Maxwell Blames Sarah Ferguson for Prince Andrew’s Ties to Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell, in a newly released 380-page transcript of a July interview with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, rejected long-standing allegations that she facilitated a sexual encounter between Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre at her London home in 2001. Maxwell insisted the now-infamous photograph showing her, the Duke of York and the then-17-year-old Giuffre is a fabrication and said the small size of her bathroom made the reported encounter physically impossible. The imprisoned former associate of Jeffrey Epstein also denied introducing Andrew to the convicted sex offender, asserting instead that the connection was made by Andrew’s former wife, Sarah Ferguson, after the Duchess of York met Epstein through socialite Lynn Forester de Rothschild. “That is a flat untruth,” Maxwell said of claims she brokered the friendship, adding that Ferguson “pushed” for contact with Epstein. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking minors, used the interview to defend the prince as “innocent” and to dismiss the existence of any secret “client list.” She further repeated her belief that Epstein was murdered rather than having died by suicide in 2019. The Justice Department released the transcript and accompanying audio on Friday as part of its ongoing review of information related to Epstein’s network.