Trump did not rule out a pardon for Maxwell – if he did, there may be no way back among some of his staunchest supporters
SEATTLE – Jeffrey Epstein’s long-time partner Ghislaine Maxwell was asked “about 100 different people” by government lawyers.
Her own lawyer, David Oscar Markus, told reporters she answered “those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability”.
Markus insisted Maxwell had not asked for anything in exchange for her cooperation in interviews lasting more than nine hours.
Critically, he did not say what individuals she was asked about.
The Department of Justice (DOJ claims it questioned Maxwell, 63, held at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, in order to get to the truth amid increasing pressure on Donald Trump to release files relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Justice demands courage,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who led the questioning, said on social media. “For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know?”
Yet, some things may not be quite so simple and many believe Trump is trying to save himself.
For several years Blanche was Trump’s personal lawyer and defended him against allegations of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and claims he had a sexual encounter with a former adult actress and lied about paying her hush money.
Experts say it is highly unusual for a high ranking DoJ official to interview a convicted felon, a woman who helped Epstein abuse young girls and whom is serving a 20-year sentence, and that if such information was required it would usually be left to the civil service lawyer, not a political appointee.
“It strikes me simply as an effort to address a political concern, which is not what the DoJ does,” a former DOJ official told CBS News.
How to put the Epstein scandal to bed?
The “political concern” is Trump’s desire to find some way to put away the Epstein scandal once and for all.
Having long pushed claims the government was covering up a powerful cabal of child sex offenders and persuaded his supporters to believe such allegations, having returned to the White House they realised there was no such conspiracy.
When the DJ dropped the probe into the files claiming there was no incriminating “client list” , some of whom accused him of orchestrating the type of cover-up he’d previously attacked Democrats over.
Trump had also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of the grand jury evidence following increased speculation from some of his supporters although it was later rejected.
It was always known Trump and Epstein knew each quite well in the 80s and 90s, though the president has always denied any wrongdoing.
When Epstein was charged in 2019 of a sex-trafficking scheme that may have involved 1,000 victims, Trump sought to dissociate himself, saying he fell out with him 15 years earlier.
That year Epstein was found dead in his prison cell in what the authorities said was suicide.
Yet to Trump’s obvious frustration there has been a steady drip of new reports suggesting the men had a closer relationship than had been known.
The Wall Street Journal claimed he’d sent a “bawdy” note for his 50th birthday and this week the same newspaper said the president had been told in May of this year his name appeared in the files. Trump rejected both reports and said of the birthday allegation that it was “false, malicious, and defamatory”.
He has since filed a lawsuit against against Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, and two reporters from The Wall Street Journal, seeking at least $10bn (£7.5bn) in damages.
Maxwell’s appeal
Earlier this year, Maxwell appealed for a new trial, saying she had not been treated fairly when she was convicted in 2021.
At the core of her argument was a clause in Epstein’s 2007’s non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida that prevented her subsequent prosecution.
Under the terms of the later much-criticised arrangement, Epstein admitted to two relatively minor counts and was sentenced 18 months in a minimum-security facility.
Earlier this week, Trump was asked if he was considering a commutation or pardon for Maxwell and did not rule it out.
“I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about,” he said.
A pardon?
Maxwell is very obviously hoping Trump will come to her rescue.
“We haven’t spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet,” Markus, her lawyer, told reporters.
“The president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power. The president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power.” What would Maxwell have to deliver to get such a pardon?
It is only speculation, but some believe she would need to deliver some sort of statement that Trump played no role in the sex-trafficking operation run by her and Epstein.
If it sounds outside the normal way for a DoJ to operate, then it is. But bear in mind Trump previously dangled the prospect of a pardon in cases where he was directly impacted.
One-time campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted over the Russian interference case in 2018. As one of his very last acts as president during his first term, Trump issued pardons to Manafort and another one-time adviser Roger Stone.
There would be outcry among many if Trump were to pardon Maxwell.
Teresa Helm, one of Epstein’s many sexual assault survivors, told MSNBC, a pardon for Epstein’s ex-girlfriend “would mean the complete crumbling of this justice system”.
But Trump has repeatedly shown he will do anything that would save his political skin.
