Epstein co-conspirator: "I do not believe he died by suicide"
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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on March 15, 2005, in New York City. Photo: Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell told the Department of Justice in newly released interview transcripts that she thinks he was murdered.
Why it matters: Her comments come as conspiracy theories about Epstein's suicide in prison while facing federal sex trafficking charges have circulated for years. But Maxwell doesn't believe it was a "hit" from wealthy or powerful figures to silence him.
- President Trump's Justice Department and FBI concluded after an investigation that they have no evidence that Epstein blackmailed powerful figures, kept a "client list" or was murdered.
- Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was found guilty on multiple counts of conspiring to sex traffic minors.
What she said: "I do not believe he died by suicide, no," Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in an interview.
- "Do you have any speculation or view of who killed him?" Blanche asked.
- She responded: "No, I don't."
- Maxwell said she had no firsthand knowledge of what happened but based her opinion on her knowledge of Epstein, who was not known to be suicidal.
Inside the prison: Maxwell faulted the Bureau of Prisons and said people can be killed for little money.
- "In prison, where I am, they will kill you or they will pay — somebody can pay a prisoner to kill you for $25 worth of commissary. That's about the going rate for a hit with a lock today," she said.
- "I don't think Epstein had a hit on like that if it is indeed murder, I believe it was an internal situation [in the jail]," she said.
The intrigue: Prior to his death, Epstein was removed from suicide watch after being evaluated by a doctoral-level psychologist, the DOJ said. The cameras in the corrections facility were not working on the night of his death.
- Blanche pressed the point and asked if she had "any reason to believe" Epstein was murdered to protect "rich and powerful people," Maxwell again said no.
- "I do not have any reason to believe that. And 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," she said.
- "And if they were worried about blackmail or anything from him, he would've been a very easy target."
Context: Blanche and the DOJ released four redacted transcripts of their interview with Maxwell, the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Friday afternoon.
- Many have wondered for weeks what Blanche and Maxwell discussed in their interviews, which happened shortly before Maxwell was transferred to a minimum security prison.
- Maxwell spoke to Blanche for nine hours over two days, Axios previously reported. Maxwell was granted "limited" immunity from the Justice Department to answer questions related to the sex-trafficking ring that led to her arrest.
Catch up quick: The Trump administration has faced bipartisan calls over its handling of the Epstein files, but also friction between Trump and MAGA conspiracy theorists.
- The Justice Department and FBI's July announcement that Epstein died by suicide represented the first time the Trump administration officially contradicted conspiracy theories about Epstein's activities and his death.
- Those theories had previously been pushed by the FBI's top two officials, director Kash Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino, before Trump appointed them to the bureau.
- Patel and Bongino have since moved on from the theories, saying that Epstein killed himself.
It has become an article of faith online, especially on the right, that Epstein's crimes implicated government officials, celebrities and business leaders — and that someone killed him in a cover-up.
Go deeper: DOJ, FBI conclude Epstein had no "client list," died by suicide
Marc Caputo contributed to this report.
