The transcript of an interview between US Department of Justice's second-in-command Todd Blanche and Ghislaine Maxwell was made public for the first time on Friday.

Maxwell has been serving a 20-year jail term for child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, also a convicted sex offender.

According to the released transcript, Maxwell told Blanche she had never seen President Trump "in any inappropriate setting in any way". The current president "seemed friendly" with Epstein, she said, but added she only recalled seeing the pair together in "social settings" and not in "private settings".

On Prince Andrew, Maxwell called the allegations against him "mind-blowingly not conceivable", partly due to the size of her house where the events allegedly took place. The royal was accused by Virginia Giuffre, who is not named in the transcript, of sexually abusing her when she was 17. Giuffre took her own life earlier this year.

Maxwell said she was not aware of any sort of Epstein client list - after the FBI and DoJ said there was "no credible evidence" that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.

She also touched upon Bill Clinton, the former US president who flew on Epstein's private planes 26 times, she said. However, Maxwell stressed that Clinton was a friend of hers, not Epstein's, adding that no massage services were provided to him.

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Image source, Reuters

Trump's Make America Great Again fanbase - known as Maga - is responding positively on social media to Ghislaine Maxwell's comments about the president in her interview with the US Justice Department.

As we've been reporting, she told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that she had never seen President Trump "in any inappropriate setting in any way".

Rogan O'Handley, who has over two million X followers and whose bio says 'lawyer - America First', posted: "If Trump was an Epstein client, the Deep State would've already leaked it. He's clean."

"Liberals are going to explode," a post on X from Trump supporter Chaya Raichik's @LibsofTikTok account, which has more than four million followers, said. The comment appears next to a screenshot of the section in the transcript where Maxwell says she never saw the president in an inappropriate setting.

• Read more: How Epstein case is tearing apart Maga's online conspiracy win

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, shortly after Maxwell's July interview with the US Justice Department she was transferred from a Florida prison to a new minimum-security facility in Texas. No reason was given for the transfer.

Here's what we know about the prison where she is now being held:

The facility, FPC Bryant, is located about 100 miles (160km) from the Texas capital of Austin.

Like other federal prison camps, inmates at FPC Bryant are housed in dormitories, with a low staff-to-inmate ratio compared to other, more secure federal prisons. It houses inmates serving time for non-violent offences and white-collar crimes.

There are approximately 650 female inmates at the facility.

By comparison, the facility where Maxwell was housed in Florida, FCI Tallahassee, houses over 800 inmates, both men and women. Both facilities are officially deemed to be "low-security" federal prisons.

While discipline is strict at the facility and all prisoners are expected to work, they also have access to foreign language and business classes, can play sports, watch television and attend religious services.

Contact with family members is allowed to video calls, and inmates are permitted visitors during weekends and holidays, according to a prison handbook published by authorities online.

• Read more: Ghislaine Maxwell moved to women's prison in Texas

Jeffrey Epstein's private plane is mentioned several times in the US Justice Department's transcript of July's interview with his co-conspirator, jailed Ghislaine Maxwell.

Justice department lawyer Todd Blanche asks Maxwell if she ever saw Epstein have sex on his plane.

"Never on the plane," she answers, while adding that there was an area that could be closed off with a door - with a bedroom and an office.

Maxwell says she "must have" seen Epstein get massages, however, because he was so "obsessed" with someone "rubbing his feet".

She also says former US president Bill Clinton travelled on Epstein's plane about 26 times but says she doesn't think he had a massage.

Image source, Clinton Presidential Library

Apart from Donald Trump, the interview also focused on the relationship with another US political figure - former US president Bill Clinton.

"President Clinton was my friend, not Epstein's friend," Maxwell said in the interview at one point.

But when Todd Blanche, the DOJ lawyer who was also Trump's former personal lawyer, suggested to her that she'd brought up Clinton's name when touching on the names of Epstein's clients, she denied Clinton's involvement in this.

"Oh, I never said he was a client," she told Blanche.

The lawyer also asked her if Clinton received a massage, to which she replied: "I don't believe he did."

The first mention of Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean came when Maxwell said that Epstein “tried very hard to keep me working for him”, including by running a “tens of millions of dollars [budget] for his island alone”.

She said the island was part of her purview of overseeing Epstein’s budget, and that she was involved in any spending in relation to the property.

“The island was very rustic. I loved it,” she recalled, adding that Epstein was also enamoured with it.

She said that on almost every trip for the first two years that he owned it, he could be accompanied by a guest who was there to give their opinion on how to “develop” the island.

She said Epstein would often travel with an “entourage” including a “masseuse or a yoga person”. But on occasion, he would require a local masseuse – man or woman - and so she would visit spas in St Thomas and St John to locate one.

