The Justice Department plans to reach out to Ghislaine Maxwell, socialite and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, to see she has additional information about the highly scrutinized case.
As lingering questions swirl over the Epstein case after the department announced no further disclosures were necessary earlier this month, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that his department plans to contact Maxwell for more information. She was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after her 2021 conviction on charges related to her role in a scheme to abuse multiple minor girls with Epstein.
“Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know? At @AGPamBondi’s direction, I’ve contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits,” Blanche said in a statement Tuesday. He expects to meet with her in the next few days.
The move comes weeks after the DOJ published a two-page memo explaining that its “exhaustive” review of documents related to the Epstein case “ did not expose any additional third-parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing.” The review also provided no evidence to support the existence of a so-called “client list” of associates some claim Epstein blackmailed over their alleged involvement in his trafficking scheme.
“This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead. 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’s statement reads.
“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. Therefore, at the direction of Attorney General Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department.”
Last week, President Donald Trump called for the release of “any and all pertinent” grand jury testimony. In motions filed in the Epstein and Maxwell cases, Bondi and Attorney General Pam Bondi asked the court to unseal the transcripts.
The motions ask a judge to lift any protective orders and release the grand jury transcripts “as a matter of public interest.”
“Public officials, lawmakers, pundits, and ordinary citizens remain deeply interested and concerned about the Epstein matter. Indeed, other jurists have released grand jury transcripts after concluding that Epstein’s case qualifies as a matter of public concern,” the filing states.