First Friends: How the First Couple’s Consigliere Went From Modeling Mogul to Special Envoy

The Trump administration’s dramatic reversal with respect to the Jeffrey Epstein case continues to confuse and enthrall, with President Trump still doubling down that the entire “Epstein thing” is a “Democrat hoax.” While Democrats certainly have sought to take advantage of situation for partisan ends, the reversal in rhetoric –– particularly after transparency in the Epstein case was made an important part of Trump’s 2024 campaign –– has seemingly defied explanation. Indeed, the timing of the reversal, which occurred after a protracted delay and then final reneging on releasing files about the case, has been hard for many to swallow.

Amid the fall-out from the administration’s about-face, the Trump administration has sought to mitigate the failure to “release the files” by publishing interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell (who has been desperately seeking a pardon or commuted sentence) and by issuing subpoenas to Bill and Hillary Clinton, a clear effort to divert “transparency” in the case into something more politically favorable to Republicans. 

However, as posited in Unlimited Hangout’s series “First Friends,” Trump’s effort to alter the narrative around the Epstein case may be aimed at shielding, not only potentially himself, but people in his close social circle, including at least one figure currently serving in his administration. That figure, Paolo Zampolli –– the administration’s current Special Envoy for Global Partnerships –– is the subject of this investigation. 

In Part I of this series, we met one of Trump’s closest friends from Italy: Flavio Briatore, a P2 lodge and Italian mafia-linked businessman with ties to prominent Victoria’s Secret Angels, at least one of whom he introduced to Epstein. In this second installment, the connections of Zampolli, another Italian close to both Trump and Briatore, are the focus. Zampolli has been in the news recently, not for the backdoor wheeling-and-dealing of his new, official U.S. government post, but because Trump and his wife Melania claim to have been first introduced by Zampolli amid assertions to the contrary that claim it had been Epstein.

As this investigation will show, Zampolli is deeply corrupt. From his beginnings as a protégé for the controversial modeling mogul John Casablancas, a man known for his appetite for what he called “child women,” Zampolli grew his modeling empire with money from Silvio Berlusconi, the corrupt Italian Prime Minister (and close friend of Flavio Briatore) who was forced to resign for his sexual escapades with minors while in office. Zampolli would later follow Casablanca’s example and marry his wife when she was 19, having met her not long after she had flown as an under-age teen on Epstein’s “Lolita Express.” 

After leaving the world of modeling to work for Donald Trump in the early 2000s, Zampolli would become closely affiliated with the Clintons as well as the United Nations, where he worked on their climate change initiatives and on the development of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. In particular, Zampolli was part of the team that developed SDG 14 “Life Under Water” alongside Stuart Beck, a figure closely tied to CIA regime change operations in Palau, as well as none other than Ghislaine Maxwell and her TerraMar project. 

Yet, that is not all Zampolli would accomplish at the UN, as he would figure prominently in a major UN financing scandal and also boasted close ties to suspect citizenship-by-investment schemes that would later see one of his close colleagues arrested and another dead under exceedingly bizarre circumstances. Those colleagues had been taking bribes from an organized crime and CCP-linked Chinese billionaire who was once at the center of the scandal that directly intersects with most of Jeffrey Epstein’s seventeen visits to the Clinton White House.

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House Oversight Chairman James Comer Requests Treasury Department’s Suspicious Activity Reports Related to Jeffrey Epstein

In their Epstein investigation Review, the House Oversight Committee is ‘following the money’.

Here in TGP we have been keeping an eye on the House Oversight Committee review of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell investigations and prosecutions.

Read: House Oversight Chairman James Comer Postpones Deposition With Ghislaine Maxwell,

Read: House Oversight Committee Update on Epstein-Maxwell Investigation: Comer Subpoenas Epstein Estate for Documents – Former US Atty. Alexander Acosta to Be Interviewed.

Today (31) it arises that House Oversight Chairman James Comer has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with the request for all the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Fox News reported:

“Comer sent the letter on Sunday, saying his committee is ‘reviewing the possible mismanagement’ of the federal government’s investigation of Epstein and Maxwell, including Epstein’s death.

The letter set a deadline of Sept. 15 for the Treasury to produce relevant SARS.

‘It is essential that Treasury produce to the Committee certain SARs to assist the Committee’s oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell’, the letter states.”

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The CIA, Mossad, and Epstein: Unraveling the Intelligence Ties of The Maxwell Family

With speculation mounting that Trump could pardon her, MintPress profiles the family of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. From her media baron father, who acted as a high-level spy for Israel, her sister, working to push Tel Aviv’s interests in Silicon Valley, her brothers, who founded a dubious but highly influential anti-Islamic extremism think tank, and nephews in influential roles at the State Department and White House, the Maxwell clan have wide-ranging ties to U.S. and Israeli state power. This is their story.

