President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wished alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell "well" after he was asked about her case during a news briefing at the White House largely focused on the coronavirus.
"I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly," Trump said when asked for his thoughts on whether she could turn on powerful men such as Britain's Prince Andrew, who prosecutors have been seeking to question in connection with her case.
Maxwell is currently being held without bail in federal lockup while awaiting trial for allegedly helping transport minors for sexual activity in the 1990s and then lying about it under oath. Prosecutors said she "played a critical role" in helping multimillionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein identify, "befriend and groom minor victims for abuse." She has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Trump, who was photographed with Maxwell and Epstein numerous times before Epstein was first charged in the mid-2000s, said Tuesday "I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is."
Trump had less warm words for Epstein after he was arrested last year, saying they'd had a "falling out." "I wasn't a fan," he said.
Epstein's been accused of sexually assaulting dozens of young women and underage girls. He died by suicide last year while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking.
One of Maxwell's alleged victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said Maxwell recruited her to give Epstein "massages" while Giuffre was working as a locker room attendant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