"Even though I say he would always travel with an entourage, sometimes he didn't, and he wanted to have a massage locally," she said.

She said it would be hard to convince locals to visit Epstein's island, because it was a "schlep" and would require a boat ride that took several hours.

"It's not like arriving with your massage table and stuff," she said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Donald Trump had written a "bawdy" letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 for his birthday.

"Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person," the paper reported.

It reportedly contained a joking reference that "enigmas never age" and allegedly ended with the words: "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump has dismissed the article as "fake" and has sued the publication for defamation.

In July's interview transcript with Ghislaine Maxwell, which was released a short while ago by the US Justice Department, she says she does not remember whether Trump submitted a letter for Epstein’s 50th birthday album.

Todd Blanche asks her if she remembers "President Trump submitting a letter or a card, or a note".

Maxwell replies "I don't", and adds that she remembers seeing some parts of the book but saw "nothing from President Trump".

The Department of Justice lawyer who interviewed Maxwell, Todd Blanche, told her that he was not promising to do "anything" for her in exchange for her testimony.

At the onset of their two-day meeting, he informed her that the interview was not part of a "co-operation deal".

"By you meeting with us today, we're really just meeting, I'm not promising to do anything," he said, according to the transcript.

As we reported earlier, Blanche was previously Trump's personal lawyer before Trump won the election and chose him to be his deputy attorney general.

In the interview, Blanche also told Maxwell that she had immunity from further prosecution during the discussion, but also said he would not make any request for leniency to the courts on her behalf.

He did tell her that she could face further prosecution if she lied to him.

Shortly after the interview, Maxwell was transferred from a Florida prison to a new minimum-security facility in Texas. No reason was given for the transfer.

Image source, Reuters

During last year's election campaign, Donald Trump promised to disclose unreleased files relating to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation but has faced intense pressure after his administration failed to release anything materially new.

The row has become one of the most sensitive subjects of Trump's second term. Here's how it has played out.

• 21 February - Attorney General Pam Bondi tells Fox News that a list of Epstein’s clients is "sitting on my desk right now". The White House later says she was referring to all the files related to Epstein's crimes
• 28 February - Bondi accuses federal investigators of withholding thousands of documents related to Epstein, and asks the FBI to release all the information
• 6 June - Tech billionaire Elon Musk posts on X that Trump is "in the Epstein files" - referring to court documents and evidence thought to have been collected by investigators. The White House rubbishes the post, which Musk later deletes
• 7 July - The US Department of Justice and FBI conclude in a report that Epstein did not have a so-called client list that could implicate high-profile associates, and that he did take his own life

The Maxwell interview released today was conducted by Trump's former personal lawyer while this political controversy was playing out.

Elsewhere on Friday, an influential House committee began to receive the unpublished investigation files - and it remains to be seen if they decide to release them, and when.

Image source, Department of Justice

During the interviews, Blanche asked Maxwell about Prince Andrew’s alleged relationship with a woman whose name has been redacted by the DoJ.

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 DoJ for interviewing Maxwell and said she is a "monster" whose testimony cannot be trusted.

The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's victims, condemned federal prosecutors for interviewing Maxwell in July.

In a statement, they called Maxwell "a predator who thought only of herself", adding she "destroyed the lives of girls and young women without conscience".

They said Giuffre, who died by suicide this year, "always said that Ghislaine Maxwell was vicious and could often be more cruel than Epstein". They said Maxwell had already been convicted for lying under oath and "will continue to do so for as long as it affects her position".

Maxwell was previously charged with perjury for lying under oath, but these charges were dropped when she was found guilty of the more serious offence of sex trafficking minors.

Ghislaine Maxwell's interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche lasted two days and encompassed topics including her relationships with prominent figures and whether she was aware of any "client list" of Epstein's.

We're still going through the 300-page transcript - here are some of the key things Maxwell said:

• She told Blanche she had never seen President Trump "in any inappropriate setting in any way"
• Trump and Epstein "seemed friendly", she said, but added she only recalled seeing the pair together in "social settings" and not in "private settings"

• She also addressed her relationship with Bill Clinton, saying that "Clinton was my friend, not Epstein's friend"

• Maxwell said she was not aware of any sort of Epstein client list - there's more detail on this in our previous post
• She said she did not believe Epstein died by suicide in prison - despite the medical examiner ruling his death as such - but added she had no reason to believe he was killed to keep him quiet

We're working to bring you more detail from the documents - stay with us.

During the interview, Ghislaine Maxwell said she did not believe Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, and that it was possible he could have been murdered in prison.

Epstein died in a New York prison cell in 2019 as he awaited his trial on sex trafficking charges, following an earlier conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. His death was ruled a suicide.

