Featured Image Credit: Paul Zimmerman / Contributor / Getty
Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly sent a mysterious USB drive to the White House earlier this month, and many have picked up on the fact that it occurred just days after Melania Trump's unprompted press conference distancing herself from Jeffrey Epstein amid accusations.
The First Lady's press conference preached caution regarding what you see on social media, especially as she has recently faced scrutiny based on a photo of her and Jeffrey Epstein that was likely generated using AI.
What's undeniable, however, is that both herself and U.S. President Donald Trump were in the same social circles as Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell – evidenced by several pictures of the quartet at various parties – yet she has attempted to downplay this association.
"I have never been friends with Epstein," she declared during the press conference. "Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach."
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She also addressed emails sent by her to Maxwell that were exposed during the release of the Epstein files, adding that they were nothing more than 'casual correspondence' and a 'tribal note'.
As reported by the Daily Beast, however, Maxwell – who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in prison for conspiracy to sexually abuse minors with Epstein – seemingly sent a USB drive to the government on April 16, which was a week after the First Lady's speech.
The package was reportedly received by Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the man overseeing the investigation into Epstein's associates, and he has asked the court to set a deadline of June 5 for the government to file a response.
It's unclear exactly what was found on the USB drive, although Clayton has called its contents 'duplicative' and 'meritless' relative to information that Maxwell has provided prior to this point, suggesting it holds no considerable relation to Melania Trump's statement.
"Upon an initial review, the amended motion seems to have some overlap with [Maxwell's] claims in her original motion," Clayton outlined in his letter to federal judge Paul Engelmayer.
"Although the claims raised appear to be equally meritless, the arguments pressed by the defendant appear to be fact and document intensive and thus the Government is not in a position to assess how much of the new material is truly duplicative," he continued.
