Donald Trump wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well amid reports of joke about ‘randy Prince Andy’
President describes ‘numerous’ meetings with the socialite as ex-Epstein employee tells of her ‘jibe about Duke of York’
Donald Trump has told reporters that he “wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well” following her arrest but does not “know the situation” regarding Prince Andrew’s alleged links to late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The US president was responding to questions about whether Maxwell would “turn in powerful men” as part of a future plea deal with US prosecutors, The Telegraph says. The British socialite has pleaded not guilty to six charges relating to her alleged role in grooming young girls for her close friend Epstein to abuse.
Speaking at a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said that he hadn’t “really been following” the case but that he knew Maxwell after meeting her “numerous times” when she lived near his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president then declined to comment on Prince Andrew’s alleged relationship with Epstein, who died in an apparent suicide in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial last summer.
“I don’t know the situation with Prince Andrew. Just don't know, not aware of it,” Trump said.
His comments cames days after the emergence of footage dating from 2015 in which Trump described Epstein’s Little Saint James private island as “an absolute cesspool” before adding: “Just ask Prince Andrew.”
And in a further twist, an ex-employee of Epstein has told The Sun that she walked in on her former boss and Maxwell joking over a “secretly filmed clip” of Prince Andrew with a topless woman.
“I do not know who the girl was on the video but she was topless. I really can’t say what her age was,” said the 48-year-old woman, who says the footage was shot at Epstein’s £60m Manhattan home.
“I couldn’t see all of Andrew so I don’t know if he was clothed or not. It looked like it was filmed in a bedroom. I don’t think Andrew knew he was being filmed.”
The woman - referred to under the false name of “Tiffany Doe” - claims that Maxwell then said: “Oh, that’s Randy Andy for you.”
“Jeffrey laughed at that and I of course immediately recognised who it was on the tape,” said the former employee, who is working with US lawyers representing alleged victims of the late billionaire financier and Maxwell.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs.
Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
FBI: US violent crime falls again, hits pre-Covid levels
Speed Read A wide-ranging report found that violent crime dropped 3% in the last year, while murder dropped 11.6%
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge rejects Trump bid to make NY case federal
Speed Read Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused Trump's motion to transfer his criminal case to federal court
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump ally Bannon reports to prison
Speed Read He will serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump won't testify as trial enters final phase
Speed Read Despite his public insistence on testifying, Trump's defense team called two witnesses, "neither of them the former president"
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hush money trial: what has the jury heard?
Today's Big Question Former loyal fixer Michael Cohen proves star witness for prosecution, but Stormy Daniels's graphic testimony could offer grounds for appeal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
New York prosecutors lay out case against Trump
Speed Read The former president's first criminal trial started in earnest Monday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Epstein papers: what do they reveal?
Talking Points Documents adding new detail to existing claims cause 'new furore'
By The Week UK Published