WASHINGTON (AP) — A second Justice Department official met on Thursday with Gislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend who was incarcerated and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Florida meeting Tuesday, where Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was working on arrangements, is part of a transparent Department of Justice efforts following a fierce backlash from President Donald Trump’s base, which refused to prior refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.
“Mr. Maxwell answered all the questions. She never stopped, never evoked privilege, she refused to answer. She was honest with all the questions, honest, and to the fullest of her abilities.”
In a social media post Tuesday, Blanche said Trump “telled us to release all the credible evidence,” and that if Maxwell has information about the person who committed the crime against the victim, the FBI and the Justice Department will “hear what she has to say.”
Marx said his team was “thank you.”
Asked if his client could receive a pardon or if he could see his prison term declined, Marx said: “There is no promise yet, so for now she is just answering the question.”
The House Committee on Observation issued a subpoena on Wednesday for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is currently in a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of supporting a minor girl in Epstein’s sexual abuse.
Officials said Epstein committed suicide in a prison cell in New York while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has spawned endless caution and conspiracy theories for his links with Maxwell with famous people, including the Royals, the president and billionaires.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release any more files related to Epstein’s investigation, despite a promise from Attorney General Pam Bondy that it argued not. The department also said there is no Epstein client list.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi told Trump in May that his name was one of the most well-known people mentioned in Epstein’s government files, but the mention does not imply cheating.
Trump, a Republican, said he once thought Epstein was a “great guy” but later fell.
The subcommittee on Wednesday voted to summon the Department of Justice for documents relating to Epstein. And senators from both major political parties have expressed what was open to holding a hearing on the issue after the August break of Congress.
Rep. Thomas Massey, a Kentucky Republican, introduced bipartisan support that requires the Department of Justice to be published in an unclassified downloadable format and published in all uncategorized records, documents, communications and investigative materials.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican majority leader Louisiana Rep. Steve Scullyse said they will address notable Epstein-related issues in Congress when they return from their break.
Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to a state charge of soliciting and procuring minors for prostitution under a 2008 nonprojection agreement. That allowed him to avoid possible life sentences and instead served 13 months in the work release program. He had to pay the victim and register as a sex offender.
In 2019, Epstein was charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan on a nearly identical allegation.
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Williams reported from Detroit.
