Donald Trump is silent on Ghislaine Maxwell’s verdict after previous comments congratulating her ‘well’

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Donald Trump’s many comments sending Ghislaine Maxwell a warm greeting after she was arrested last year are swirling again on social media, after a New York federal court jury found the British socialite guilty Wednesday in five cases related to sex trafficking. But for now, the former president is silent now that he has a conviction.

Last year, after his arrest in rural New Hampshire, the then president had a warm word for Maxwell, a fellow member of the New York and Florida social scene in the late ’90s and early’ 90s. of the 2000s, a period in which Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein are said to have. committed widespread abuse.

“I have met him many times over the years, especially when I lived in Palm Beach, and I think they live in Palm Beach. But I want him well, whatever it is, ”Mr Trump said in July of 2020.

A month later, he doubled down on his comments, in an interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios.

“Yes, I wish him well,” Mr Trump said. “I greet you. I wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove guilty. “

Commentators took this record online when the verdict was announced on Wednesday. (Maxwell plans to appeal the verdict.)

“Don’t forget Jeffrey Epstein is a monster. And also don’t forget that Donald Trump greeted him when he was caught and imprisoned,” podcaster Rex Chapman wrote.

“NOTE: Trump’s Hot Word for Ghislaine Maxwell:‘ I Just Wish Her Well ’ – these are the people Trump wants,” broadcaster Dean Obeidallah added, as writer David Gardner said the verdict guilty means “Donald Trump will be disappointed..”

The Independent contacted Mr Trump for comment.

Instead of commenting on the trial, Mr. Trump spent the day sending out statements about the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, an effort he labeled as a “Witch Hunt,” as well as criticizing Joe Biden’s record on Covid.

Despite instructions from a judge to avoid “unnecessary” name cuts, the former president was mentioned several times during Maxwell’s trial.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, along with disgraced actor Kevin Spacey, were all regular guests aboard Epstein’s private plane, according to his longtime pilot, who testified during the trial.

One of Maxwell’s accusers, who used the name “Jane,” also said he was introduced to Mr Trump at the age of 14 at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

There was no suggestion during the trial of inappropriate behavior from Mr Trump, even though the former president has been accused of sexual harassment or assault of at least 18 women. He denies wrongdoing.

Epstein and Mr Trump had a well-documented friendship, photographed together in New York and Mar-a-Lago, before the couple separated.

In an interview with New York magazine in 2002, Mr Trump described Epstein as an “amazing man”.

“She is very happy with me. It’s even said that he likes beautiful women like me, and many of them are on the younger side. There’s no doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.

After Epstein’s arrest in 2019 for sex trafficking, footage from November 1992 reappeared showing Mr Trump sharing with Epstein on the Mar-a-Lago estate.

Mr Trump first responded to the news of Epstein’s death by committing suicide in prison in 2019 by retweeting conspiracy theories about the Clinton family, including a post saying, “Bill Clinton, has committed of private trips to Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘pedophilia island’. “

Later, the former president said he was “not a fan” of Epstein, and described a long -ago separation in their relationship.

“I’ve been fighting with him for a long time,” Mr Trump said at the time. “I don’t think I’ve talked to him in 15 years.”

Mr Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after the disgraced financier harassed the teenage son of another private club member, according to The Grifter’s Club: Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and the Selling of the Presidency, ”by Miami Herald reporter Sarah Blaskey.

“In the way this person described it, such action could no longer be replaced by damage to Trump’s brand, leaving Donald with no choice but to remove Epstein,” Ms. Blaskey told CNBC in August.

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