
Former Jeffrey Epstein girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell shares ‘100 names' in meeting with US Department of Justice
'She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability,' her lawyer David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met on Friday with Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche.
'She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we're very proud of her,' Markus said.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee.
She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein, a wealthy, well-connected financier, sexually abuse underage girls.
Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including US President Donald Trump.
In a social media post this week, Blanche said Maxwell would be interviewed because of President Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes.
Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago.
But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case, overshadowing his administration's achievements.
On Friday, reporters pressed the Republican president about pardoning Maxwell, but he deflected, emphasising his administration's successes.
Markus said Maxwell 'was asked maybe about 100 different people'.
'The deputy attorney-general is seeking the truth,' Markus said.
'He asked every possible question, and he was doing an amazing job.'
Markus said he did not ask for anything for Maxwell in return, though he acknowledged that Trump could pardon her.
'Listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way,' Markus said.
Earlier in July, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney-General Pam Bondi.
The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist.
Maxwell is appealing against her conviction, based on the government's pledge years ago that any potential Epstein co-conspirators would not be charged, Markus said.
Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 that shifted his case to Florida state court, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.
Epstein in 2019 and Maxwell in 2020 were charged in federal court in New York.

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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment references
The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump. The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump. The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump. The White House says it didn't pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation "in the coming weeks". The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. "We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit," the Smithsonian statement said on Saturday. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that "a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments" but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called "Limits of Presidential Power". The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. "The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation," the statement said. "It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard." Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice - in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for "incitement of insurrection", a reference to the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump.

Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia should recognise Palestine. To not do so only rewards Israel's crimes
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The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
Australia should recognise Palestine. To not do so only rewards Israel's crimes
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