Trump fears pal Ghislaine Maxwell 'could speak about his Epstein friendship'
Donald Trump has grown increasingly anxious that Prince Andrew's pal Ghislaine Maxwell may break her silence and reveal details of his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Sources say the US leader grew increasingly concerned ahead of his Department of Justice's controversial decision to close its investigation into the disgraced financier without charging any of his high-profile associates. The abrupt announcement that the FBI's Epstein inquiry had concluded, coming just weeks after Elon Musk named Trump as appearing in the Epstein files, has provoked widespread anger among victims and campaigners.
But behind closed doors, sources have told that it has also sparked fresh panic inside Trump's camp. The former socialite, currently serving a 20-year sentence for procuring girls for Epstein to abuse, is furious at having been made what she views as a "scapegoat" for a much wider circle of powerful men.
Maxwell, who had close personal ties to Epstein for decades, is understood to feel abandoned by many of the elite figures who once moved in his orbit, and whose reputations have remained intact.
One source told The Mirror: 'Ghislaine knows more about Donald Trump's relationship with Epstein than almost anyone alive. And Trump knows that, too. She knows everything about how the two men partied together and how they grew to become best friends for years. With Epstein now dead, Donald knows only that Ghislaine hold such knowledge of the two men. What else has she got to lose?'
The president's concern is that Maxwell may now decide to speak in an effort to restore her reputation or retaliate against those she believes left her to take the fall. While Trump has denied any wrongdoing and insists he severed ties with Epstein years before the financier's 2019 arrest, the pair were known to socialise in the early 2000s, including at Mar-a-Lago.
Maxwell, who is currently being held at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, attended events at several of Trump's properties during the same period.
The Mirror previously reported how the caged British socialite was considering asking her old pal, the president, for a pardon, as he is in the White House. Trump was a long-time associate of Epstein and Maxwell and was famously videotaped at a party discussing the appearance of young girls who were present during a conversation with the late paedophile.
During his first term in the White House, he was concerned by a US newspaper story in July 2020 about her arrest. It quoted a friend of Epstein as describing Maxwell as believing herself to be "protected by the intelligence communities she and [Epstein] helped with information ... by Prince Andrew, President Clinton and even by President Trump," whom they described as having been "well-known to be an acquaintance of her and Epstein's".
According to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman's book about Trump, Confidence Man, the US leader tackled his advisers about the story at an Oval Office meeting. "You see that article in the Post today that mentioned me?" he asked aides. When they didn't react, Trump pressed them further, asking: "She say anything about me?"
Maxwell, 63, Oxford-educated and the daughter of crooked tycoon Robert Maxwell, was once a fixture in the same Palm Beach and New York elite circles as Trump. The president has acknowledged knowing her for years, and the pair were frequently seen together at high society events in the 1990s and 2000s.
When Maxwell was first arrested, Trump's response raised eyebrows. "I just wish her well," he said during a White House briefing. "I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they [Maxwell and Epstein] lived in Palm Beach," he added. "But I wish her well, whatever it is." The remarks had many questioning just how deep their connection ran.
The FBI's decision to end its Epstein probe came as Attorney General Pam Bondi, appointed by the president, faces growing scrutiny over contradictory statements she has made about the case. In February, she confirmed the existence of a non-public list of Epstein's alleged clients, saying there were 'tens of thousands of videos and documents' still held by the FBI, some of which allegedly showed 'horrific crimes involving minors.'
However, on Monday, the Department of Justice stated that it had concluded its review and had 'no further information' to share with the public.
The abrupt reversal prompted questions for the White House. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Bondi, saying: 'She was referring to the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper, in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes… and I'll let her speak to that.'
The contradiction has only intensified criticism that the government has failed Epstein's victims, many of whom have accused the justice system of protecting the powerful while offering only one conviction.
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