Donald Trump was concerned about being linked to Ghislane Maxwell amid her legal woes: new book

Former President Donald Trump was reportedly concerned about the possibility of Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-girlfriend of multi-millionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who was convicted on sex trafficking charges, naming him as one of the public figures she might contact for help.

According to The Guardian, the former president's concerns are detailed in the new book titled, "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America," written by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.

Per the news outlet, an article that was published in Page Six's celebrity section on July 4, 2020, caught Trump's attention.

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The article included a quote from Steve Hoffenberg, one of Epstein's associates who appeared to link Trump to Maxwell.

“Ghislaine thought she was untouchable – that she’d be protected by the intelligence communities she and Jeffrey helped with information: the Israeli intelligence services, and Les Wexner, who has given millions to Israel; by Prince Andrew, President Clinton and even by President Trump, who was well-known to be an acquaintance of her and Epstein’s,” Hoffenberg said.

By Haberman's account, Trump asked “campaign advisers … ‘You see that article in the [New York] Post today that mentioned me?’" The former president also said, “He kept going, to silence. ‘She say anything about me?’”

The Guardian's Martin Pengelly highlighted the possible reason for Trump's alleged concerns. "Links between Epstein, Maxwell and prominent associates including Trump and Prince Andrew have stoked press speculation ever since," Pengelly wrote.

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Haberman's book also includes details about other instances that may explain Trump's concerns about Maxwell. In the book, she also recalled a Trump conversation with David Pecker, owner of the National Inquirer.

Per the news outlet: "The owner of the National Enquirer tabloid, Haberman says, arrived at Trump Tower 'with a copy of the tabloid featuring Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Jeffrey Epstein, the investor and convicted sex offender and onetime friend of Trump, with whom Trump had fallen out years earlier.'"

Pecker and Trump reportedly “talked about Epstein’s private island, where he was rumored to bring powerful men to have sexual encounters with young women. Trump called it ‘whore island’ and told aides he had never been there."

Haberman also included a quote from Sam Nunberg who revealed what Trump believed to be his biggest concern amid his run for president. “Trump had a simple reply,” Haberman writes. “‘The women.’ Not business, not being violent with anyone, Nunberg recalled, but women.”

Over the last two decades, Trump has been at the center of sexual harassment, misconduct or assault allegations from nearly two dozen women.

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