Releasing Ghislaine, Burying the Epstein Files

Speculation is growing that Ghislaine Maxwell could soon be freed. Despite campaigning on the promise to release the Epstein Files, there are increasing signs that the Trump administration is considering pardoning the world’s most notorious convicted sex trafficker.

Last month, Trump (who contemplated the idea in his first term in office) repeatedly refused to rule out a pardon, stating to journalists that “I’m allowed to do it.” Just days later, Maxwell was transferred across states to a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas—a highly unusual practice. Neither women convicted of sex crimes nor those with more than 10 years remaining on their sentences are generally permitted to be transferred to such facilities. The move sparked equal measures of speculation and outrage.

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Ghislaine Maxwell Says Lady Rothschild Introduced Prince Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein – Philanthropist Also Introduced Disgraced Financier to Alan Dershowitz and Bill Clinton

The two-day interview of Ghislaine Maxwell with the DOJ continues generating headlines.

After the complete audio recordings and transcriptions of the interviews have been released, many nuggets of information have called the attention of the press and the public, including the relationship between the late convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein and a world-famous British-American philanthropist.

During questioning by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Ghislaine Maxwell denied introducing Prince Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein, and said the two of them met for the first time at the holiday home Lady Lynn Forrester de Rothschild.

The Telegraph reported:

“’First of all, let’s just state, I did not introduce him [Epstein] to Prince Andrew. I did not introduce him to Prince Andrew or to Sarah Ferguson. That is a flat untruth. I’ll start with that’, Maxwell said over nine hours of interviews over two days in July.”

Lady de Rothschild was born in New Jersey, and is a telecommunications businesswoman turned investor, today chairing EL Rothschild, a wealth management firm which has The Economist Group in its portfolio.

“’She had a house or she rented a house in the Vineyard. I think it was in the Vineyard or Nantucket, I can’t remember now which one it was’, Maxwell told Todd Blanche, deputy attorney-general and a former personal lawyer for Donald Trump.

‘It was one of those. It was either in Nantucket or the Vineyard, and invited Epstein to go, and I believe that’s when he met Prince Andrew’.”

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Ghislaine Maxwell Confirms Trump Was ‘Never Inappropriate with Anybody’

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former assistant to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, confirmed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that she “never saw” President Donald Trump be “inappropriate with anybody.”

On Friday, the DOJ released audio and transcripts from two days of interviews with Maxwell that were “led by” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the New York Post (NYP) reported. The interviews took place in July in Tallahassee, Florida. In the aftermath of the interviews with Blanche, Maxwell was moved to a “minimum security camp” in Texas.

Per the NYP, Maxwell “provided virtually no new information” on other people associated with Epstein, such as former President Bill Clinton:

Maxwell, 63, provided virtually no new information on other boldfaced names associated with Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, former Harvard University President Larry Summers, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

“Did you ever observe President Trump receive a massage?” Blanche asked, according to one transcript.

“Never,” Maxwell responded.

“Did you ever observe — you said that you — you were — I mean, have you seen the — there’s photographs, public photographs of Mr. Epstein and President Trump together,” Blanche added.

Maxwell responded by confirming, and when Blanche went on to point out that she had been in “some of the photographs” in social settings, Maxwell confirmed. Maxwell continued to add that she was unsure of “the nature of” Trump and Epstein’s relationship, adding that she thinks “they were friendly like people are in social settings.”

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Ghislaine Maxwell Says She Does NOT Believe Epstein Committed Suicide in DOJ Interview

In newly released transcripts from Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Ghislaine Maxwell was revealed to not believe the narrative that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide.

Still, she stated that she doesn’t believe somebody “murdered to keep him quiet or because he had information on rich and powerful people.”

“I also think it’s ludicrous, because… they would’ve had of opportunity when he wasn’t in jail,” She said. “And if they were worried about blackmail or anything from him, he would’ve been a very easy target.”

However, when asked, “if you don’t believe that there’s any truth to the allegations of blackmail or that he had kind of a list, or that he had reasons to have people hate him, why would somebody kill him in prison?” Maxwell initially avoided the question. “In prison, where I am, they will kill you or they will pay — somebody can pay a prisoner to kill you for $25 worth of commissary. That’s about the going rate for a hit with a lock today,” she said.

She later stated, “of course it’s possible” that somebody outside of the prison ordered his murder, “but I don’t know of any reason why.”

The official government line is that Epstein killed himself in a facility known for its stringent security measures, while the guards failed to do mandatory checks on Epstein. The guards were also asleep, falsified records to cover their negligence, and the cameras were reportedly not working.

The New York City medical examiner concluded that Epstein died by suicide via hanging. As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, however, Dr. Michael Baden, a renowned forensic pathologist hired by Epstein’s family, observed the autopsy and noted injuries more consistent with homicidal strangulation, including fractures of the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage. Patel also dismissed this evidence, saying he’d never seen it!

