What was in the deposition Ghislaine Maxwell fought to keep sealed?
British socialite insists she never witnessed ‘inappropriate underage activities’ by Jeffrey Epstein

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Hundreds of pages of documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released following a protracted legal battle.
A 2016 deposition given by Maxwell during a now-settled civil defamation lawsuit involving one of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, was unsealed on Thursday, moments before a court-imposed deadline.
In the transcript, the socialite claims she never witnessed “inappropriate underage activities” by the billionaire financier, who was found hanging in his Manhattan cell last year while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
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.
And there were no underage girls on his private island of Little St James, according to Maxwell, who is also now in prison in New York after being arrested this summer for alleged sex crimes, conspiracy and perjury linked to Epstein.
Asked if Epstein had a “sexual preference for underage minors”, she replied: “I cannot tell you what Jeffrey’s story is. I’m not able to.”
The socialite was also asked why she continued to maintain contact with Epstein after he was convicted of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor in 2008. She said she thought it was a “nice thing” to do and described herself as a “very loyal person”.
Maxwell had tried to block the unsealing of the deposition by arging that the move would violate her “due process right to a fair trial by an impartial jury”. She denies all the charges against her and will go on trial next year.
In the documents from the previous case, she claimed “never to have asked Giuffre to have had sex with anyone”, saying: “Just for the record I have never at any time, at any place, in any moment ever asked [her] to have sex with anybody.”
Maxwell is said to have “pounded the table in an inappropriate manner” as she discussed Giuffre’s allegations, the Daily Mirror reports.
Asked about claims that she had given a man - reportedly Prince Andrew - a puppet that he then used to grope girls, Maxwell responded: “I never gave him a gift of a puppet.” She was non-committal when asked repeatedly if Epstein was friends with Bill Clinton, responding: “I wouldn’t be able to characterise it like that, no.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
The week’s best photojournalism
In Pictures A steaming volcano, a giant crater and more
By Anahi Valenzuela Published
-
Texas and Yelp are suing each other over crisis pregnancy centers
Talking Point A battle over free speech and abortion rights heads to court
By Joel Mathis Published
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Inside FCI Tallahassee: the low-security prison where Ghislaine Maxwell can ‘teach yoga and bake’
In Depth Former socialite convicted of trafficking underage girls not eligible for release until 2037
By The Week Staff Published
-
What we know about the Copenhagen mall shooting
Speed Read Lone gunman had mental health issues and not thought to have terror motive, police say
By The Week Staff Published
-
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking
Speed Read
By Grayson Quay Published
-
Texas school shooting: parents turn anger on police
Speed Read Officers had to be urged to enter building where gunman killed 21 people
By The Week Staff Published
-
DJ Tim Westwood denies multiple sexual misconduct allegations
Speed Read At least seven women accuse the radio and TV presenter of predatory behaviour dating back three decades
By The Week Staff Published
-
What happened to Katie Kenyon?
Speed Read Man charged as police search for missing 33-year-old last seen getting into van
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Brooklyn subway shooting: exploring New York’s ‘steep decline in law and order’
Speed Read Last week, a gunman set off smoke bombs and opened fire on a rush-hour train in the city
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Prince Andrew and the £1m ‘gift’ from Turkish ‘fraudster’ explained
feature Court told that Duke of York received cash from elderly woman ‘hoodwinked by crooked middleman’
By The Week Staff Published