Asked about his links to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s jailed ex at a White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, and whether he thought Maxwell may bring down powerful men linked to her, the president said: ‘I don’t know. I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly.

‘I’ve met her numerous times over the years. Especially since I lived in Palm Beach and they (Maxwell and Epstein) lived in Palm Beach but I wish her well. I don’t know the situation with Prince Andrew, I’m just not aware of it.’

Maxwell was arrested in Bedford, New Hampshire on July 2 and charged with child sex trafficking offenses and perjury. She appeared in court last week and was ordered held in a grim Brooklyn jail until her trial in July 2021, having denied the allegations against her. She is said to have groomed three girls aged as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 1997.

Maxwell, 58, reportedly watched Epstein abuse the alleged victims on at least one occasion, and is also said to have joined in with some of the sex abuse herself.

She faces a count of perjury over claims she lied about her knowledge of Epstein’s abuse during a 2016 court hearing.

Prince Andrew – the Queen’s favorite son – has faced questions over his friendship with Maxwell and Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail last August while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by the pair, claims to have had sex with Andrew in 2001 when she was 17, although he denies any wrongdoing.

Maxwell – a French-born British socialite – and financier Epstein rubbed shoulders with luminaries including Trump and the Clintons while living in New York.

Trump has previously denied knowing them well, with Bill Clinton known to have traveled on Epstein’s private jet – nicknamed the Lolita Express – and visited his private Caribbean Island, which has since been dubbed ‘Pedo Island’. Clinton also denies any wrongdoing.