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Inexcerpts from the book published Monday, Wolff, 67, alleges that Trump, 75, took “sudden interest” in Maxwell when discussing who to pardon near the end of his tenure. Maxwell, 59, the former companion of Epstein, is currently awaiting trial on multiple charges for her involvement with Epstein’s sex trafficking of minors.
An excerpt from Wolff’s book reads: “One ‘oh, s—’ moment involved [Trump’s] sudden interest in Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein now facing years in prison over allegations of her role in the Epstein sex-abuse scandal. Trump had tried hard to downplay his own long relationship with Epstein.”
“‘Has she said anything about me?’ [Trump] openly wondered. ‘Is she going to talk? Will she roll on anybody?'” the excerpt continues.
Wolff further alleges that Trump ultimately didn’t issue a pardon to Maxwell, and was dissuaded from doing so when informed that the federal move could trigger individual states to pursue her prosecution.
While Maxwell was ultimately not pardoned, Trump didpardon a numberof other close friends and associates, including retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former adviser Roger Stone, and his son-in-lawJared Kushner’s dad.
Since the release of the excerpt fromLandslide, Trump’s spokeswoman Liz Harrington responded to the allegations on Twitter Tuesday, saying the conversationsnever happenedand the stories in the book are"fake news."
Wolff made several headline-making accusationsaboutTrumpin his bestselling bombshell bookFire and Fury: Inside the Trump White Houseback in 2018.Trump has previously said that Wolff’s book was “phony” and “full of lies, misrepresentation, and sources that don’t exist.”
Trump’s relationship with Epstein was under the microscope when the billionaire financier was arrested and charged. The case brought renewed scrutiny to Epstein’s apparent friendship with Trump, who spoke highly of the financier toNew Yorkmagazine in 2002.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Trump said. “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Politicoalso reported in 2017 that Trump flew at least once on one of Epstein’s private planes, and Epstein had the future commander-in-chief’s phone numbers in his personal phone directory.
source: people.com
