Maxwell attorney said she answered hours of questions from DOJ's Blanche
An attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell said she had a “very productive” meeting on Thursday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who flew to Tallahassee, Fla., to meet with her amid pressure to release more information from the Epstein files.
Blanche took the unusual step of questioning Maxwell, a close associate of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. Such a task is typically left to career attorneys at the Justice Department.
“He took a full day and asked a lot of questions, and Ms. Maxwell answered every single question,” David Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse where the meeting took place, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“She never stopped. She never invoked her privilege. She never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability,” the outlet reported.
The Justice Department did not immediately comment on the meeting.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in connection with Epstein in 2021 and is serving a 20 year sentence. She is currently appealing her conviction to the Supreme Court.
Epstein later killed himself while in prison awaiting trial on related charges.
The Trump administration is under tremendous pressure to release more information about the Epstein case.
A firestorm erupted after the department released a memo stating the financier killed himself and did not keep a client list.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously said such files were on her desk, but she later demurred about releasing additional information about the case, saying it contained pornographic images and would be damaging to Epstein’s victims.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi told President Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in files related to Epstein.
Bondi also told Trump that many other high-profile individuals were named in the files — which alone is not a sign of wrongdoing. One official familiar with the documents told the Journal the files contain hundreds of names.
Blanche earlier this week offered support for the earlier statement in July from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI.
“The joint statement by the DOJ and FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was written. Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” Blanche said in a Tuesday statement.
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. 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.”