Washington: Deputy US Attorney-General Todd Blanche held a meeting with sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell at the US attorney’s office in Tallahassee, Florida, ABC News reported on Friday AEST.
The meeting was widely anticipated, after Blanche announced earlier in the week that he had reached out to Maxwell’s lawyers to see if she might have “information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.”
Maxwell is serving a 20-year term at a federal prison in Tallahassee, after a jury convicted her of helping Epstein to abuse underage girls. She is appealing her sentence.
During her three-week trial, Ghislaine Maxwell was described as “dangerous”, and jurors were told details of how she helped entice vulnerable teenagers to Epstein’s various properties for him to sexually abuse.Credit: AP
The meeting 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.
In a social media post, Blanche said that Trump “has told us to release all credible evidence” and that if Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the Justice Department “will hear what she has to say.”
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A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The person who confirmed the meeting insisted on anonymity to describe a closed-door encounter to the Associated Press.
A lawyer for Maxwell confirmed that there were discussions with the government and stated that Maxwell “will always testify truthfully.”
The House Committee on Oversight issued a subpoena on Wednesday for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August.
