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The latest effort by Trump subordinates is intended to quell a political crisis precipitated by the department’s announcement that it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation.
July 22, 2025, 11:12 a.m. ET
Top Justice Department officials have contacted lawyers representing Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a prison term for sex trafficking, to address lingering questions about the case that have fueled a furious right-wing backlash.
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, announced on social media early Tuesday that he had requested a meeting with the disgraced former socialite, Mr. Epstein’s loyal co-conspirator and enabler who also interacted with the rich and powerful men he courted — including President Trump.
“I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department,” Mr. Blanche wrote in a statement on social media.
“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,” he wrote, misspelling Ms. Maxwell’s first name and adding that he was acting on Mr. Trump’s instruction to release all “credible” evidence.
The announcement came hours before a major committee in the Republican-controlled House voted to subpoena Ms. Maxwell, and days after The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Trump sent Mr. Epstein a salacious birthday greeting in 2003 in which he expressed close friendship. The overture is the latest in a flurry of frantic efforts by Trump subordinates intended to quell a political crisis precipitated by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s announcement earlier this month that she was shutting down the Epstein investigation.
The unexpected furor over the case has forced the Republican-controlled Congress to confront a divisive political crisis in the middle of a victory lap after the passage of Mr. Trump’s signature domestic policy bill. House Republicans have been stymied from advancing an immigration bill and a rollback of Biden-era regulations after Democrats on a critical panel threatened to force a vote on an Epstein-related measure.
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