The Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday released transcripts and audio files from its interview with Ghislaine Maxwell and turned over to House lawmakers thousands of pages of documents related to convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The disclosures came as Justice Department officials sought to satisfy lawmakers in both parties who had pushed for more transparency around the Epstein files.

Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She sat down with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for two days in July to discuss the Epstein case, during which she told him she “never witnessed” President Trump in an “inappropriate setting.”

Here are five takeaways on the release of the Maxwell interview.

Maxwell doesn’t believe Epstein died by suicide

Maxwell told Blanche she does not believe Epstein died by suicide, fanning the flames of a common conspiracy theory that even Trump’s DOJ has tried to squash.

“So you think he was -- he did not die by suicide, given all the things we just talked about,” Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, asked Maxwell on the first day of their interview.

“I do not believe he died by suicide, no,” Maxwell added.

But Maxwell also said she had no reason to believe Epstein was killed in prison as part of an effort to keep him quiet or to prevent him from sharing information about powerful figures.

“I do not have any reason to believe that. And I also think it's ludicrous, because if that -- I also happen to think if that is what they wanted, they would've had plenty of opportunity when he wasn't in jail,” Maxwell said. “And if they were worried about blackmail or anything from him, he would've been a very easy target.”

Epstein died in August 2019 while he was being held at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York City. Officials have repeatedly said he died........

© The Hill