Ghislaine Maxwell’s billionaire ex-boyfriend distanced himself from both her and Jeffrey Epstein during his interview with the House Oversight Committee, telling lawmakers he “never would’ve spent six years in a romantic relationship with her” had he been aware of her crimes, according to a transcript of his testimony released by the committee.<\/p>\n
Gateway Computer cofounder Ted Waitt told lawmakers during a closed-door appearance before the committee on April 30 that he regrets not digging into Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea, claiming that Maxwell downplayed the seriousness of his crimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I can say unequivocally that if I knew then what I know now about Ms. Maxwell, I never would’ve befriended her or allowed her to be around my four children,” he said, according to the transcript.<\/p>\n
![\"PHOTO:](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/0934d9e8-5520-4be3-91b1-22388047a33e\/ted-waitt_1778723084726_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Clinton\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Gateway Co-founder Ted Waitt (L) arrives before a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, on April 30, 2026 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC. The House Oversight Committee is conducting closed-door transcribed interviews with Waitt and others as it investigates convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Graeme Sloan\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges in connection with Epstein and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.<\/p>\n Waitt offered few new details that alter the public understanding of Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes, though he seemingly contradicted some of the testimony that Maxwell provided to then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in nine hours of interviews over two days last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n During her interview with Blanche, Maxwell claimed that her relationship with Waitt ended after he was blackmailed for $10 million in exchange for dropping mention of Maxwell from a series of civil lawsuits filed against Epstein.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waitt said that never happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also told lawmakers that he gave Maxwell $7.2 million after their breakup because “wanted to help her continue to live her life at the level she was accustomed to.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Ghislaine Maxwell attends the 4th Annual WIE Symposium at Center 548 on September 20, 2013 in New York City.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Paul Zimmerman\/WireImage\/Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “I think someone on my staff might have said she was very unhappy with the breakup and she was not in a good state,” he said, according to the transcript. “She was quite devastated by the breakup so at that point, I didn’t want to get directly involved and I had my team handle the final details. I recall her not being happy with the amount, wanting more, but that doesn’t matter.”<\/p>\n He added, “I just felt it was the right thing to do, not uncommon for people in my situation to do that. We lived a fairly extravagant life. In hindsight, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have done it.”<\/p>\n Waitt told lawmakers he met Maxwell during a large dinner in Hong Kong with Bill Clinton, Epstein, and others.<\/p>\n According to Waitt, he started seriously dating Maxwell in 2004 and their relationship ended after six years. He said that he rarely interacted with Epstein — less than five times — and that Maxwell claimed he was a “brilliant investor, money manager.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “He did seem to have significant influence over her, she did always kind of look up to him, and I was not comfortable with that,” Waitt said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"PHOTO:](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/cfb1c595-a16e-4cfd-935f-11bc7d9d2ea4\/ghislaine-maxwell-5-13_1778723042649_hpMain_4x3.jpg?w=375)
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