'I shed no tear for Virginia Giuffre': Prince Andrew's accuser was 'a consummate liar who destroyed countless lives', says Ghislaine Maxwell's brother Ian
In an interview this morning Mr Maxwell said he 'sheds no tear' for Ms Giuffre who killed herself in April at the age of 41.
Epstein died in a New York prison while awaiting sex crime charges in 2019 leaving Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, behind bars - serving 20 years on child sex trafficking charges.
Epstein allegedly controlled a web of underage girls, with victims claiming they were passed around as sex toys to his wealthy friends and billionaire business associates who regularly visited his homes including his private island, Little Saint James.
Maxwell was convicted in 2022 over her role in the scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Epstein over the course of a decade.
But speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning Ghislaine's brother Ian Maxwell - a businessman and son of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell - insisted Virginia Giuffre was a 'consummate liar from start to finish' who 'destroyed countless lives' - including Prince Andrew's.
He added: 'This is most conspicuously revealed when she had alleged that she had slept with Professor Alan Dershowitz, maintained it for many years, and then had to withdraw and desist.'
Mr Maxwell had been responding to comments made last night by the family of the late Ms Giuffre who said they wanted 'those monsters to be exposed for who they are and what they've done,' referring to both Epstein and his sister.
He said: 'Well, I think I know who the monster is here. It certainly isn't my sister.'
Supporters of Ms Giuffre have railed against a possible pardon for the convicted heiress Maxwell and demanded the release of FBI files related to Epstein's crimes.
But the Trump administration stunned even members of its base after denying reports Epstein kept a list of the rich and powerful people for whom he trafficked young girls.
Mr Maxwell agreed, when questioned by Nick Ferrari, that the so-called files should be released adding 'transparency is generally the right way to go and I believe transparency is the friend of my sister'.
The brother was then asked about the condition of his sister in prison, having claimed a couple of weeks ago she is at 'great risk' and 'fearing for her life'.
He said: 'She's now completed five years of prison, two years of that pre-trial in absolutely torturous circumstances.
'MDC Brooklyn, one of the toughest jails in, in the world, really, not just in the U.S. she's now at Tallahassee, which is a pretty violent place, awash with drugs, desperately overcrowded and, you know, it's a, it's a dangerous place.
'Prisons are dangerous places. So, I am fearful for my sister, but her spirit is strong, her belief in her innocence. My belief in that too is resolute.'
Asked if he was aware of whether President Trump had ever visited Epstein island, Mr Maxwell said: 'I don't know. I do not know that he ever did.'
He confirmed he had met Epstein previously, making him out as a 'highly intelligent man' with a 'dark charisma about him' - but 'not the sort of person I would have wanted to go for a drink with, if you see what I mean'.
Ian Maxwell is also co-founder of the think tank Combatting Jihadist Terrorism.
In the 1990s, he was acquitted of charges of criminal financial malpractice relating to the business practices of his father, Robert.
Since 2021, he has expressed concern about the welfare of his sister with regard to her convictions in relation to the Epstein case.
Many people have accused the Trump administration of engaging in a cover-up of Epstein's crimes - and members of Congress have even suggested having Maxwell testify publicly about what he had done.
But Ms Giuffre's family argues Maxwell should not be let out of her sentence or given any leniency in order to testify.
'We were very shocked and very surprised that they're giving her a platform,' Roberts told Collins on The Source Thursday night, saying Maxwell 'deserves to rot in prison because of what she did to my sister and so many other women.'
She then described the heiress as a 'puppet master' and a 'monster of a nightmare' who 'viciously participated' in Epstein's sex trafficking scheme by recruiting young women.
'It's really important that we create a culture... for victims and survivors to come forward, to protect them, to trust them and believe them,' she explained in remarks to NBC News.
'Survivors deserve the space to be heard always, and that if you were to let [Maxwell] free, it would be silencing them all over again - and that is not a culture that any of us want.'
