Deputy AG Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell within hours, sources say
Blanche, the second-in-command at the Justice Department who has served as president Trump's personal lawyer, plans to huddle with the disgraced ex-socialite and her lawyer at the US Attorney's Office in Tallahassee, the sources said.
3 Todd Blanche speaks at a White House press briefing.
Ron Sachs/CNP / SplashNews.com
3 Mugshot of Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell, a disgraced British socialite who was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other crimes, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a jury convicted her of grooming young girls by serving as Epstein's madam.
But amid a renewed outcry for more information on Epstein, Blanche said earlier this week that he'd be meeting with Maxwell to see if she would be willing to reveal more to feds about the late sex offender.
3 Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at a party in NYC on March 15, 2005.
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
The DOJ in 2022 expressed doubts that Maxwell could be truthful, accusing her in court papers of a 'significant pattern of dishonest conduct' and failing to take responsibility for her heinous crimes.
The feds also disclosed in court papers ahead of her 2021 trial that prosecutors had never seriously entertained working out a plea deal with Maxwell in exchange for her testimony.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Epstein ‘stole' Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago staff role
Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender he socialized with for more than a decade, 'stole' Virginia Giuffre and other young female staffers whom he hired away from the president's Mar-a-Lago country club. Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Scotland, Trump was asked to elaborate on his earlier comments about falling out with Epstein because he took employees from his business. The president said on Monday that he had kicked Epstein out of his club 'because he did something that was inappropriate' – specifically, that 'he stole people that worked for me'. Related: Ghislaine Maxwell is not a victim. And if she is pardoned, it won't be for the sake of justice | Arwa Mahdawi Senior White House aides have repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that Trump broke with Epstein in about 2004 and expelled him from the Mar-a-Lago club for inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature. In a statement last week, spokesperson Steven Cheung said Trump 'kicked him out of his club for being a creep'. The president's account of the break being motivated by pique at having his employees poached by his friend cast the break in a different light. On Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump: 'The workers that were taken from you – were some of them young women?' Trump replied: 'The answer is yes, they were. People that worked in the spa.' Another reporter then asked Trump if one of the people he was referring to was Giuffre, one of Epstein's most prominent accusers who said in a lawsuit that she was hired away from the Mar-a-Lago spa by Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000, when she was 16. Giuffre, who died this year, alleged in her complaint that she was first abused by Epstein and Maxwell together, and then 'lent out to other powerful men', including Prince Andrew. 'I think she worked at the spa,' Trump replied. 'I think so. I think that was one of the people, yeah. He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know. None whatsoever.' The president and his administration are working desperately to change the subject away from Epstein – an issue that has lately roiled his base. But his latest claim that one of those employees was the 16-year-old Giuffre also complicates the timeline. Giuffre was hired away from Mar-a-Lago in 2000, but two years later, Trump spoke highly of Epstein to a reporter. 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,' Trump told New York magazine in late 2002. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' Sarah Blaskey, a Miami Herald investigative reporter, also pointed out in her 2020 book on Mar-a-Lago that Epstein remained on the membership rolls of Mar-a-Lago until October 2007, more than a year after he was first arrested and charged with soliciting prostitution from a minor. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually traffic minors, has offered to testify before Congress but has asked lawmakers to give her immunity, along with other major conditions, according to a list of demands sent to the House oversight committee by her attorneys, seen by CNN. Lauren Gambino contributed reporting
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US justice department officials interview Ghislaine Maxwell
