Newly released transcripts of Ghislaine Maxwell’s July interview with the Justice Department depict a surprisingly chilly relationship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, despite varied reports that the glitterati socialites were each other’s closest friends.

In transcripts made available Friday by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Maxwell noted that Trump was “always very cordial and very kind” to her, and that she admired his “extraordinary achievement in becoming the president.”

“So that is the sum and substance of my entire relationship with him,” Maxwell told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to the transcript.

Trump was photographed with Maxwell several times over his long friendship with Epstein: She and Trump partied together, attended fashion shows together, and went “out on the town” together, according to a 1997 postcard.

When asked about Trump’s relationship with the notorious child sex trafficker, Maxwell was equally reserved.

“I don’t know how they met, and I don’t know how they became friends,” Maxwell said. “I certainly saw them together and I remember the few times I observed them together, but they were friendly. I mean, they seemed friendly.”

She went on to claim that she had only ever seen the socialites together in public, and never in private—despite flight logs indicating that Trump flew aboard Epstein’s private jet several times and an email from Epstein’s estate in which he said Trump was “with” him on Thanksgiving 2017.

“I think they were friendly like people are in social settings. I don’t—I don’t think they were close friends or I certainly never witnessed the President in any of—I don’t recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance,” Maxwell said.

“I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting,” she continued, casually referring to a grooming tactic she and Epstein would employ to bypass nonconsensual sexual contact. The larger Epstein files release Friday included a note detailing some 254 masseuses in Epstein’s contact files.

“I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.”

That would be very surprising, considering that Epstein and Trump allegedly enjoyed being sexually inappropriate in public together, reportedly bonding over “trophy hunting” women. Further still, Trump has openly boasted about his sexual entitlement, claiming that he likes to “grab” women “by the pussy.”

Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in jail for playing an active role in Epstein’s crimes, identifying and grooming vulnerable young women while normalizing their abuse at the hands of her millionaire boyfriend. Maxwell’s attorneys have pressed the White House for a pardon for several months now, and the British ex-socialite signaled in a court filing earlier this month that she would ask a court to free her from her captivity.

Whether the DOJ interview was intended as a quid pro quo is still unclear, but shortly after the information exchange, Maxwell—one of the worst sex criminals of the century—received an extremely cushy transfer, shipping her from a Florida prison to a low-security prison camp in Texas that lawmakers have described as “not suitable for a sex offender.”

Of course, in the same testimony, the famed manipulator also vehemently denied that “anything inappropriate happened” while she was with Epstein.

“I never saw a tear,” Maxwell told Blanche.

Trump has not been charged with any crimes related to Epstein or Maxwell.

Surprise, surprise: President Donald Trump was in Jeffrey Epstein’s contact list.

Buried in the massive trove of documents released by the Department of Justice Friday was Epstein’s 90-page contact book filled with names of high-profile celebrities—including Donald Trump and his family members.

Contact information for “Trump, Donald,” now redacted, was kept separately from the information on how to reach Trump’s daughter Ivanka, his ex-wife Ivana, his brother Robert, and Robert’s wife, Blaine.

A handwritten note indicated the contact book was from Palm Beach, dated 2004–2005.

There also appeared to be contact information for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where Epstein reportedly scouted young women to abuse and traffic, and from where he was supposedly banned in October 2007.

In an extensive list of hotels, there seem to be no listings between the Four Seasons Restaurant and Myers of Westwick—a sizable chunk of the alphabet that possibly could indicate a missing page.

Trump reportedly recounted his sexual conquests to Epstein over the phone, while the alleged sex trafficker invited others to listenin.

Republican Representative and MAGA hard-liner Elise Stefanik announced Friday that she will be dropping out of the New York gubernatorial race. While the move is surprising given that Stefanik was once one of the GOP’s rising stars, it comes after a series of snubs from President Trump. 

“While spending precious time with my family this Christmas season, I have made the decision to suspend my campaign for Governor and will not seek re-election to Congress. I did not come to this decision lightly for our family,” she wrote Friday on X. “I am truly humbled and grateful for the historic and overwhelming support from Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, and Democrats all across the state for our campaign to Save New York.”   

While Stefanik noted that she could have “overwhelmingly” won her primary, she mused that the political timing was not right for a run—and that she wanted to focus on raising her young son. 

“I am incredibly grateful to the people of New York’s 21st District for entrusting me to represent you in the United States Congress. Thank you to my dedicated staff over the past decade. I am proud of the significant results that we successfully delivered for the hardworking families in our district and across America. It has been a tremendous professional honor to serve as your........

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