"If it is indeed murder, I believe it was an internal situation," Maxwell said.

Maxwell said she did not think he was killed to cover up information Epstein had.

"I also think it's ludicrous, because if that - I also happen to think if that is what they wanted, they would've had plenty of opportunity when he wasn't in jail," Maxwell said.

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

The decision to have Maxwell interviewed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) came as Trump faced intense pressure to release the so-called Epstein files, which his critics claim will implicate him.

Trump's White House has still not released the documents and the president - who previously promised to publish the files - now describes the matter as a "Democrat hoax".

The lawyer sent to carry out the Maxwell interview was Trump's Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Prior to taking up public office, Blanche was Trump's personal attorney and defended him during his hush money trial, after which the president was convicted of a criminal offence.

Critics said Blanche's role in the Maxwell interview raised questions about the distinction between the DoJ's duties and Trump's personal legal team.

Maxwell - a convicted sex offender - will also be seen by few as a credible witness.

Reports that her testimony was supportive of Trump had already emerged in recent weeks - and given that one of Maxwell's only chances of leaving prison is a presidential pardon, critics will say that is hardly surprising.

She was moved to a new low-security prison shortly after the Blanche interview was carried out.

Image source, Getty Images

According to the documents released today, Ghislaine Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche she was not aware of any Epstein "client list".

It follows the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and FBI concluding Epstein did not have such a list last month.

A DoJ and FBI memo said at the start of July that investigators found no "incriminating list" of clients and "no credible evidence" that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.

In today's documents, Blanche is shown to have asked Maxwell whether Epstein had a "book of famous people that he knew" - giving her alternative descriptions like a "black book", or a "client list" or a "list".

Maxwell says: "There is no list."

Following an interview break, Maxwell returned to the subject: "I just want to reiterate again, there is no list that I am aware of. I've never, at any time, at least during the period of time when I was [...] present."

The Ghislaine Maxwell interview was carried out by Todd Blanche, who has risen from a lawyer little-known outside of legal circles to a key Trump administration official in just a couple of years.

When Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, he picked Blanche as his deputy attorney general, the second most senior position in the Justice Department.

The president already knew Blanche well - he had served as his personal lawyer during one of the most infamous moments in his career.

In 2023, Blanche left his senior role at a New York-based law firm to represent Trump during his 2024 hush money trial, which centred around a payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election over a sexual encounter she says they had.

Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts after a jury found he had broke the law by concealing that payment as legal expenses, becoming the first US president to be convicted of a crime.

Despite losing the case, Blanche gained Trump’s trust during the high-profile trial and was given a senior government position when he returned to office. He is also serving as the acting librarian of Congress, another official position appointed by the president.

Blanche’s move from personal lawyer to government official, and subsequent involvement in the White House’s response to pressure over Trump’s links with Jeffrey Epstein, have led to questions from some legal analysts over where the Justice Department ends and Trump’s personal legal team begins.

Image source, Getty Images

In the transcripts of Ghislaine Maxwell's interview with the Justice Department - which are over 300 pages long - she said she never saw President Donald Trump in an inappropriate setting.

Maxwell said she first met Trump in the early 1990s, before she met Jeffrey Epstein.

Asked about her and Epstein's relationships with famous people, including Trump, Maxwell said Trump "was always very cordial and very kind to me".

She said Trump and Epstein "seemed friendly" but she "only ever saw them in social settings" and "never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way".

Maxwell said she "can't ever recollect" recruiting somebody from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club to give Epstein a massage.

Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, worked at Mar-a-Lago. Trump recently remarked that Epstein "stole people that worked for me", including Giuffre.

Image source, Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell was the girlfriend and close confidante of convicted paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The 63-year-old is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the US for helping him to recruit and traffic girls for sexual abuse over a decade-long period.

She is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, a former British MP who amassed a fortune as a press tycoon, but was exposed as a fraudster after his death.

Maxwell - who worked for her father - moved to New York following his death in 1991, where she met Epstein. The pair went on to have a close - and, at times, romantic - relationship.

Epstein's victims say they were groomed by Maxwell, and in 2021 a court found she played a key role in identifying girls for Epstein to abuse.

She was arrested in mid-2020, around a year after authorities say Epstein took his own life in custody while awaiting trial for trafficking offences.

The US Justice Department has released transcripts and audio recordings of an interview in July with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell, 63, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, was found guilty of helping the disgraced financier sexually abuse young girls.

Last month, she was interviewed by Justice Department officials under the Trump administration's directive to gather and release credible evidence relating to the Epstein case.

We're combing through the files now, and we'll bring you the key lines here - stick with us.