“Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a Tuesday X post.
This post was in response to a growing scandal around the release of information related to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In it, Blanche went on to say that, under the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, “I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors,” from the Department of Justice.
Epstein died in his prison cell in 2019, an event that has become the subject of conspiracy theories. While officials have said that his cause of death was self-inflicted, many people question that determination.
Maxwell, a British socialite and longtime associate of Epstein, was sentenced to 20 years in 2022 “for her role in a scheme to sexual exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade,” per the DOJ.
A joint statement from the department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation reignited speculation about the Epstein case earlier this month. That statement said that no more information about the case would be released and said that both agencies agreed that Epstein died by suicide.
Democrats and Republicans alike bristled at the memorandum, and even joined together in Congress to request more information about the case. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) even called for more transparency and media personality Tucker Carlson, often a supporter of President Donald Trump and conservatives, criticized the decision. Axios noted that the situation has made Bondi a target for criticism.
Meanwhile, Trump downplayed the importance of the case in public statements and social media posts. According to PBS, Trump and Epstein knew each other since the 1980s or 1990s, when Epstein bought property in Palm Beach, near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
“They ran in the same circles. They were both from New York, they were both rich. They both had a love for nightlife and for attending flashy parties and being surrounded by women,” said White House correspondent Luke Broadwater, as quoted by PBS. He also said that Epstein flew on Trump’s private jet seven times before the two had a falling out in 2004 over real estate property in Florida and that there is no evidence that the two men communicated after that year.
Last week, Trump sued the Wall Street Journal after it printed a claim that he was one of the friends who sent Epstein bawdy letters for his 50th birthday party in 2003.
According to Blanche, the July 6 joint statement from the DOJ and FBI “remains as accurate today as it was when it was written,” and that in “the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
However, he does think that further discussion with Maxwell is warranted.
“I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department,” said his statement. “I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days. Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now.”
According to Axios, David Oscar Markus, Maxwell's attorney, confirmed that discussions with the government are underway.
“Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,” he said.
Axios also noted that “Maxwell and her family have sought a review of her case, petitioning the Supreme Court earlier this year,” and that the DOJ urged the high court to reject that appeal last week.