US Deputy Attorney General
Blanche said he anticipates a meeting with Maxwell to take place “in the coming days.”
The move comes as President
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence,” Blanche said in a statement on X. He said if “Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.”
Trump told reporters at the White House Tuesday he didn’t know anything about the potential meeting but that it “sounds appropriate.”
A lawyer for Maxwell, David Oscar Markus, said in a statement: “I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers on a House Oversight subcommittee approved a motion Tuesday by Tennessee Republican
Controversy over the Epstein case was further fanned last week after the Wall Street Journal published a story alleging that Trump once sent a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein. The president has said the letter was fake and has filed a defamation lawsuit.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges, including procurement of minors to engage in prostitution. He died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida after being convicted in December 2021 of five counts, including sex-trafficking of a minor. She and her lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.
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At the heart of the prosecution’s case against Maxwell were four women who testified that she lured them into Epstein’s orbit between 1994 and 2004, when some were as young as 13. Three of the women said Maxwell herself also participated in abusing the victims.
Maxwell has denied knowledge of Epstein’s activities in sworn depositions. Her lawyers argued that she was being made a “scapegoat” for the crimes of Epstein, who was her former boyfriend and employer.
Blanche’s move to interview Maxwell could be unethical and represent a conflict of interest, said Democratic Senator
Blumenthal said it would be more appropriate for a special counsel or an independent investigator to talk with Maxwell, noting that she could have information that implicates Trump.
“What Todd Blanche is doing is seemingly to immerse himself in an ethical and legal morass and deepening the administration’s potential coverup,” Blumenthal said. “I think if anybody interviews her it ought to be someone independent and insulated from the president’s vengeful influence.”
Another group of House lawmakers led by Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky has introduced a resolution calling for release of files related to Epstein’s operation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson so far has said he doesn’t plan to allow any votes on matters related to the Epstein case before the House goes on recess for the next several weeks.
Johnson denied that Trump or anyone at the White House had asked him to force a delay. Johnson told reporters both he and Trump want maximum transparency, but also want to protect information that could harm innocent people.
He said there is “a moral responsibility” to expose Epstein’s operation and anyone connected to it.
“We’re going to do the right thing,“ Johnson said.
(Updates with lawmakers’ move to subpoena Maxwell from eighth paragraph.)
--With assistance from
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Elizabeth Wasserman, Anthony Lin
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