Washington (AFP) – The US Justice Department’s deputy chief conducted a second day of questioning Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose infamous case has dragged President Donald Trump into a political firestorm. Todd Blanche, who is also Trump’s former personal attorney, has so far declined to say what he discussed with Maxwell in the highly unusual meetings between a convicted felon and a top DOJ official.
Maxwell’s lawyer David Markus said Friday afternoon that she was asked about “everything” and “answered every single question” during the second day of questioning at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida. “They asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine,” Markus told reporters outside the courtroom, without elaborating. But he did say there was “no offers” of clemency made to Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence on sex trafficking charges.
Trump is looking to move past the Epstein scandal, which has seen him on rare unsure footing over claims his administration mishandled a review of the notorious case. On Friday, Trump again sought to put distance between himself and Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. “I have nothing to do with the guy,” Trump, whose past friendship with Epstein has received much media attention this week, told reporters ahead of a visit to Scotland.
Trump urged journalists to “focus” instead on Democratic Party figures like former president Bill Clinton and his treasury secretary, former Harvard president Larry Summers, whom the Republican claimed were “really close friends” of Epstein. Asked whether he was considering a pardon or commutation of Maxwell’s 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, Trump said it was something “I haven’t thought about” — but stressed he had the power to do so. He also denied multiple US media reports that he was briefed in the spring by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared multiple times in the so-called “Epstein Files.” “No, I was never — never briefed, no,” Trump said.
Multi-millionaire Epstein was accused of procuring underage girls for sex with his circle of wealthy, high-profile associates when he died by suicide in a New York jail cell. His death fueled conspiracy theories that he was murdered to stop him testifying against prominent accomplices. Trump, who had promised his supporters revelations about the case, infuriated some after his administration announced in early July that it had not discovered any new elements warranting the release of additional documents. The Department of Justice and the FBI said there was no proof that there was a “list” of Epstein’s clients, while affirming he died by suicide.
Ahead of the second round of questioning, Markus told reporters “Ghislaine has been treated unfairly for over five years now” and described her as a “scapegoat.” “Everything she says can be corroborated and she’s telling the truth. She’s got no reason to lie at this point and she’s going to keep telling the truth,” he added. Maxwell, the only former Epstein associate who has been convicted, was jailed in 2022 for grooming underage girls between 1994 and 2004 so that Epstein could sexually exploit them. Her lawyer said she still intended to appeal her conviction in the Supreme Court.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump’s name was among hundreds found during a DOJ review of Epstein’s case files, though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the Journal last week after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson cut short the legislative session this week, sending lawmakers home on summer recess a day early to avoid potentially combustible debate — particularly among Trump’s Republicans — on the release of files.
© 2024 AFP
