Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, marking the first time Maxwell has been questioned by federal investigators since her arrest in 2020.
Maxwell, a longtime associate and former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been in federal custody for five years. Despite being publicly linked to Epstein for over three decades, she had never been formally questioned by federal authorities until now.
“Ms. Maxwell answered every single question. She never invoked any privilege, never declined to answer,” her attorney David Oscar Markus told reporters following the meeting. “She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly, and to the best of her ability.” Markus declined to disclose the substance of the questions asked.
Blanche later stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) remains open to hearing any information Maxwell may have regarding Epstein’s victims. However, he reaffirmed the DOJ’s July 6 memo which concluded that Epstein acted alone and died by suicide in 2019, asserting there were no co-conspirators—a position that has faced growing criticism, particularly from supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The DOJ’s stance has reignited public skepticism and drawn renewed attention to Trump’s long-standing ties to Epstein. Trump, who was a known associate of Epstein for over 15 years, has dismissed concern over the issue as an “Epstein hoax,” which has alienated parts of his political base.
Adding to the controversy, newly resurfaced footage from a 2010 deposition shows Epstein invoking his Fifth Amendment right when asked if he had ever socialized with Trump in the presence of underage girls.
Further questions have emerged from a transcript from Maxwell’s 2021 child trafficking trial, where a victim testified that Epstein introduced her to Trump at his Mar-A-Lago estate in the 1990s when she was just 14. The victim recalled Epstein elbowing Trump and joking, “This is a good one, right?”
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing White House sources, that Trump was privately briefed in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi about his name appearing multiple times in DOJ files related to Epstein. Trump reportedly deferred to the DOJ, which later chose to close the investigation.
The meeting between Blanche and Maxwell is expected to raise further questions about the extent of Epstein’s network, the DOJ’s willingness to pursue leads, and the political implications surrounding powerful figures linked to the late financier.