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Counterterrorism and Special Ops Forces Deployed to Protect Ghislaine Maxwell’s Life in Texas Prison

Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and accomplice to Jeffrey Epstein, should be safe from any potential threats against her life.

The New York Sun has revealed that special ops and counterterrorism forces have been deployed to her prison facility in Texas after she received a barrage of death threats.

Their report states:

Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime paramour and closest associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, has received death threats since her surprise transfer to a minimum-security prison camp at Bryan, Texas, prompting federal corrections officials to call in the Bureau of Prisons’ Counter Terrorism and Special Operations units to considerably beef up its security at the facility, The New York Sun has learned.

“There have been death threats received,” a source close to the investigation tells the Sun. “They are focused on the outside looking in, as opposed to the happenings inside the camp.”

Members of the BOP’s Special Operations Response Team have been working around the Federal Prison Camp Bryan’s entrance and perimeter to monitor outside threats against Maxwell. The French and British socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and is trying to negotiate a commutation of her sentence amid enormous, renewed public interest in the Epstein case that has put pressure on President Trump.

The BOP has also deployed its Counter Terrorism Unit, typically used to monitor the communications and activities for “terrorist offenders” incarcerated in its system, to monitor threats inside Camp Bryan. Both teams have been working inside Camp Bryan since Maxwell’s transfer there last week.

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons refused to confirm the operation, saying they do not comment on specific cases.

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Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ Trump never did anything concerning around her: report

Jeffrey Epstein’s madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, reportedly told Justice Department officials in recent interviews that she never saw President Trump doing anything concerning.

The notorious sex trafficker gave no information that could potentially harm Trump’s reputation, sources told ABC News.

Maxwell had huddled with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — who is also Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer — for nine hours late last month.

Her lawyer previously revealed that Maxwell had answered questions “about 100 different people” as she tries to hash out a deal with the feds to spill secrets about her late pedophile ex.

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Ghislaine Maxwell is quietly moved to cushy new ‘Club Fed’ prison as she pushes for deal to tell all on Epstein, his associates

Notorious sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has quietly been moved to a cushy prison camp known as a “Club Fed” as she tries to hash out a deal to divulge her sordid secrets about late pedophile ex Jeffrey Epstein.

The 63-year-old convicted child sex pest was transferred from a lockup in Florida to the minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) confirmed to The Post on Friday.

No reason was given for the move, but it comes days after she met Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche twice while trying to seek immunity and a deal to spill her secrets about Epstein.

The notorious madam — who is serving 20 years for helping Epstein groom and abuse underage girls — is now in a prison for nonviolent inmates who are allowed to roam the grounds with “limited or no perimeter fencing,” according to the BOP’s website.

She will be neighbors with well-known white-collar criminals, including Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced fraudster convicted of ripping off investors in her now-defunct blood-testing company Theranos, as well as Real Housewives of Salt Lake star and convicted scammer Jen Shah.

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DOJ Files Memorandum in Case to Unseal Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony and a Look Into the Cases Cited to Justify Their Release

Yesterday, the Department of Justice filed a Memorandum in Support of Motion regarding the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s cases in the Southern District of New York.

On July 17th, President Trump posted to Truth Social that he called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce “any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”  Bondi filed motions in both the case in Florida from 2008, which has already been denied, followed by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for both the Epstein case (2019) and the Maxwell case (2021).

Grand jury transcripts are usually held in the utmost confidence, however, in 1997, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the lower court in the SDNY decision denying the unsealing of the grand jury information. The Second Circuit held that “there are certain ‘special circumstances’ in which release of grand jury records is appropriate even outside the boundaries of the rule.”

In the Second Circuit’s ruling, it enumerated a list of “non-exhaustive factors for trial courts to consider when deciding such motions”:

(i) the identity of the party seeking disclosure; (ii) whether the defendant to the grand jury proceeding or the government opposes the disclosure; (iii) why disclosure is being sought in the particular case; (iv) what specific information is being sought for disclosure; (v) how long ago the grand jury proceedings took place; (vi) the current status of the principals of the grand jury proceedings and that of their families; (vii) the extent to which the desired material— either permissibly or impermissibly—has been previously made public; (viii) whether witnesses to the grand jury proceedings who might be affected by disclosure are still alive; and (ix) the additional need for maintaining secrecy in the particular case in question.

In the memorandum filed, the DOJ was asked to “address with specificity these and other factors that the Government views as germane to its application.”  The Court also asked whether “before filing the instant motion, counsel for the Government reviewed the Maxwell grand jury transcripts” and whether they provided notice to the victims.

The Court also asked the DOJ to submit indices of the grand jury material, two complete sets of both the Maxwell and Epstein grand jury transcripts (redacted and unredacted versions), and a description of the grand jury materials, including exhibits.

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