Latest news with #ToddBlanche
Washington Post
9 minutes ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Justice Department will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned girlfriend
WASHINGTON — Justice Department officials were set to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell , the imprisoned girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein , according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.
Fox News
9 minutes ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to see how feds meeting plays out amid subpoena: brother
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is planning to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida on Thursday – just one day after a Congressional committee voted to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice to provide additional testimony surrounding his years of sex crimes. The news comes as Maxwell is reportedly compiling new evidence pertaining to alleged government misconduct stemming from her 2021 trial to hand over to the Department of Justice (DOJ), her brother, Ian Maxwell, confirmed to Fox News Digital. "She will be putting before that 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," Ian Maxwell told The New York Post. She has long been regarded as a key figure in Epstein's criminal empire, often seen alongside him at social events and handling the logistics of his sexual escapades. During her 2021 trial, Maxwell did not testify in her own defense and never provided her version of events to federal prosecutors leading up to the proceedings. The development comes after a Florida judge rejected the Trump administration's attempt to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations stemming from Epstein's proceedings on Wednesday, as a similar request remains pending in New York. A federal judge also denied Maxwell's request to obtain the documents, saying it was a "black-letter law" that defendants are unable to access grand jury information. On the same day, a House Oversight committee issued a subpoena for Maxwell to testify before the committee next month. David Oscar Markus, Maxwell's attorney, told the BBC that if his client chooses to appear, "she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would." "As for the congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time," Markus said. "She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds." However, House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly expressed his concerns surrounding the legitimacy of Maxwell's testimony. "I mean, this is a person who's been sentenced to many, many years in prison for terrible, unspeakable, conspiratorial acts and acts against innocent young people," Johnson said, according to the BBC. In 2008, Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in a bid to avoid more severe federal charges by pleading guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. One month after his arrest, he was found dead in his New York City jail cell in what was ultimately ruled a suicide. Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi told "America Reports" host John Roberts that she was in possession of Epstein's "client list." Maxwell is currently serving out her 20-year sentence for propositioning underage girls for Epstein's sexual assaults at FCI Tallahassee in Florida. She was convicted of five federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor. Maxwell is set to testify in front of Congress on Aug. 11. The DOJ and Maxwell's attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Top U.S. DOJ official to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday
Ghislaine Maxwell attends VIP Evening of Conversation for Women's Brain Health Initiative, Moderated by Tina Brown at Spring Studios on October 18, 2016 in New York City. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on July 24. (Sylvain Gaboury/via CNN Newsource) U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday, two people familiar with the meeting tell CNN, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to face backlash over the Jeffrey Epstein saga. They will meet at the U.S. attorney's office in Tallahassee, according to a person familiar with the plans. The meeting comes after the Department of Justice said earlier this week it had reached out to Epstein's former associate, with Blanche saying in a statement on Tuesday that 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.' It comes as many of Trump's supporters have demanded the release of more information about the accused sex trafficker alongside growing concerns for transparency among Republicans on Capitol Hill. The U.S. House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the DOJ for files related to Epstein in a surprise move amounting to a show of defiance by some House Republicans against Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson has attempted to tamp down on efforts to push the release of the so-called Epstein files and shut the door on the possibility of a House vote on releasing information on Epstein before the August recess. The subpoena calls for the Epstein files in the U.S. Justice Department's possession to be provided to Congress, but for the names of the victims to be redacted. It also calls for communications between former Biden officials and the Justice Department related to the Epstein matter, in addition to depositions among some major figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey. Last week, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to make public years-old grand jury testimony against Epstein, though a Florida federal judge on Wednesday declined to release additional grand jury documents from the criminal investigation into Epstein. Separately, a different federal judge rejected Maxwell's lawyers' request to view grand jury material as he weighs whether to release it publicly. Lawyers for Maxwell had asked the judge to allow them access to the transcripts before they officially state their position on the requested unsealing. The judge said there is 'no compelling necessity' for Maxwell to review the grand jury transcripts prior to submitting their position on whether they should be unsealed. He said if, once he reviews the transcripts, he believes it would benefit Maxwell's lawyers to see portions of them he may make an excerpt of them available. Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in federal prison for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls. She has continued to appeal her conviction. Kaitlan Collins, Shania Shelton, CNN CNN's Kara Scannell, Annie Grayer and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.
New York Times
39 minutes ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Justice Dept. Expected to Interview Epstein Associate Maxwell in Florida
Justice Department officials are expected to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Todd Blanche, the No. 2 official at the department who brokered the meeting, flew to Florida on Wednesday night, though it was not clear whether he would attend or conduct the interview, one of those people said. It is also unclear what information Ms. Maxwell, who has made it plain she wants out of prison, could provide beyond what is already in the public record. The interview is part of the department's effort to quell criticism that federal officials are concealing details about Mr. Epstein's crimes and interactions with high-profile figures, including President Trump. The involvement of Mr. Blanche, a former criminal lawyer for Mr. Trump, is an extraordinary effort by an administration official to address a presidential political crisis. It has little, if any, law enforcement implications, and is one of several harried and hurried actions in recent days intended to distract from the furor over the administration's decision to not release more files in the Epstein case. The case is an obsession of many far-right influencers at the core of Mr. Trump's base, and officials now in the administration had suggested during the campaign they would release the files. On Wednesday, a House Oversight subcommittee voted to subpoena the department for all of the remaining documents that have not been released, a rebuke of the decision this month by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, to reverse course and not release documents and video, citing concerns for victims and witnesses. All of these efforts by the White House and Justice Department appear to be stoking even more interest in the Epstein case. Increasingly, critics are focusing on Mr. Trump's friendship with Mr. Epstein, which ended in rancor two decades ago. Ms. Bondi informed Mr. Trump in the spring that his name appeared in the Epstein files, according to three people with knowledge of the exchange. The disclosure came as part of a broader briefing on the re-examination of the case against Mr. Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, by F.B.I. agents and prosecutors. It was made by Ms. Bondi during a meeting that also included the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, and covered a variety of topics. Ms. Bondi frequently meets with Mr. Trump to brief him on various matters, officials said. Ms. Bondi and Mr. Blanche, both of whom previously served as lawyers for Mr. Trump, informed the president that his name, as well as those of other high-profile figures, had come up in their re-examination of documents connected to the case that were not public. It is not clear how significant the references to Mr. Trump are.
CNN
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Top DOJ official to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday
Federal agenciesFacebookTweetLink Follow Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday, two people familiar with the meeting tell CNN, as President Donald Trump continues to face backlash over the Jeffrey Epstein saga. The meeting comes after the Department of Justice said earlier this week it had reached out to Epstein's former associate, with Blanche saying in a statement on Tuesday that 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.' It comes as many of Trump's supporters have demanded the release of more information about the accused sex trafficker alongside growing concerns for transparency among Republicans on Capitol Hill. The House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the DOJ for files related to Epstein in a surprise move amounting to a show of defiance by some House Republicans against Speaker Mike Johnson. Johnson has attempted to tamp down on efforts to push the release of the so-called Epstein files and shut the door on the possibility of a House vote on releasing information on Epstein before the August recess. The subpoena calls for the Epstein files in the Justice Department's possession to be provided to Congress, but for the names of the victims to be redacted. It also calls for communications between former Biden officials and the Justice Department related to the Epstein matter, in addition to depositions among some major figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey. Last week, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to make public years-old grand jury testimony against Epstein, though a Florida federal judge on Wednesday declined to release additional grand jury documents from the criminal investigation into Epstein. Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in federal prison for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls. She has continued to appeal her conviction.
