Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche intends to meet with convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell in the next several days, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday morning.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021 for recruiting and grooming multiple teenage girls for over a decade to be sexually abused by Epstein. She was investigated and indicted during the first Trump administration and tried and convicted during the Biden administration.
The meeting was confirmed by Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, who has been requesting meetings with Trump administration officials and has argued that Maxwell did not receive a fair trial.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully," Markus said. "We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
NBC News has reported that Maxwell did not ask for a plea agreement and was not offered one before her trial, according to statements federal prosecutors made at the time. After she was convicted in New York, she was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Blanche, in a statement Bondi posted Tuesday on X, said the Justice Department stood by its July 6 decision to release no further documents in the Epstein case, which sparked an uproar among Trump supporters that has proven to be one of the largest political challenges of Trump’s second term. Trump has repeatedly called on his supporters to move on and focus on other topics, and at one point he called them “stupid.”
Trump supporters criticized the decision, citing Bondi’s repeated promises that she would release documents related to the Epstein case. Multiple Republican lawmakers and right-wing influencers have also criticized Bondi, whom Trump has defended.
Amid the backlash, the Justice Department filed a motion in federal court last week calling on a judge to “release the associated grand jury transcripts” of cases having to do with Epstein.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who is overseeing Maxwell's case, said in a court filing that the government has not “adequately” addressed the “factors” that district courts weigh in considering applications for disclosure, including “why disclosure is being sought in the particular case” and “what specific information is being sought for disclosure.”
The government must file a memorandum of law no later than July 29, the judge said.
U.S. District Judge John Berman, who is handling the government's request to unseal documents in Epstein's federal case, issued a similar order Tuesday. Both judges set a deadline of Aug. 5 for victims' attorneys to weigh in on the potential disclosures.
Jack Scarola, who is representing multiple Epstein victims, said he and his clients have yet to hear from government lawyers.
“Generally every time Epstein comes to their attention, it is a painful experience," Scarola said. "However, they are pleased about the ongoing attention because they recognize they could get the answers to many unanswered questions."
Blaming other prosecutors
In an unusual step, Blanche appeared to publicly criticize the work of the Justice Department prosecutors who investigated Epstein during George W. Bush’s second term, Trump’s first term and Biden’s term.
"Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government." Blanche said, referring to Maxwell. "That changes now."
"Justice demands courage," Blanche added in a separate X post. "For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know?"
Legal experts have questioned the credibility of Maxwell's claims, given her role in enabling Epstein's abuse of minors for over a decade. They have also criticized the Justice Department’s investigation of Epstein during George W. Bush's administration.
In a 2008 plea deal overseen by the U.S. attorney in South Florida at the time, Alex Acosta, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and felony solicitation of prostitution.
The agreement required Epstein to register as a sex offender and serve about a year in a Florida county jail. But he was able to leave almost daily for work, and he was allowed to have his own private security detail behind bars.
Eleven years later, Epstein was indicted on July 8, 2019, during Trump's first administration, on federal charges of sex trafficking minors in New York. His case ended after he was found dead in his jail cell roughly one month later.
A medical examiner’s office ruled he died by suicide, a conclusion that Bondi and Blanche supported in the July 6 statement issued by the Justice Department and the FBI.
Roughly a year later, Maxwell was indicted on federal charges on July 9, 2020. She was found guilty on Dec. 29, 2021, of multiple counts of conspiring to sex traffic minors and later sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. But her trial did not reveal proof that other men sexually abused the minors.
Continued conspiracy theories
For years, the cause of Epstein’s death, his high-profile contacts, his initial plea agreement and the graphic details of the allegations have fueled conspiracy theories and demands that the government release all it knows about the case.
Trump helped fuel the theories in the past, saying during his presidential campaign last year that he would have “no problem” looking into an Epstein client list.
After she became attorney general, Bondi repeatedly promised to release documents related to the Epstein case. In a Fox News interview in February, she said an Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.”
FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino also called for the release of Epstein documents before Trump chose them for their current positions.
But the July 6 joint statement by the Justice Department and the FBI said an exhaustive internal review of Epstein-related records had not produced enough evidence to prosecute any other people.
"A systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" the agencies said. "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."
Multiple federal judges have rejected appeals of Maxwell's conviction, and her current appeal is before the Supreme Court. She is serving her 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Florida.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., criticized Trump’s handling of the Epstein case on social media Monday.
But in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, she said she believes Blanche is “absolutely” making “the right move to go talk with Ghislaine Maxwell."
Greene said, however, that she does not know whether any information Maxwell provides Blanche can be trusted.
“She should have to present evidence if she’s making statements about people,” Greene said.
