Latest news with #David Markus
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ghislaine Maxwell makes last-ditch plea to Supreme Court to throw out sex trafficking conviction
Jeffrey Epstein associate and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday to throw out her 2021 federal sex trafficking conviction. Maxwell's lawyers argue she is covered by the 2007 plea deal Epstein reached with South Florida prosecutors to not charge any of his accomplices. The filing comes after President Donald Trump 's Justice Department earlier this month wrote it opposed the appeal. 'Rather than grapple with the core principles of plea agreements, the government tries to distract by reciting a lurid and irrelevant account of Jeffrey Epstein's misconduct,' Maxwell's legal team wrote in their petition. 'But this case is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did,' wrote the husband-and-wife duo, David and Mona Markus. Maxwell met on Thursday and Friday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to answer questions about the highly controversial case that has sparked a civil war in MAGA world. David Oscar Markus said outside the courthouse in Tallahasse, Florida last week that his client answered every question the Blanche asked of her. He also appeared to be angling for a pardon from the president. In 2007, Epstein struck a deal that allowed him to plead guilty in Florida to solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors to engage in prostitution and only serve 13 months in jail. The agreement stipulated that Miami's U.S. Attorney's Office would 'not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein.' The deal names four individuals, none of whom were Maxwell. But the Marukses argue that the deal also included their client when it said 'any potential co-conspirators' are also immunized in the case.
The Independent
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump says he has not been asked to pardon Maxwell following Epstein interviews
US President Donald Trump has said he has not been asked to pardon disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell following her 'truthful' answers to government questions about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell was found guilty in December 2021 of luring young girls to massage rooms for paedophile financier Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004. The US Department of Justice met with the 63-year-old convicted sex-trafficker last week – interviews in which her lawyer David Markus said his client would 'testify truthfully'. The US government faced a backlash from Mr Trump's support base following words from Attorney General Pam Bondi that there was no evidence Epstein had a 'client list'. Following the criticisms, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell over the course of two days – with Mr Blanche saying: 'No-one is above the law and no lead is off-limits.' Mr Markus previously said the disgraced socialite had not been offered a pardon as part of the interview process. In a short statement ahead of the meetings, the lawyer said: 'I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. 'We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.' Questioned on whether he had been asked to pardon Maxwell, the US President told reporters on Monday: 'Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it. 'It's in the news – that aspect of it – but right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.' During her three-week trial in 2021, jurors heard prosecutors describe Maxwell as 'dangerous', and were told details of how she helped entice vulnerable teenagers to Epstein's various properties for him to sexually abuse. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the southern district of New York (SDNY) in June 2022. Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
To former prosecutors, DOJ interview with Ghislaine Maxwell looked unorthodox
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met for a second day with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, without offering more than a broad rationale for his hours of questioning. Multiple former federal prosecutors told CBS News they were bewildered by his decision to launch into such talks and described the unfolding events as both unorthodox and concerning. "She's somebody who has been sentenced by a court to 20 years in prison, and she is likely also desperate to get out from under that sentence," said Elizabeth Oyer, a former Justice Department pardon attorney and federal public defender. "It's hard to really believe that the Justice Department would rely on anything that she might have to say." Oyer suggested that Maxwell was speaking with Blanche "in the hope that she might be able to cut a deal that will benefit her, and that raises fundamental questions about the credibility of any information she could possibly provide." Maxwell's defense lawyer, David Markus, said after the meeting that she answered everything asked of her "and she didn't hold anything back." Asked whether Maxwell is seeking a pardon, Markus said, "We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet," adding, "We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." "It's unprecedented for the deputy attorney general to be directly involved in interviewing someone who's been convicted of a crime and may be interested in cooperating to get leniency," one former senior Justice Department official told CBS News on the condition he not be identified. "It strikes me simply as an effort to address a political concern, which is not what the Justice Department does." Blanche is a senior Justice Department official who previously served as a personal attorney to President Trump. He is also a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. He announced his decision to travel to Florida to meet with Maxwell after days of public attention swirled around the administration's mixed messaging about the possible release of files on Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in the trafficking ring. Several aspects of the Blanche decision appear to break with longstanding Justice Department practices. Among the most concerning, former officials said, is having Blanche conduct the interviews, rather than the line prosecutors who helped win a conviction in the Maxwell case, and who are continuing to combat her efforts to appeal the outcome. Adding to the complication is that the prosecutor who led the Maxwell case, Maurene Comey, was fired by the Trump administration a week ago. One former prosecutor said a key reason for having a line prosecutor handle such an interview is their comprehensive knowledge of both Maxwell and the facts of the case against her. Otherwise, this attorney said, it could be very hard to determine whether Maxwell is being truthful — especially since there were already past questions about her willingness to be fully candid about the misconduct that led to her arrest, and Epstein's. "The best way to determine that is to ask questions you already know the answers to," the former prosecutor said. "Todd Blanche is in no position to assess the truth if he doesn't know all the facts." Because Blanche's meetings were occurring behind closed doors, it is unclear if he was accompanied by other Justice Department officials or FBI agents. The Justice Department has