Why is DOJ speaking with Ghislaine Maxwell?
As a diversionary tactic, it's understandable. But as a strictly prosecutorial matter, the effort makes almost no sense. Maxwell, Epstein's longtime partner, raises multiple red flags that would ordinarily make her a very poor candidate to serve as a cooperating witness for the government.
Among them: Maxwell's crimes with Jeffrey Epstein were heinous, and she went to trial instead of admitting her guilt and pleading out. She's serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking and other crimes.
On top of that, the Justice Department has already discredited her. They charged her with two perjury counts (which were later dropped after the sex trafficking conviction) and told the judge during her 2021 trial that she had been willing to 'brazenly lie under oath about her conduct.' Any credible DOJ cooperation deal at this point would require her to plead to those perjury counts, but it is far from clear whether she is willing to do that.
The conduct at issue is also very old. Epstein and Maxwell's relationship dates back to the 1990s, and as a result, it will be much harder for the government to corroborate her testimony with other evidence or generate credible information that the government can act upon to charge others at this late date.
Adding to the DOJ's problems is the fact that Maxwell has an obvious incentive to lie or otherwise shade her testimony to curry favor with the government. She would presumably want a pardon or commutation of her sentence at the end of the process, and the Trump administration appears particularly interested in information or testimony that would reflect well on Trump amid the growing body of information and reporting concerning his relationship with Epstein. (Trump has repeatedly and vehemently denied any involvement in or awareness of criminal misconduct on the part of Epstein or Maxwell.)
Then there's the fact that Blanche himself is doing the interviews with Maxwell. The deputy AG is the DOJ's second-in-command. He presumably has more pressing and consequential matters to attend to than trying to execute a Hail-Mary cooperation deal with a child sex trafficker who is already in prison and who is unlikely to ever emerge as a credible witness in the eyes of the American public.
So what gives?
Trump and the DOJ are clearly feeling public and political pressure following their effort to quickly move past the Epstein saga and related conspiracy theories — theories that were advanced and indulged in recent years by Trump himself, along with Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, among many other Trump allies.
They are also clearly reluctant to release the information that those closely following the Epstein saga actually want — witness interviews, financial records, correspondence and flight logs, among other things.
Maxwell aside, it is also unlikely that the grand jury testimony that the DOJ is separately seeking to unseal in New York will satisfy those tracking the Epstein saga even if the government is successful. That is true for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the testimony at issue likely represents only a sliver of information in the government's possession and may not have ranged widely beyond the specific charges that were brought in court against Epstein and Maxwell.
As a result, onlookers should view any information that emerges through these avenues skeptically.
One thing, however, is clear: The Trump administration and the DOJ are extending a saga that deeply traumatized Epstein's many victims. Under ordinary circumstances, the interests of victims in a situation like this would supersede the political interests of the White House, but they appear to have made a very different calculation.
Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight's author at akhardori@politico.com.
MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs, or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here.
What'd I Miss?
— Trump on Hamas: 'They want to die': President Donald Trump said today Hamas 'didn't want to make a deal' and 'they want to die,' claiming the group wants to retain the hostages to keep its negotiating leverage .The comments came one day after the United States pulled out of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and as American allies put increasing pressure on Israel to let up on a campaign in Gaza that is causing widespread starvation. He added: 'It got to a point where you're going to have to finish the job,' an apparent reference to Israel continuing its military offensive against the group.
— Trump administration moves to release billions in federal education cash: The Trump administration said today it will release billions of dollars in education funding that have been on hold for review for weeks, according to a senior administration official. Approximately $1.3 billion in money for after-school programs was released by the administration last week, with Friday's move marking the release of the remaining portion of the nearly $7 billion in funding that the administration withheld. The remaining dollars include money to support teacher preparation and students learning English, among other initiatives.
— 14 Republican senators urge White House to release delayed NIH funds: Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama is sounding the alarm about 'the slow disbursement rate' of National Institutes of Health funding included in the March spending bill signed by President Donald Trump. Britt, who serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations homeland subcommittee, led a letter today with thirteen of her GOP colleagues to White House Budget Chief Russ Vought, urging the Office of Management and Budget to 'fully implement' the stopgap government funding package enacted earlier this year. 'Suspension of these appropriated funds — whether formally withheld or functionally delayed — could threaten Americans' ability to access better treatments and limit our nation's leadership in biomedical science,' Britt and her colleagues warned.
— Maxwell's lawyer says she's undecided on appearing for congressional testimony: A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell said his client is still deciding whether she will honor a congressional subpoena demanding her testimony next month before House lawmakers. 'We have to make a decision about whether she will do that or not,' said David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and co-conspirator of the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. 'That's been scheduled for the week of August 11th and we haven't gotten back to them on whether we'll do that.' Markus delivered these remarks after Maxwell completed a two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the Trump administration's continued inquiry into the charges against Epstein's circle.
