Virginia Giuffre's family stunned over Trump's Epstein claim
Giuffre, who had accused influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. She died by suicide this year.
Her family's statement is the latest development involving Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, facing federal sex trafficking charges. Donald Trump, a one-time friend, denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he severed ties years ago, with questions persisting.
Trump said he was upset with Epstein for poaching workers and stealing Ms Giuffre from his Palm Beach, Florida, club.
'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been 'stolen' from Mar-a-Lago,' the family's statement said.
'We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this,' it continued.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the president was responding to a reporter's question and didn't bring up Giuffre himself.
'The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,' she said.
The family's statement comes shortly after the Justice Department interviewed Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges and is serving a 20-year sentence in Tallahassee, Florida. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in a Florida courthouse, though details about what she said haven't become public.
Maxwell's lawyers have said she testified truthfully and answered questions 'about 100 different people." They have said she's willing to answer more questions from Congress if she is granted immunity from future prosecution for her testimony and if lawmakers agree to satisfy other conditions.
A message seeking comment about the Giuffre family's statement was sent to Maxwell's attorney on Thursday.
In a CNN interview Thursday evening, Giuffre's family also spoke out.
'She wasn't stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump's property … stolen seems very impersonal. It feels very much like an object, and the survivors are not objects, women are not objects,' said Sky Roberts, Giuffre's brother. 'She was preyed upon, and it certainly makes you kind of ask the question, you know, how much he knew during that time?'
A Trump administration official said the president is not currently considering clemency action for Maxwell.
Giuffre said she was approached by Maxwell in 2000 and eventually was hired by her as a masseuse for Epstein. But the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, she said, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates.
Giuffre said she was flown around the world for appointments with men including Prince Andrew while she was 17 and 18 years old.
The men, including Andrew, denied it and assailed Giuffre's credibility. She acknowledged changing some key details of her account.
The prince settled with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a 'substantial donation' to her survivors' organization.
The American-born Giuffre lived in Australia for years and became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein's prolonged downfall.
Her family's statement said she endured death threats and financial ruin over her cooperation with authorities against Epstein and Maxwell.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
9 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Nato to deliver more military aid to Ukraine after Dutch minister announces deal
The equipment that will be provided is based on Ukraine's priority needs on the battlefield. Nato allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on. 'Packages will be prepared rapidly and issued on a regular basis,' a Nato spokesperson said. Air defence systems are in greatest need, as the United Nations said that Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. Russia's bigger army is also making slow but costly progress along the 620-mile front line. Currently, it is waging an operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub whose fall could allow it to drive deeper into Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment which they plan to send from the United States, which has greater stocks of military material, as well as more effective weapons. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine. The new deliveries will come on top of other pledges of military equipment. The Kiel Institute, which tracks support to Ukraine, estimates that as of June, European countries had provided 72 billion euros (£63bn) worth of military aid since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, compared to 65 billion dollars (£49bn) in US aid. Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said that 'American air defence systems and munitions, in particular, are crucial for Ukraine to defend itself'. Announcing the deliveries on Monday, he said Russia's attacks are 'pure terror, intended to break Ukraine'. Germany said on Friday that it will deliver two more Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming days. It agreed to the move after securing assurances that the US will prioritise the delivery of new Patriots to Germany to backfill its stocks. These weapon systems are only made in the US.
Rhyl Journal
9 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Nato to deliver more military aid to Ukraine after Dutch minister announces deal
The equipment that will be provided is based on Ukraine's priority needs on the battlefield. Nato allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on. 'Packages will be prepared rapidly and issued on a regular basis,' a Nato spokesperson said. Air defence systems are in greatest need, as the United Nations said that Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. Russia's bigger army is also making slow but costly progress along the 620-mile front line. Currently, it is waging an operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub whose fall could allow it to drive deeper into Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying most of the equipment which they plan to send from the United States, which has greater stocks of military material, as well as more effective weapons. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine. The new deliveries will come on top of other pledges of military equipment. The Kiel Institute, which tracks support to Ukraine, estimates that as of June, European countries had provided 72 billion euros (£63bn) worth of military aid since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, compared to 65 billion dollars (£49bn) in US aid. Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said that 'American air defence systems and munitions, in particular, are crucial for Ukraine to defend itself'. Announcing the deliveries on Monday, he said Russia's attacks are 'pure terror, intended to break Ukraine'. Germany said on Friday that it will deliver two more Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming days. It agreed to the move after securing assurances that the US will prioritise the delivery of new Patriots to Germany to backfill its stocks. These weapon systems are only made in the US.
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump swears he's hearing ‘great reviews' after White House Rose Garden leveled
President Donald Trump has insisted he is hearing 'great reviews' for his makeover of the White House Rose Garden, which has seen its famous manicured lawn paved over to make way for a stone patio. 'We're getting great reviews of the Rose Garden, and we had to do it,' the president told reporters on Sunday as he returned to Washington, D.C. 'When we had a press conference, you'd sink into the mud. It was grass and it was very wet, always wet and damp and wet and if it rained it would take three, four, five days to dry out and we couldn't use it really for the intended purpose. 'It's a beautiful white stone and it's a stone that's the same color as the White House itself. And because it's very white, it's going to reflect the heat and it's not going to be very hot. Yeah, we've got great reviews of the Rose Garden.' The president's assessment does not match that of social media users, who complained over the weekend that he had turned a cherished piece of American history into a 'parking lot' and a 'concrete jungle' that looks 'devoid of life.' The garden was first opened in 1913, was planted up with roses by then-first lady Jackie Kennedy in the early 1960s and has hosted receptions for visiting dignitaries for decades, also serving as a venue for annual ceremonies like the Thanksgiving turkey pardon and occasional policy announcements, most recently Trump's swiftly-reversed 'Liberation Day' tariff unveiling in April. The redesign leaves its signature rose bushes pushed to the periphery to accommodate a design much closer to the president's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. The cost of the 'upgrade' has not been released although it is known that the work was paid for by the Trust for the National Mall, a nonpartisan nonprofit that has raised $75m in private funding for D.C. restoration projects since 2007. The president has enjoyed imposing his idiosyncratic taste on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since returning to office and last week announced the construction of a new $200m ballroom. He has already had the Oval Office redecorated, wasting no time in switching the pictures, busts and ornaments around and introducing as much gold as possible. As CNN noted earlier this year: 'There is gold everywhere: new gold vermeil figurines on the mantle and medallions on the fireplace, gold eagles on the side tables, gilded Rococo mirrors on the doors, and, nestled in the pediments above the doorways, diminutive gold cherubs shipped in from Mar-a-Lago.' Trump also tripled the number of pictures of his predecessors on the walls, adding portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan, amongst others. He further reinstated his signature Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk and a bust of Sir Winston Churchill last seen during his first term.