Lanette Wilson, Giuffre's other sister-in-law, also argued Maxwell was not 'a minor player' and instead helped organise Epstein's sex trafficking operations.
A senior administration official has since told the Daily Mail that 'no leniency is being given or discussed'.
'The president himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time,' the official said, despite Trump previously saying he would be 'allowed to' pardon her.
The president had once been good friends with Epstein and Maxwell, who were photographed partying at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, including with Trump's then-girlfriend Melania.
But he claimed on Tuesday that their friendship ended when he realized Epstein was taking his young employees like Giuffre - who was just 16 years old and working as a locker room attendant at the spa at his Florida estate at the time.
'Everyone knows the people that were taken,' Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. 'People were taken out of the spa hired by him.'
'I didn't know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said, "Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa. I don't want you taking people," the president continued.
'And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, "Out of here."'
Trump then officially banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in 2004.
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Ghislaine Maxwell's ex-cellmate reveals all about her life in prison, and how she has 'dirt' on Donald Trump
The first time Kathryn Comolli saw Ghislaine Maxwell was when the convicted sex trafficker was about to enter the isolation unit at Tallahassee prison, Florida. Comolli said: '[Maxwell] was just standing there in an orange jumpsuit and orange flip-flops, with handcuffs behind her back and a guard on both sides. She was looking down at the ground, tense and angry. Comolli slept a few feet away from Maxwell, 63, for over three months, and she had heard another inmate reveal that her cellmate had 'dirt' on Donald Trump - who was friends with the notorious late pedo Jeffrey Epstein. About that first meeting, Comolli, 44, said: '[Maxwell] had just been strip-searched, which involves squatting naked and coughing because they don't want any contraband [concealed on the person].' 'I heard some female inmates shouting, "Here comes Maxwell. Here comes that big money b****." I thought to myself, "Oh my God, there she is. What is she doing here in this hell-hole?" But Maxwell stayed cool, calm and collected. That was the way she was. Her golden rule seemed to be that she would keep herself to herself.' At that time, Maxwell had already been at the prison for a few months - but she had to spend a night in isolation as punishment for talking to the media without permission from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Referring to Maxwell's appearance on Talk TV's Jeremy Kyle Live, in which the disgraced British socialite said she wished she had 'never met' Epstein, Comolli said: 'It was the only interview she ever did and she got in trouble for it.' Comolli spent 15 days in isolation after she was transferred from Federal Prison Camp Marianna in Florida, where she had been found with a mobile phone. After completing the time, she was taken by guards to B South Dormitory and assigned a bunk near Maxwell's. Both women slept on their respective bottom bunks. B South was a horseshoe-shaped room made up of sleeping cubes, divided by shoulder-height concrete walls. There were 140 inmates in the dormitory. Each section had two bunk beds with lockers in the middle but 'no privacy whatsoever'. Comolli was serving six years for 'conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine'. After her arrest in September 2020, she served two years of her sentence at Tallahassee and was released last August. She said: 'While most of us would watch TV, cook noodles, listen to the radio or play cards, Maxwell just laid on her bed reading. 'It was hot and sweaty and any time it rained, we'd have to take maxi pads [sanitary towels] and put them in the cracks in the ceiling so we didn't get wet. 'There were just four toilets for 140 of us and they were always getting blocked. We'd put a garbage bag over them and just wait until somebody got round to fixing them -anywhere from a week to a month.' Comolli said it was common knowledge among inmates that Maxwell's aim was not to serve her full 20-year sentence and instead hoped to get a pardon from then President Joe Biden in exchange for information about Donald Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Fresh air: Maxwell's keen on keeping fit and she was seen running laps on the track of FCI Tallahassee on November 6, 2022 Comolli said: 'I heard her tell another inmate that she had dirt on Trump and that it was going to get her a pardon from Biden. I guess Biden's camp just didn't want to go down that route.' There's still talk of a pardon. Last week, Maxwell was moved to Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, where there were no perimeter walls or wire fences. Her move came after she met and was questioned by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. Comolli said: 'I believe Maxwell made a deal with the devil to get that transfer out of Tallahassee.' Life in the Tallahassee prison's markedly different from that of Camp Bryan. Comolli said: 'Breakfast would be a scoop of bran flakes and a carton of milk, which was usually frozen. Sometimes you'd get half a frozen pancake. 