Ghislaine Maxwell Admits She Doesn't Think Jeffrey Epstein Died by Suicide, but Rather an 'Internal Situation' in Prison By Brenton Blanchet 11

Ghislaine Maxwell has broken her silence on her late confidante Jeffrey Epstein’s death.

On Friday, Aug. 22, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released over 300 pages of transcripts and audio recordings from the convicted child sex trafficker’s conversation with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, which took place in late July over the course of two days.

Epstein’s convicted apprentice met with Blanche, 51, to discuss what she may know about crimes committed by the disgraced financier, as well as what she believes happened to Epstein — who died inside a jail cell in 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, in what officials ruled a suicide.

Speaking with the official in Donald Trump’s presidential administration, Maxwell, 63, who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, claimed that she doesn’t believe Epstein died by suicide. She instead speculated that she thinks his death may have been the result of an “internal situation” in jail.

“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,” Maxwell said. “That’s about the going rate for a hit with a lock today.”

When asked if she thought somebody on the outside would have wanted Epstein killed, Maxwell said that, while it is “of course” possible, she didn’t “see it” happening.

“But I don’t know of any reason why, and I don’t believe in the blackmail or in any of this, I don’t think Epstein had a hit on like that,” she continued. “If it is indeed murder, I believe it was an internal situation.”

Maxwell added that she also didn’t have any first-hand knowledge or speculation to offer, in relation to theories that someone had Epstein killed to “silence” him. “I do not have any reason to believe that,” she said.

“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,” Maxwell further explained. “And if they were worried about blackmail or anything from him, he would’ve been a very easy target.”

The transcripts were released to the public as Maxwell angled last month for a pardon from President Trump, who she said in the interviews was “friendly” with Epstein.

She claimed of the pair, that she “only saw them in social settings” and “never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way.” (The claims from Maxwell come amid renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case.)

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus, previously said his client didn’t hold back when speaking with Blanche about what she knows in relation to Epstein — who was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, for which he pleaded not guilty, before his death.

Maxwell, one of Epstein’s closest confidantes, was convicted on child sex trafficking charges in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. She was recently moved into the custody of a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas — the same one housing disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk” and waiting to be released, only for the DOJ to declare later that no such client list existed and there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute any potential co-conspirators.

Trump, 79, himself, who was associated with Epstein for many years before a falling-out in the mid-2000s, had pleaded with his political base to stop talking about Epstein, calling the ongoing focus on the disgraced pedophile “unbelievable.”

The politician specifically has faced questions about his past association with Epstein, especially after his former top lieutenant, Elon Musk, posted that Trump was “in the Epstein files.”

Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a person under 18 for prostitution in 2008 and served over a year in jail, following a widely-criticized plea deal with federal prosecutors. He was arrested again in 2019 on sex trafficking charges, but was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell a month later.

Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide, but the circumstances of his death remain controversial and have generated suspicion.

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Epstein’s brother, Mark Epstein, previously said that he has grown more suspicious over time that his brother was murdered.

“More and more, I believe he was murdered,” he told NBC News. “And everyone who looks at all the information that’s out there on facts comes to the same conclusion.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.