— Pennsylvania Republican called out by Ethics panel for stock investments: A House panel tasked with investigating potential corruption charges against fellow members of Congress called on a Pennsylvania Republican to divest his family's holdings from a steel manufacturer today, citing concerns around the appearance of wrongdoing. The bipartisan Ethics Committee had been investigating a complaint that Rep. Mike Kelly's wife bought stock in Cleveland-Cliffs, an Ohio-based company, based on non-public information gleaned from Kelly's position as an elected official. Although Kelly's wife was not fully cooperative with the probe, the panel 'did not find evidence that [the lawmaker] knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information.' The panel urged Kelly and his wife to divest their holdings before he takes any more official actions related to Cleveland-Cliffs.
— Venezuelan Little League team denied entry into US amid Trump travel ban: A Venezuelan Little League baseball team will not be allowed to participate in a championship tournament because the team was denied travel visas to the U.S. Little League International said on Friday the Cacique Mara Little League team from Maracaibo, Venezuela will not participate in the Senior League Baseball World Series in South Carolina this year, despite qualifying for the tournament, after being unable to obtain visas. Venezuela is among the countries the Trump administration has placed restrictions on travel to the U.S.
CARNEY URGES ISRAEL — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Israel late Thursday night of obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza and called for international agencies to take over all distribution. 'Canada condemns the Israeli government's failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza,' Carney said.
'Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by comprehensive provision of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Many of these are holding significant Canadian-funded aid which has been blocked from delivery to starving civilians. This denial of humanitarian aid is a violation of international law,' he added.
'50-50' CHANCE — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss trade, as the U.S. president described the prospect of a deal with the EU as '50-50.'
'Following a good call' with Trump, 'we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong,' she said in a post on X on Friday.
Three weeks ago, the EU and U.S. almost agreed on a deal for a 10 percent baseline tariff, but Trump pulled the rug out from under it by threatening 30 percent tariffs instead. A deadline of July 9 for Trump's tariffs to kick in was moved to Aug. 1.
'I would say that we have a 50-50 chance, maybe less than that, but a 50-50 chance of making a deal with the EU,' Trump told reporters at the White House before heading to the U.K. on a private visit and to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Nightly Number
RADAR SWEEP
READING THE STARS — Astrology, a longstanding part of Indian culture, is expanding its reach into the stock market. India's $7 billion astrology market is experiencing a boom as more people, especially younger generations, rely on planetary alignments to decide how to invest. Astrologers are offering their services to financial news shows and consultations through apps with tens of millions of users. The industry's growth has started to attract venture capitalists who see an opportunity to integrate AI into the age-old practice. Preeti Soni and Akriti Sharma report for Bloomberg.
Parting Image
Jacqueline Munis contributed to this newsletter.
Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Six months in, young people have soured on Trump's job handling
Since Donald Trump took office for his second term, his job ratings have markedly declined — and more with young people than any other age group. What has made so many young Americans change their minds so quickly? For context, President Trump's electoral performance with voters under 30 improved a lot in 2024: While he lost this group to former Vice President Kamala Harris, it was by a much smaller margin than in 2020. And men under 30 ended up splitting roughly evenly between Trump and Harris. These trends prompted some observers to marvel at how conservative Gen Z had become, especially young men, and to wonder whether it marked a durable change. About half a year on from Inauguration Day, many young people have changed their minds on Trump. It looks more like many young voters gave him the benefit of the doubt when he took office, but their evaluations of him quickly started to sink. Among Americans ages 18-29, his job approval rating has fallen from a high of 55% just after he was inaugurated to 28% now. That means that half of his former approvers now disapprove. In percentage-point terms, the size of that drop is more than double what we've seen in any other age group. Which young voters have dropped off? Among young people, it's the less partisan and politically engaged who have seen the steepest drops. For example, about half of independents under 30 approved of Mr. Trump in February, but that has dropped to about one in five now. The same is true of young people who didn't vote in the 2024 election. Party identifiers and '24 voters have fallen off, too, but not to the same extent. There are also differences by gender, with young men starting out more approving of Mr. Trump than young women were. Women's ratings of the president had already begun dipping by March, while it was not until April — and the downturn in the U.S. stock market — that young men's ratings started to decline. Both have fallen steadily since then, but a faster drop among young men in the last few months has meant the gender gap in approval of Mr. Trump has shrunk. (See the bottom of this article for statistical details on estimating these smaller subgroups.) CBS News polling over the past few months offers several clues as to what young people are unhappy about these days. A majority now say Mr. Trump is doing different things than he promised during the 2024 campaign. That's a reversal in sentiment from early February, when seven in 10 said he's doing what he said he would. And it's young men who have been the most likely to flip on this question. On top of that, the administration is experiencing low points on several economic evaluations: The share of young people saying the economy is getting worse has risen to six in 10. And young Americans are less likely than older ones to see the job market as good. Overtime, young people have increasingly rated it as fairly or very in 10 also tell us that Mr. Trump's policies are making them worse off financially. That is the highest we've seen to date, and it represents a complete change from what young people expected when he was inaugurated. Back then, they were much more likely to say his policies would make them