The Jeffrey Epstein files scandal swirling around Donald Trump and his administration continued to escalate on Thursday as officials from the Department of Justice met with the late sex offender's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, whose lawyer said she 'answered every question … honestly and to the best of her ability'. Todd Blanche, the US deputy attorney general, arrived on Thursday morning at the office of the US attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, ABC News reported. The state prosecutor's office is based in the federal courthouse in the Florida capital and Maxwell's lawyers were also seen entering the building. Related: What are the Jeffrey Epstein files and will they be released? Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes at a federal prison in Florida, after being convicted in New York in late 2021. On Thursday afternoon, Maxwell's attorney David Markus said his team had a 'very productive day' with Blanche, who will meet with Maxwell again on Friday, Reuters reported. '[Blanche] took a full day and asked a lot of questions,' Markus said. 'Miss Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped. She never invoked a privilege. She never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability.' The meeting comes amid growing political and public pressure on the Trump administration to release more details about the Epstein investigation – something that Trump and members of his administration had promised. Mark Epstein, the brother of the disgraced financier, told the Guardian in an interview that if he had the opportunity he would ask Maxwell 'what she and Jeffrey might have known what the dirt was on Donald Trump'. 'Because Jeffrey said, he said he had dirt on Trump,' Mark Epstein said. 'I don't know what it was, but years ago he said he had dirt on Trump.' He added that he wasn't 'particularly worried' for Maxwell, adding: 'There's a lot of people on this planet.' Maxwell's brother Ian Maxwell, meanwhile, told the New York Post that his sister had been preparing 'new evidence' before her meeting with justice department officials. 'She will be putting before [a] court material new evidence that was not available to the defense at her 2021 trial, which would have had a significant impact on its outcome,' her brother told the outlet in an email. Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, which he denied, relating to accusations that he 'sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls'. He had previously been officially declared a sex offender in Florida but re-emerged as a significant figure in US business and political circles in the years that followed, having struck a deal over the earlier criminal charges. Related: How the Jeffrey Epstein row plunged Maga world into turmoil – a timeline The renewed focus on Trump's past association with Epstein comes after the justice department announced earlier this month that it would not be releasing any more documents from the most recent Epstein investigation – despite earlier pledges by the US president and the US attorney general, Pam Bondi. The justice department's announcement drew criticism and backlash from both sides of the party political aisle, including from some Trump supporters and conservative commentators, who accused the administration of engaging in a cover-up. For years, the Epstein case has been the subject of countless conspiracy theories, partly due to Epstein's ties to high-profile figures. Epstein's death, which was officially ruled a suicide, has also fueled many conspiracy theories. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was informed by Bondi in May that his name appears multiple times in the justice department files related to Epstein. The report also said that Trump was told that many other high-profile individuals were named in the files, and that the department did not plan to release any additional documents related to the investigation. Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, denied the claims in the Journal report and dismissed the story. In an emailed statement this week, Cheung said that 'the fact is that the President kicked him [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep'. Meanwhile, the House oversight committee voted 8-2 on Wednesday to subpoena the justice department for the Epstein files, with three Republicans joining all Democrats in the vote. The committee also subpoenaed Maxwell to testify before committee officials on 11 August. Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, questioned whether Maxwell could be trusted. And Dan Goldman, a Democratic New York representative, said in a post on X on Tuesday: 'Ghislaine is looking for a pardon, and who would be better to give it to her than a co-conspirator now in the Oval Office.' Edward Helmore contributed reporting
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ghislaine Maxwell is talking – but what can she tell and can she be believed?
Early one afternoon in April 2016, Ghislaine Maxwell got so angry that she struck a table. Maxwell, who was facing a defamation lawsuit from the late Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre Roberts, was being deposed by attorneys and seemed to grow incensed during questioning. 'I am going to put on the record, Ms Maxwell very inappropriately and very harshly pounded our law firm table in an inappropriate manner,' said Roberts's attorney Sigrid McCawley. 'I ask she take a deep breath, and calm down. I know this is a difficult position, but physical assault or threats is not appropriate – so no pounding, no stomping, no, that's not appropriate.' 