maxwell has been consistent from day one, and her testimony is backed by documents — not politics. If she wanted to make up stories to curry favor, she could have targeted Democrats like President Clinton. She didn’t because she’s telling the truth. The good Congressman may fancy himself a mind reader, but on this he’s flat-out wrong," Markus said.
Giuffre’s family has for months been critical of the Justice Department’s interactions with Maxwell amid the Trump administration’s claimed push to uncover more information about Epstein’s crimes, a key topic of interest among Trump’s base.
In late July, after Maxwell met with Blanche, the family urged the government not to provide Maxwell any favorable treatment, describing her then as a “monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life.”
Trump has not ruled out the idea of pardoning Maxwell, whom he has known for several decades. When asked last month about the prospect of granting Maxwell legal relief, Trump said, “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”
Absent a pardon from Trump, Maxwell is seeking legal relief from the Supreme Court, which has indicated it will decide whether to review Maxwell’s appeal of her conviction during a private conference in September.
Giuffre’s family also condemned the Justice Department’s decision to transfer Maxwell to a minimum-security prison following her meeting with Blanche.
“By moving convicted felon Maxwell to a minimum-security, country club prison, the DOJ sends a disturbing message that child sex trafficking is acceptable and will be rewarded,” the family said Saturday in a statement.
Federal officials moved Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator and confidant, from a co-ed, low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a women-only, minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas. The Bureau of Prisons at the time did not specify why Maxwell was transferred to the facility, which also houses reality television star Jen Shah and disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
The release of the Maxwell transcripts came as the Justice Department also partially fulfilled a subpoena by the House Oversight Committee for all files related to the federal investigation of Epstein. The Justice Department released roughly 33,000 documents, however Democrats on the committee have said the “vast majority” of the records included in the first batch were already public.