better off than worse majorities feel the Trump administration is focusing too much on tariffs (72%), deportations (64%), and ending DEI programs (55%). These shares have all grown significantly over time. By contrast, seven in 10 say the administration isn't focusing enough on lowering prices, which was a key campaign issue. Looking back and ahead… Instead of marking a permanent rightward shift, Mr. Trump's better-than-expected performance with young voters last year is beginning to look more like a temporary reaction. Indeed, less partisan voters tend to be more responsive to short-term forces, like the economic conditions that drove many at the ballot box in 2024. And when Trump was inaugurated, many young people hoped he would turn the economy around, with his initial ratings likely reflecting some optimism. This honeymoon period quickly faded. His 18-29 rating is now below Joe Biden's when he left office. Looking ahead to 2026, Republicans' electoral success may depend on both the president's numbers and youth turnout. If views of Mr. Trump's job handling don't improve over the next year, they could be a drag on GOP congressional candidates. And while young voters are less likely to turn out in non-presidential years, both the 2018 and 2022 midterms saw record numbers go to the polls, including voters under 30. In fact, in 2022, young voters turned out at a rate that came close to saving the Democrats' majority. In a tight contest, they could be pivotal again. Estimating small subgroups in polls In order to more precisely estimate trends in approval among young people, I aggregated our polls and ran a statistical model that controls for respondents' race, education level, 2024 vote, and survey date. Why take this approach? All polls have a margin of error, and the margin of error is greater for subgroups within the poll, as a function of sample size and routine weighting. So, even though young people are represented proportionate to their share of the population, estimating what percentage of them approve of the president naturally comes with a higher margin of error. It's driven by random variation in which types of young people respond to a given poll, and margins of error grow as you slice data more thinly — for instance, in disaggregating young people by gender. Since a single poll can only do so much, we can combine data across polls to boost sample sizes and gain confidence in our estimates. Aggregating surveys yields sample sizes of over 1,200 men and 1,300 women under 30 to analyze. And the model smoothens out poll-to-poll randomness within these subgroups. The modeled estimates for any given time point are consistently within range of the unmodeled survey data, typically within a few points. And importantly, they tell the same story: both young men and young women's views of Trump have worsened, and the gender gap has decreased. John Oliver: The 60 Minutes Interview Finding the plane used for Argentina's dictatorship-era "death flights" | 60 Minutes Immigration agent told 18-year-old U.S. citizen "you got no rights here" during arrest
Washington Post
18 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump gave the USOPC cover on its transgender athlete policy change. It could end up in court anyway
In its push to remove transgender athletes from Olympic sports, the Trump administration provided the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee a detailed legal brief on how such a move would not conflict with the Ted Stevens Act, the landmark 1978 federal statute governing the Olympic movement. That gave the USOPC the cover it needed to quietly change its policy, though the protection offers no guarantee the new policy won't be challenged in court.
New York Post
19 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump confirms possible China trip, but insists ‘not seeking' Xi summit
President Trump has revealed that he may jet over to China in the near future, but rebuffed suggestions that he is seeking a summit with Beijing counterpart Xi Jinping amid intense trade negotiations between the two economic superpowers. 'The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a 'Summit' with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything!' Trump wrote on Truth Social late Monday from Scotland, where he wrapped up a five-day visit Tuesday. 'I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest! Thank you for your attention to this matter.' Staffers for Trump and Xi have held discussions about setting up a meeting between the two leaders, potentially on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in South Korea, which takes place Oct. 30-Nov. 1, Reuters reported last week. It is unclear whether any discussions of Trump traveling to China directly have been broached. 3 President Trump confirmed ongoing talks with China about him meeting with leader Xi Jinping. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images 3 President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's last in-person meeting took place in 2019. XinhuaTrump and Xi last met face-to-face in June 2019 on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan. The US and China have until Aug. 12 to reach a full-fledged trade agreement following a months-long truce that has seen duties temporarily come down from up to 145% on Chinese exports to the US and 125% on American goods. Negotiators from Washington and Beijing are holding a third round of talks this week in Stockholm. 'We have a good relationship with China,' Trump told reporters Monday at his Turnberry club on the west coast of Scotland. 'China's tough.' In 2024, China was the third-largest US trading partner among individual nations — behind only Mexico and Canada — with trade between the two nations amounting to $582.4 billion. Further complicating negotiations is Trump's looming threat to impose secondary tariffs of 100% against countries that trade with Moscow until the Kremlin ends its invasion of Ukraine and agrees a peace deal. China and India, in particular, have continued to purchase energy from Russia throughout the 41-month-old war on Ukraine. China has also been accused of providing Moscow's arms industry with critical supplies. 3 The Trump administration is currently involved in trade negotiations with China. Getty Images Beyond trade tensions, US officials have repeatedly warned about Chinese cyber attacks, such as the Salt Typhoon operation that breached American telecommunications systems. On Monday, the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration blocked Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te from stopping in New York City during a planned diplomatic visit to Central America later this year. China has long claimed sovereignty over the island state of Taiwan, which has its own currency, military and government. The US adheres to the One China Policy on paper, which acknowledges Beijing's claim, but takes no position on it.