'Lunch could be two pieces of bread and a slice of salami or some potatoes, and dinner could be moldy lettuce, expired tomatoes, and lots of beans and rice.' With such unappealing food on offer, Comolli said inmates would often cook 'prison soup' in the dormitory by pouring hot water into an empty chip packet or lunch box and then add noodles, crushed corn chips, pickles, and cheese. But Maxwell never did that, according to Comolli: 'She had particular habits. For example, she didn't let anyone wash her clothes and she cleaned her own cubicle. 'She claimed to be allergic to the dye in the prison blanket so she was given special white hospital blankets. You could tell which was Maxwell's bed because of the white blankets. She was the only one in the whole prison who had white blankets. 'Maxwell didn't ask for anything from other inmates because she worked out that if you did, there was usually a favor attached to it. There's a price tag on everything in prison.' Comolli revealed that Maxwell did befriend one fellow prisoner, a doctor, who would follow her everywhere and joined her for meals. Comolli said: 'My own first real conversation with [Maxwell] was when I asked to borrow her prized New York Times Sunday edition. 'I said, "Hey, can I check out your New York Times?" and she replied, "Yes, but everybody else always wants to read it so you'll have to wait but it won't be a problem."' Comolli never saw Maxwell being disrespected by other inmates and the former socialite was able to converse in four languages. Maxwell received 'ungodly amounts of mail with stacks of daily letters. But under prison regulations, all letters - including envelopes - are photocopied before distribution so that inmates can't use drug-laced paper for smoking or consumption'. Comolli also saw Maxwell passing the time by working as a clerk at the law library in the prison's education building. She worked there three to five days a week. She said: '[Maxwell] was smart and knew the law well. She helped people with legal stuff and won respect from inmates for this - but she would not let anyone take advantage of her.' Of Maxwell's perceived persona, Comolli says: 'The evil pimp? I never saw that. I just saw a person trying to get through each day like the rest of us. She was active in her Jewish faith and took that seriously. She had a Torah and participated in the Sabbath. She was a participant in all Jewish activities.' Comolli joined Maxwell's twice-weekly yoga and Pilates classes for several months. Around a dozen inmates would head to a corner of the yard with prison mats that Maxwell had secured for them. Comolli said: 'She was in phenomenal shape, running up to five miles every day in the yard. She could outrun pretty much anybody. 'Whenever she would be walking back from the track and someone would holler out, "Hey, Maxwell, come here!" she would ignore them. She was good at ignoring people. Then sometimes she would be in a playful mood and she'd grab a basketball and start dribbling around the court and shooting hoops. She is very athletic.' But, even after Maxwell had been exercising, Comolli says she never saw her take a shower like other inmates and instead 'would just go straight to her bunk'. Her former cellmate said: 'I'm assuming she didn't want to put herself in a vulnerable position. I never saw her alone in the bathroom. She was on her guard 24/7. 'One day, she got her hair cut and took her hair with her rather than sweeping it up. I guessed she didn't want anything of hers that could possibly be sold or exploited.' Last month, Maxwell's brother Ian claimed that she feared for her safety in Tallahassee with 'serious staff shortages and more dangerous higher risk-category prisoners now being admitted to the prison'. But Comolli said there were no serious issues between Maxwell and other inmates, besides some name-calling. Recalling her last conversation with Maxwell, Comolli said: 'It was in the law library. I wanted to file a Freedom of Information application to see my federal file and she gave me some advice. 'I wouldn't say I got close to her during my time at Tallahassee but that was Maxwell's strategy. She refused to get close to anyone.'