'Can we be clear, I didn't threaten anybody,' retorted the British socialite, who in 2021 was convicted of sex trafficking in relation to Epstein. Maxwell's attorney, Jeffrey Pagliuca, came to her defense: 'Stop, you made your record, there is no dent in the table. I don't see any chips.' Related: Trump cranks up distraction machine but focus refuses to budge from Epstein The heated deposition would ultimately prove damaging for Maxwell. When she was charged in 2020 for inviting unsuspecting teen girls into Epstein's predatory orbit, she also faced two perjury counts for allegedly providing false information 'under oath' during litigation. Although prosecutors said they would drop these perjury counts if she didn't get a retrial in her sex-trafficking case, Maxwell's statements about Epstein – and whether they can be trusted – are once again at the forefront of national news. Twice this week, Maxwell met with the deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, as Donald Trump continues to contend with the political uproar over his justice department's handling of files related to Epstein, who died in jail six years ago as he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges. Epstein, whom prosecutors said abused girls as young as 14, had for years counted numerous powerful men among his associates – including Trump and Prince Andrew, whom Roberts accused of sexual misconduct in relation to Epstein and who has denied any wrongdoing. Trump for weeks has faced political fallout over a justice department memo claiming there was no Epstein client list, and its decision not to release extensive case documents despite Trump's campaign promise to do so. Meanwhile, Congress – specifically the House's oversight committee – has also subpoenaed Maxwell to testify. As the controversy continues to swirl, report after report has shed light on Trump's friendship with Epstein, which reportedly ended several years before the financier was arrested on prostitution charges in Florida. But it is Maxwell – again – who finds herself at the center of a political and media firestorm, as Trump seeks to assure his Maga base that he is telling the truth when he says he had little contact with Epstein and was unaware of his crimes. What exactly Maxwell's meeting with the Department of Justice, or her testifying to Congress, will uncover remains unclear. It's also unknown whether Maxwell's sit-down will do anything to help her: she is serving a 20-year sentence for enabling Epstein's abuse. After the second meeting with Blanche on Friday, Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told reporters: 'Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half. She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability. She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question.' The attorney Alan Dershowitz, who represented Epstein in Florida criminal proceedings where he pleaded guilty to state charges including soliciting a minor for prostitution, said Maxwell was still key to understanding what exactly transpired. 'Maxwell knew Epstein intimately for many, many years. She was his girlfriend, she was his chief assistant,' said Dershowitz, speaking before Maxwell's meeting with the justice department. 'She would be the one who arranged the travel for people when I had to come down to argue cases for him or appear in front of the state attorney or the US attorney. 'She knows where all the bodies are buried.' He noted that prosecutors often exchange time in prison for information, including in organized crime cases. 'If they really want to get to the bottom of all this, they should make a deal with her – and the deal is an obvious one,' he said, describing it as a 'win-win for everybody' if she was freed, granted immunity and testified to Congress. While Maxwell does have intimate knowledge of Epstein, Dershowitz said this did not mean any meeting or testimony would implicate others. She could, for example, tell Blanche there were other accusers but that she believes them to be liars. Whether her evidence implicates people or appears to clear them, neither might be trustworthy by itself, he said. 'Whatever the inculpatory material is has to be checked and has to be verified. You can't just put out accusations.' Roberts and Dershowitz sued each other over Epstein-related allegations; in 2022, she dropped her suit, and both agreed not to sue again. Dershowitz has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. There are various ways Maxwell could receive a reprieve. Prosecutors could ask the judge to reduce her sentence for assisting with the prosecution of others, or Trump could commute her sentence or grant a pardon. 'I suspect it's really just window dressing or distraction to try to avoid having to release any significant Epstein-related documents,' said the defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. 'Maxwell had the opportunity to speak with the feds when she was under indictment and apparently chose not to because she claimed she was innocent. 'What is she going to be providing now, at this point?' Indeed, it remains unclear what Maxwell might tell authorities that could lift the veil on Epstein. Before her trial, her attorneys said so much time had passed that key witnesses had died and key evidence was inaccessible. Prosecutors also said in court that they had not offered Maxwell a plea deal – and that her team did not request one. Kevin Faga, a veteran defense attorney, said that if Maxwell wound up signing a cooperation agreement, then prosecutors could request a resentencing. While it's up to the judge, Faga said, 'in my experience, judges pay a lot of attention to these types of requests from the government' because they believe there's a public interest in providing assistance 'so that other wrongdoers can be prosecuted and punished'. In other words, if Maxwell were to simply tell authorities that prosecutors got the case wrong, that would probably not help her. 'Cooperation doesn't work that way,' Faga said. 'That's not providing substantial assistance to the government.' There's also the matter of Maxwell's problematic deposition – striking that table. 'If the government previously charged her with perjury, then it makes her a very questionable witness,' Faga said, 'and a witness that the government may deem just too unreliable to accept cooperation from.' Solve the daily Crossword
