Latest news with #DavidOscarMarkus
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Ghislaine Maxwell begs Donald Trump to free her
Ghislaine Maxwell pleaded with President Donald Trump to free her from prison after being questioned by his administration about Jeffrey Epstein. The disgraced British heiress, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for procuring underage girls for the late paedophile, asked the US Supreme Court and the president for leniency. 'We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the president himself to recognise how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's crimes, especially when the government promised she would not be prosecuted,' attorney David Oscar Markus said in a statement. Maxwell's lawyers appeared to be capitalising on the Trump administration's recent interest in their client's case, filing a motion on Monday urging the Supreme Court to move forward with the appeal they filed in April. Maxwell, the financier's ex-girlfriend, has long argued her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction should be overturned because of a 2007 plea deal that promised immunity for Epstein's accomplices. She is the only person who has been convicted in connection with his crimes. Flanked by Sir Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland on Monday, Mr Trump again refused to rule out pardoning Maxwell. Responding to a question on the prospect of granting clemency to Maxwell, he said: 'Nobody's asked me about it. It's in the news about that, that aspect of it, but right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.' When asked the same question last week, Mr Trump refused to rule out the prospect, instead telling reporters he was 'allowed' to pardon her. Todd Blanche, US deputy attorney general, and Mr Trump's former personal lawyer, visited Maxwell last week at her jail in Tallahassee, Florida. Legal experts have speculated that Maxwell is keen to make a deal, and that the president may be dangling a pardon in exchange for testimony that would paint him in a favourable light, or implicate his enemies. Maxwell answered 'every single question' Mr Trump is under mounting pressure over his own links to the late financier and Maxwell. Maxwell answered 'every single question' put to her by Mr Blanche, her lawyer said in a statement. '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,' he said. Mr Trump and Maxwell socialised in the same circles in Palm Beach and New York in the 80s and were pictured together on several occasions at parties and fashion shows. Speaking in 2020 when she was being prosecuted for sex trafficking, Mr Trump said of Maxwell: 'I just wish her well, frankly. I haven't really been following it too much. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they [Epstein and Maxwell] lived in Palm Beach.' Mr Trump has repeatedly stated that his friendship with Epstein, and his former girlfriend, ended long before the financier was implicated in any criminality.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ghislaine Maxwell could dodge congressional subpoena for her testimony in Epstein investigation, lawyer says
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is unsure whether she will comply with a recent congressional subpoena to testify about his abuse of girls and whether others were involved, amid continued pressure for the government to disclose more about the case. 'We have to make a decision about whether she will do that or not,' her attorney David Oscar Markus told Politico. 'That's been scheduled for the week of August 11th and we haven't gotten back to them on whether we'll do that.' Maxwell could invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying, while Congress could offer the former British socialite immunity. Maxwell is currently in a Florida federal prison serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, which she has sought to overturn in the Supreme Court. Her lawyer said, Maxwell is hoping Donald Trump pardons her. A bipartisan group on the House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to subpoena Maxwell amid renewed interest into the Epstein scandal. Maxwell sat with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in recent days for an in-depth interview in Florida. The interview featured Maxwell answering questions about '100 different people,' her lawyer said. DOJ officials spoke to her as fallout from the president's handling of releasing information in the Epstein case continues to mount. Democrats have criticized Maxwell's conversations with the DOJ, arguing they are a conflict of interest given the political pressure the Trump administration is facing to disclose more about the Epstein case and Trump's personal relationship with the disgraced investor. 'Under no circumstances should anyone from Trump's DOJ be allowed to privately interview Ghislaine Maxwell,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X of the interview. 'The conflict of interest is glaring. It stinks of high corruption.' The battle over Epstein info has played out beyond just Congress, which House Speaker Mike Johnson broke early for an August recess as legislators pressured the administration to disclose the full Epstein files. Last week, President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal's parent companies News Corp and Dow Jones, after the paper reported that Trump sent a 'bawdy' birthday letter to Epstein. The president has denied the letter is valid. The Epstein saga has created a rare wedge between Trump and members of his base and party. Trump and his allies campaigned on releasing more information about Epstein, and initially, the White House made steps toward fulfilling that promise, releasing what it called 'Phase 1' of the Epstein files to a group of conservative commentators and online personalities in February. However, most of it was redacted or already disclosed. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced there was no 'Epstein client list' despite speculation, and that no more disclosures would be made about the case, infuriating parts of the MAGA base. The president has chastised his own supporters for their intrigue over Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, calling the scandal a Democrat-led 'scam' and 'con job.' The president, who has previously denied being mentioned in the Epstein files, was in fact told by the Justice Department he was one of numerous high-profile figures mentioned in the course of investigations into Epstein, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ghislaine Maxwell May Plead the Fifth After Congress Subpoena: Lawyer
Sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell may invoke her Fifth Amendment right when giving testimony in response to a congressional subpoena. Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told the Daily Beast that it 'remains a big if' as to whether Maxwell will plead the Fifth to prevent self-incrimination. 'If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th—and that remains a big if—she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche,' Markus said, ahead of her meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. 'The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed. No previous prosecutor from the Southern District of New York or elsewhere has had the courage to meet with Ms. Maxwell and ask her these important questions,' Markus continued. 'So we are grateful to Mr. Blanche and his DOJ that they are approaching this with an open mind. That's how our system is supposed to work. As for the Congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds.' When asked how it would view Maxwell pleading the Fifth, the White House referred the Daily Beast to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond. Earlier Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued the subpoena to Maxwell, which proposes that she be deposed August 11 in the low security women's prison in Florida where she has been serving her 20-year-sentence for sex trafficking and conspiracy to recruit underage girls for sex acts. Maxwell's testimony is significant enough that GOP Rep. Scott Perry has urged 'immediate action' from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to ensure her safety, in light of Epstein's 2019 jail cell death following his arrest for sex trafficking. Looming over Maxwell's testimony as well as her meeting with Blanche is how Trump, who wished Ghislaine 'well' after her 2020 arrest, has the ability to pardon her. This fact has led some commentators to question the veracity of what Maxwell would end up telling Congress, if anything. 'The only reason for Maxwell's criminal defense attorney to talk to Todd Blanche is to get her out of prison,' MSNBC anchor Lawrence O'Donnell said Tuesday on The Last Word. 'Any criminal defense lawyer would be able to tell Ghislaine Maxwell exactly what she has to say to get out of prison.' 'She has to say Donald Trump knew nothing about it, knew nothing about what we were doing to those girls,' O'Donnell continued. 'And it would be very helpful to Donald Trump if Ghislaine Maxwell was also willing to say something incriminating about other prominent people who knew Jeffrey Epstein, like maybe Bill Clinton.' The president, meanwhile, has been trying to distract his base by tapping into culture war topics like the football team once known as the Washington Redskins and by launching attacks on his political opponents. But bombshell reports on his relationship with Epstein have made the socialites' interconnected pasts hard to ignore.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ghislaine Maxwell's could dodge congressional subpoena for her testimony in Epstein investigation, lawyer says
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is unsure whether she will comply with a recent congressional subpoena to testify about his abuse of girls and whether others were involved, amid continued pressure for the government to disclose more about the case. 'We have to make a decision about whether she will do that or not,' her attorney David Oscar Markus told Politico. 'That's been scheduled for the week of August 11th and we haven't gotten back to them on whether we'll do that.' Maxwell could invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying, while Congress could offer the former British socialite immunity. Maxwell is currently in a Florida federal prison serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, which she has sought to overturn in the Supreme Court. Her lawyer said, Maxwell is hoping Donald Trump pardons her. A bipartisan group on the House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to subpoena Maxwell amid renewed interest into the Epstein scandal. Maxwell sat with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in recent days for an in-depth interview in Florida. The interview featured Maxwell answering questions about ' 100 different people,' her lawyer said. DOJ officials spoke to her as fallout from the president's handling of releasing information in the Epstein case continues to mount. Democrats have criticized Maxwell's conversations with the DOJ, arguing they are a conflict of interest given the political pressure the Trump administration is facing to disclose more about the Epstein case and Trump's personal relationship with the disgraced investor. 'Under no circumstances should anyone from Trump's DOJ be allowed to privately interview Ghislaine Maxwell,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X of the interview. 'The conflict of interest is glaring. It stinks of high corruption.' The battle over Epstein info has played out beyond just Congress, which House Speaker Mike Johnson broke early for an August recess as legislators pressured the administration to disclose the full Epstein files. Last week, President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal 's parent companies News Corp and Dow Jones, after the paper reported that Trump sent a 'bawdy' birthday letter to Epstein. The president has denied the letter is valid. The Epstein saga has created a rare wedge between Trump and members of his base and party. Trump and his allies campaigned on releasing more information about Epstein, and initially, the White House made steps toward fulfilling that promise, releasing what it called ' Phase 1 ' of the Epstein files to a group of conservative commentators and online personalities in February. However, most of it was redacted or already disclosed. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced there was no 'Epstein client list' despite speculation, and that no more disclosures would be made about the case, infuriating parts of the MAGA base. The president has chastised his own supporters for their intrigue over Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, calling the scandal a Democrat-led 'scam' and 'con job.' The president, who has previously denied being mentioned in the Epstein files, was in fact told by the Justice Department he was one of numerous high-profile figures mentioned in the course of investigations into Epstein, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maxwell attorney after second meeting with DOJ: ‘The truth will come out'
An attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell closed a second day of meetings with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche by saying 'the truth will come out.' Blanche met with Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, again Friday for more questioning after traveling to speak with her in Tallahassee, Fla. 'This was a thorough, comprehensive interview by the Deputy Attorney General. No person and no topic were off-limits. We are very grateful. The truth will come out,' Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus said in a statement to NewsNation, the sister network of The Hill. The Justice Department (DOJ) has been circumspect about when it might share any information gleaned from discussions with Maxwell. 'The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time,' Blanche said in a Thursday evening post on social platform X. The interview with Maxwell in Florida comes as President Trump's administration is under intense pressure from the MAGA base and others to release more evidence related to the Epstein case. Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking charges. She is appealing her 2021 conviction to the Supreme Court, while the DOJ urged the court last week to deny her request. Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Markus said they had not yet discussed a pardon for Maxwell with Trump and said no offers of clemency have been made. 'We're not going to comment on what we're hoping for. We just today and yesterday answered questions,' Markus said. When later pressed on a pardon specifically, he added, 'We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet.' Markus also demurred on whether Maxwell would comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, though she risks criminal charges is she fails to comply with the compulsory process. 'Congress has subpoenaed her to testify. We have to make a decision about whether she will do that or not. That's been scheduled for the week of August 11, and we haven't gotten back to them yet on whether we'll do that,' he said. Updated at 4:16 p.m. EDT. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
