Unpacking claim Ghislaine Maxwell confirmed Epstein had ‘secret tapes’ of Trump, Clinton

In late August 2025, social media posts claimed convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell “confirmed” the existence of secret videotapes of U.S President Donald Trump and former U.S. President Bill Clinton recorded by her former associate and fellow convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019. The claim touched on long-running speculation about Epstein’s connections to powerful figures and allegations that he used hidden cameras in his properties to collect compromising material.

The claim resurfaced in part through a headline on the gossip site Radar Online reading, “EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell Told Investigator Epstein Had Secret ‘Tapes’ of BOTH Trump and Bill Clinton — Years Before Her Donald-Saving DOJ Interview.” Radar Online also shared the claim in posts on Facebook and Threads. The posts read:

But the source of this claim was not new in 2025, and, as of this writing, Maxwell has never publicly or directly confirmed the existence of such tapes. The rumor originated from an account in a 2021 memoir by Ira Rosen, a former producer on the CBS News TV show “60 Minutes,” who described an alleged exchange with Maxwell nearly a decade earlier. We were not able to independently verify Rosen’s account. 

In a July 2025 interview with the U.S. Department of Justice, Maxwell said she had never seen or installed hidden surveillance equipment in any of Epstein’s properties and denied that either Trump or Clinton were implicated in Epstein’s crimes.

Where the claim came from

The posts that circulated in August 2025 were not based on any new statement from Maxwell. Rather, they originated from a passage in Rosen’s memoir, “Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes.” In the book, Rosen described a conversation he reportedly had with Maxwell in 2016, just months before the U.S. presidential election. The exchange appeared in Chapter 30 of the book.

“She thought I was following up on her previous seduction offer, but I was more interested in what she knew about Trump’s visits to Epstein’s Palm Beach house and any interactions he may have had with underage women,” Rosen wrote, adding that, “One lawsuit filed that year named Trump as the person who allegedly had sex with a thirteen-year-old at Epstein’s place, a suit that was dismissed.”

Rosen wrote that, acting on a hunch, he arranged to meet Maxwell because he “surmised that [Epstein] had wired his homes with security cameras that videotaped his guests having sex.” According to Rosen’s account, the conversation went as follows:

“I want the tapes,” I told Maxwell at a table at the Regency Bar. “I know he was videotaping everyone, and I want the tapes of Trump with the girls.” She didn’t deny the existence of the tapes but said, “I don’t know where they are.” 

“Ask Epstein. The fate of the country is at stake. Trump could be elected president, and how would you feel if those tapes emerged after he was in office?”

At no point in the passage did Maxwell explicitly confirm that tapes existed or describe their contents. Rather, she implied that if such recordings of Trump existed, there would be similar material involving Clinton. As Rosen recalled (emphasis ours):

She gave me a stern look and pointed a finger in my face. “I am the daughter of a press baron. I know the way you people think. If you do one side, you must do the other. If you get tapes on Trump, you have to do Clinton,” she said.

“I will,” I said. “I will go wherever the story goes.”

Former President Bill Clinton had taken at least twenty-six trips abroad on Epstein’s private jet, the “Lolita Express” — even flying without his Secret Service detail. He has said that it was all for Clinton Foundation business, but flight logs showed there were unidentified women on the flights, including one who was later identified as giving Epstein “massages.”

Rosen wrote that Maxwell told him Epstein had never “shared with her the location of the tapes.” According to his account, Maxwell didn’t want Trump to win the election but believed Hillary Clinton was comfortably ahead and saw no reason for the story to come out. Rosen recalled then hailing a cab for Maxwell, at which point she asked if he was going to come back to her place. “Get me the tapes, and I will go back to your place,” he replied, commenting that “she seemed to expect that answer.”

In sum, although Rosen interpreted Maxwell’s alleged remarks as confirmation of the existence of “secret tapes,” the account remains anecdotal and unverified. Maxwell has not made similar claims publicly, and as of this writing no corroborating evidence has emerged to support the existence of such tapes.

Maxwell on Trump and Clinton in 2025

In August 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released transcripts of a two-day interview with Maxwell conducted the previous month. The interview offered the most direct and recent public record of her statements about Epstein’s activities, including the long-standing rumors of blackmail tapes and the involvement of high-profile figures like Trump and Clinton.

In the interview, Maxwell denied that either Trump or Clinton were involved in Epstein’s criminal activities and rejected the existence of a so-called “client list.” At no point did she confirm, mention or imply the existence of “secret tapes” involving Trump, Clinton or anyone else.

When asked about Trump, Maxwell said she “never saw the President in any type of massage setting” and “never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way,” adding that in the time she spent with him, “he was a gentleman in all respects.” She also denied ever hearing allegations that Trump had acted improperly around Epstein’s “masseuses.” Regarding Clinton, Maxwell pushed back on the idea that he was ever a “client” of Epstein and when asked if “Clinton ever received a massage,” she responded, “I don’t believe he did.”

In the interview, Maxwell also addressed long-standing blackmail rumors tied to Epstein and denied ever witnessing or installing any hidden surveillance systems in Epstein’s properties. Maxwell stated that while she was involved in designing and decorating several of his homes, including overseeing electrical work, she “never wired, nor saw, a single house that had any type of inappropriate … video surveillance,” defining “inappropriate” as any surveillance located in bathrooms, bedrooms or massage rooms. Additionally, Maxwell said she never heard anyone accuse Epstein of blackmail or extortion in her presence.

A week after the interview, Maxwell was transferred from a federal prison in Florida to a lower-security facility in Texas. The timing of the move fueled speculation about whether she had cooperated with the DOJ in exchange for more favorable treatment.

These statements directly contradicted the claim circulating online that Maxwell had confirmed Epstein secretly recorded political figures. As of this writing, there was no publicly available evidence that such tapes existed and no indication that Maxwell ever directly acknowledged their existence. 

We will update this report if new information on the topic comes to light.