not responded to a request for comment. Experts told CBS News that meetings of this nature almost always include an FBI agent who can memorialize the discussion in formal interview notes that could later have evidentiary value, if needed. "If Blanche was meeting with Maxwell alone, that's obscene malpractice," another former federal prosecutor, who had decades of experience, told CBS News. "He can't testify and become a witness, nor can he write a report of their meeting." Prosecutors are not permitted to write up interview reports and are not sworn law enforcement officers with training to document an interview of this kind. "It would be a mess," the former official said. "The first rule of a meeting with a witness is to have an agent present." As another former prosecutor put it: "This is not typical." "It's not the most effective way" to work if the goal is to gather additional evidence or identify potential targets for future prosecution, this person said. Mr. Trump has never been accused of misconduct in connection with Epstein's criminal activity, and he has consistently said he cut ties with Epstein before Epstein's first arrest in 2006 for his conduct with underage girls. Mr. Trump has sought to push past the crush of attention on the topic, even referring to it as "the Jeffrey Epstein hoax." Blanche explained his decision to meet with Maxwell by saying he would "pursue justice wherever the facts may lead." "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," Blanche said. Like Oyer, many former federal prosecutors saw the meeting as a political move intended to dampen growing mistrust about the decision not to make public the files connected with Epstein's case. Multiple former prosecutors spoke with CBS News about the matter, but asked not to be identified because they feared retribution against them or their current employers. 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CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
To former prosecutors, everything about the Justice Dept. interview with Ghislaine Maxwell looked unorthodox
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met for a second day with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, without offering more than a broad rationale for his hours of questioning. Multiple former federal prosecutors told CBS News they were bewildered by his decision to launch into such talks and described the unfolding events as both unorthodox and concerning. "She's somebody who has been sentenced by a court to 20 years in prison, and she is likely also desperate to get out from under that sentence," said Elizabeth Oyer, a former Justice Department pardon attorney and federal public defender. "It's hard to really believe that the Justice Department would rely on anything that she might have to say." Oyer suggested that Maxwell was speaking with Blanche "in the hope that she might be able to cut a deal that will benefit her, and that raises fundamental questions about the credibility of any information she could possibly provide." Maxwell's defense lawyer, David Markus, said after the meeting that she answered everything asked of her "and she didn't hold anything back." Asked whether Maxwell is seeking a pardon, Markus said, "We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet," adding, "We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." "It's unprecedented for the deputy attorney general to be directly involved in interviewing someone who's been convicted of a crime and may be interested in cooperating to get leniency," one former senior Justice Department official told CBS News on the condition he not be identified. "It strikes me simply as an effort to address a political concern, which is not what the Justice Department does." Blanche is a senior Justice Department official who previously served as a personal attorney to President Trump. He is also a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. He announced his decision to travel to Florida to meet with Maxwell after days of public attention swirled around the administration's mixed messaging about the possible release of files on Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in the trafficking ring. Several aspects of the Blanche decision appear to break with longstanding Justice Department practices. Among the most concerning, former officials said, is having Blanche conduct the interviews, rather than the line prosecutors who helped win a conviction in the Maxwell case, and who are continuing to combat her efforts to appeal the outcome. Adding to the complication is that the prosecutor who led the Maxwell case, Maurene Comey, was fired by the Trump administration a week ago. One former prosecutor said a key reason for having a line prosecutor handle such an interview is their comprehensive knowledge of both Maxwell and the facts of the case against her. Otherwise, this attorney said, it could be very hard to determine whether Maxwell is being truthful — especially since there were already past questions about her willingness to be fully candid about the misconduct that led to her arrest, and Epstein's. "The best way to determine that is to ask questions you already know the answers to," the former prosecutor said. "Todd Blanche is in no position to assess the truth if he doesn't know all the facts." Because Blanche's meetings were occurring behind closed doors, it is unclear if he was accompanied by other Justice Department officials or FBI agents. The Justice Department has not responded to a request for comment. Experts told CBS News that meetings of this nature almost always include an FBI agent who can memorialize the discussion in formal interview notes that could later have evidentiary value, if needed. "If Blanche was meeting with Maxwell alone, that's obscene malpractice," another former federal prosecutor, who had decades of experience, told CBS News. "He can't testify and become a witness, nor can he write a report of their meeting." Prosecutors are not permitted to write up interview reports and are not sworn law enforcement officers with training to document an interview of this kind. "It would be a mess," the former official said. "The first rule of a meeting with a witness is to have an agent present." As another former prosecutor put it: "This is not typical." "It's not the most effective way" to work if the goal is to gather additional evidence or identify potential targets for future prosecution, this person said. Mr. Trump has never been accused of misconduct in connection with Epstein's criminal activity, and he has consistently said he cut ties with Epstein before Epstein's first arrest in 2006 for his conduct with underage girls. Mr. Trump has sought to push past the crush of attention on the topic, even referring to it as "the Jeffrey Epstein hoax." Blanche explained his decision to meet with Maxwell by saying he would "pursue justice wherever the facts may lead." "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," Blanche said. Like Oyer, many former federal prosecutors saw the meeting as a political move intended to dampen growing mistrust about the decision not to make public the files connected with Epstein's case. Multiple former prosecutors spoke with CBS News about the matter, but asked not to be identified because they feared retribution against them or their current employers.
