Deputy Lawyer Basic Todd Blanche accomplished 9 hours of conferences over two days with Ghislaine Maxwell on Friday however made no public statements about what she mentioned or the following steps within the Justice Division’s much-criticized Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Former prosecutors mentioned it was extremely uncommon — and probably unprecedented — for a the division’s No. 2 official to personally interview a witness. Secrecy in a prison investigation is regular, however the prosecutors concerned within the case would usually be included in questioning.
“I’ve by no means heard of a deputy lawyer basic doing something like this earlier than,” mentioned a former senior Justice Division official, who spoke on situation of anonymity.
Victims of Epstein and Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming a number of teenage women to be sexually abused by the late financier, questioned the dearth of transparency as effectively. Jack Scarola, a lawyer representing roughly 20 Epstein victims, mentioned he requested to attend the Maxwell interviews however was not included.
Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor in New York, mentioned the interviews by Blanche, who labored as Trump’s former protection lawyer, could also be performative.
“It could be only a manner of with the ability to say, ‘Look, we dotted each I and crossed each T,’” she mentioned. “There’s worth to with the ability to say that we’ve tried to talk to everybody we probably might, together with the co-defendant.”
Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi, Blanche and President Donald Trump himself have struggled to quell the uproar because the DOJ and FBI introduced on July 6 that an exhaustive Epstein case evaluate had not uncovered proof that justified investigating different people. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino — who’ve each unfold conspiracy theories concerning the Epstein case — backed these findings and a DOJ resolution to launch no different Epstein case paperwork.
Catherine Christian, a former Manhattan assistant district lawyer and an NBC Information authorized analyst, mentioned the Maxwell interviews may be an effort to guard Trump, who now faces one of many largest political crises of his second time period within the furor over the Epstein investigation.
Trump, like dozens of different rich People, socialized with Epstein. He is amongst a whole bunch of people whose names seem in 100,000 pages of Epstein case paperwork reviewed by the DOJ and the FBI.
“It’s laborious to imagine that is something however performative,” Christian mentioned. “Or Todd Blanche, simply desirous to have her on the file saying, ‘Sure, President Trump had nothing to do with any of this. He was not a shopper.’”
What was Maxwell requested?
Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, is a prime Florida prison protection lawyer and a buddy of Blanche’s. Blanche appeared on Markus’ podcast in 2024, the place the host praised Blanche’s authorized expertise. After Friday’s assembly with Blanche and Maxwell, Markus advised reporters that the deputy lawyer basic “did an incredible job” and requested Maxwell thorough questions.
“She was requested possibly about 100 completely different individuals,” mentioned Markus, who didn’t disclose which people Maxwell was questioned about. “She answered questions on everyone, and she or he didn’t maintain something again,” he mentioned. “They requested about each single, each doable factor you would think about, all the pieces.”
A senior administration official, who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not licensed to talk publicly, mentioned that Maxwell was granted restricted immunity by the Justice Division to reply questions concerning the Epstein case.
Granting restricted immunity is widespread in prison circumstances and permits defendants to offer info with out concern that will probably be used in opposition to them in court docket.
The immunity is “restricted” as a result of it solely applies if the defendant is telling the reality. Whether it is decided {that a} defendant lied throughout the interviews, then the settlement turns into void. Prosecutors can consider a defendant’s cooperation and advocate a plea deal or a lowered sentence.
This isn’t anticipated in Maxwell’s case, as she has already been convicted and sentenced to twenty years in federal jail. Maxwell’s lawyer, Markus, has argued that Maxwell’s trial was unfair and an enchantment of her conviction is pending earlier than the Supreme Court docket.
Potential pardon or commutation
Trump, like all presidents, has the ability to pardon or commute the sentence of anybody convicted of a federal crime. Requested about Epstein’s case on Friday morning, Trump mentioned the main focus ought to be on different individuals who socialized with Epstein, equivalent to former President Invoice Clinton and Larry Summers, the previous treasury secretary and Harvard College president.
“It is best to give attention to Clinton,” the president advised reporters. “It is best to give attention to the president of Harvard, the previous president of Harvard. It is best to give attention to a number of the hedge fund guys.”
“I’ll offer you a listing. These guys lived with Jeffrey Epstein. I positive as hell didn’t,” Trump mentioned.
Requested if he was contemplating granting Maxwell a pardon or commuting her sentence, Trump mentioned, “It’s one thing I haven’t considered.”
“I’m allowed to do it,” he added.
Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor in New York, mentioned she believes the latest firing of Maurene Comey, a lead prosecutor within the Maxwell case and the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was an effort to present Trump appointees full management of the Maxwell case, restrict transparency and silence dissent.
“That doesn’t appear coincidental. It looks as if they wished Maurene to not be current within the Division of Justice,” Rocah mentioned. “To have the ability to say, ‘What the heck, you’ll be able to’t go speak to my shopper or my defendant.’”
Rocah, a Democrat who served as Westchester County district lawyer from 2020 to 2024, criticized Blanche’s conferences with Maxwell, saying his obvious failure to incorporate a prosecutor with deep information of her crimes was unfair to Epstein’s victims.
“The pinnacle of that whole establishment that’s imagined to be about defending victims is speaking to her, giving her a platform to say God is aware of what, with out a lot solution to confirm it or not,” Rocah mentioned. “The actual individuals who might check her truth-telling are the individuals who labored on the case, not Todd.”
Laura Strickler contributed.
President Donald Trump spoke from the tarmac in Scotland to dismiss requires transparency over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. “You’re making a really huge factor over one thing that’s not a giant factor.”
