Ghislaine Maxwell's Meetings With Justice Department Shrouded In Secrecy

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche completed 9 hours of meetings complete 2 days pinch Ghislaine Maxwell on Friday but made nary nationalist statements astir what she said aliases nan adjacent steps successful nan Justice Department’s much-criticized Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Former prosecutors said it was highly different — and perchance unprecedented — for a nan department’s No. 2 charismatic to personally question and reply a witness. Secrecy successful a criminal investigation is normal, but nan prosecutors progressive successful nan lawsuit would typically beryllium included successful questioning.

“I’ve ne'er heard of a lawman lawyer wide doing thing for illustration this before,” said a erstwhile elder Justice Department official, who said connected information of anonymity.

Victims of Epstein and Maxwell, who was convicted successful 2021 of recruiting and grooming aggregate teenage girls to beryllium sexually abused by nan precocious financier, questioned nan deficiency of transparency arsenic well. Jack Scarola, a lawyer representing astir 20 Epstein victims, said he asked to be nan Maxwell interviews but was not included.

Todd Blanche successful nan Brady Briefing Room of nan White House connected June 27.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP - Getty Images file

Berit Berger, a erstwhile national charismatic successful New York, said the interviews by Blanche, who worked arsenic Trump’s erstwhile defense lawyer, whitethorn beryllium performative.

“It whitethorn beryllium conscionable a measurement of being capable to say, ‘Look, we dotted each I and crossed each T,’” she said. “There’s worth to being capable to opportunity that we’ve tried to speak to everyone we perchance could, including nan co-defendant.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi, Blanche and President Donald Trump himself person struggled to quell nan uproar since nan DOJ and FBI announced connected July 6 that an exhaustive Epstein lawsuit reappraisal had not uncovered grounds that justified investigating different individuals. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino — who have both dispersed conspiracy theories astir nan Epstein lawsuit — backed those findings and a DOJ determination to merchandise nary different Epstein lawsuit documents.

Catherine Christian, a erstwhile Manhattan adjunct territory lawyer and an NBC News ineligible analyst, said nan Maxwell interviews could besides beryllium an effort to protect Trump, who now faces 1 of nan largest governmental crises of his 2nd word successful nan furor complete nan Epstein investigation.

Trump, for illustration dozens of different able Americans, socialized pinch Epstein. He is among hundreds of individuals whose names look successful 100,000 pages of Epstein lawsuit documents reviewed by nan DOJ and nan FBI.

“It’s difficult to judge this is thing but performative,” Christian said. “Or Todd Blanche, conscionable wanting to person her connected nan grounds saying, ‘Yes, President Trump had thing to do pinch immoderate of this. He was not a client.’”

What was Maxwell asked?

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, is simply a apical Florida criminal defense lawyer and a friend of Blanche’s. Blanche appeared connected Markus’ podcast successful 2024, wherever nan big praised Blanche’s legal skills. After Friday’s gathering pinch Blanche and Maxwell, Markus told reporters that nan lawman lawyer wide “did an astonishing job” and asked Maxwell thorough questions.

“She was asked possibly astir 100 different people,” said Markus, who did not disclose which individuals Maxwell was questioned about. “She answered questions astir everybody, and she didn’t clasp thing back,” he said. “They asked astir each single, each imaginable point you could imagine, everything.”

A elder management official, who said connected information of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said that Maxwell was granted constricted immunity by nan Justice Department to reply questions astir nan Epstein case.

Granting constricted immunity is communal successful criminal cases and allows defendants to supply accusation without fearfulness that it will beryllium utilized against them successful court.

The immunity is “limited” because it only applies if nan suspect is telling nan truth. If it is wished that a suspect lied during nan interviews, past nan statement becomes void. Prosecutors tin return into information a defendant’s practice and urge a plea woody aliases a reduced sentence.

This is not expected successful Maxwell’s case, arsenic she has already been convicted and sentenced to 20 years successful national prison. Maxwell’s lawyer, Markus, has based on that Maxwell’s proceedings was unfair and an entreaty of her condemnation is pending earlier nan Supreme Court.

Potential pardon aliases commutation

Trump, for illustration each presidents, has nan powerfulness to pardon aliases commute nan condemnation of anyone convicted of a national crime. Asked astir Epstein’s lawsuit connected Friday morning, Trump said nan attraction should beryllium connected different group who socialized pinch Epstein, specified arsenic erstwhile President Bill Clinton and Larry Summers, nan erstwhile treasury caput and Harvard University president.

“You should attraction connected Clinton,” nan president told reporters. “You should attraction connected nan president of Harvard, nan erstwhile president of Harvard. You should attraction connected immoderate of nan hedge money guys.”

“I’ll springiness you a list. These guys lived pinch Jeffrey Epstein. I judge arsenic hellhole didn’t,” Trump said.

Asked if he was considering granting Maxwell a pardon aliases commuting her sentence, Trump said, “It’s thing I haven’t thought about.”

“I’m allowed to do it,” he added.

Mimi Rocah, a erstwhile national charismatic successful New York, said she believes nan caller firing of Maurene Comey, a lead charismatic successful nan Maxwell lawsuit and nan girl of erstwhile FBI Director James Comey, was an effort to springiness Trump appointees afloat power of nan Maxwell case, limit transparency and soundlessness dissent.

“That does not look coincidental. It seems for illustration they wanted Maurene not to beryllium coming successful nan Department of Justice,” Rocah said. “To beryllium capable to say, ‘What nan heck, you can’t spell talk to my customer aliases my defendant.’”

Rocah, a Democrat who served arsenic Westchester County territory lawyer from 2020 to 2024, criticized Blanche’s meetings pinch Maxwell, saying his evident nonaccomplishment to see a charismatic pinch heavy knowledge of her crimes was unfair to Epstein’s victims.

“The caput of that full institution that is expected to beryllium astir protecting victims is talking to her, giving her a level to opportunity God knows what, without overmuch measurement to verify it aliases not,” Rocah said. “The existent group who could trial her truth-telling are nan group who worked connected nan case, not Todd.”