By Steve Neavling
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping him sexually abuse underage girls, the Associated Press reports.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Tuesday that federal prosecutors have reached out to Maxwell’s legal team in hopes of speaking with her as part of an ongoing effort to revisit the Epstein case.
“If Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche posted on X, adding that President Donald Trump “has told us to release all credible evidence.”
David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, said discussions with the government are underway and that his client is willing to cooperate.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,” Markus said. “We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
This comes amid mounting pressure on the Justice Department to appear more transparent following backlash from Trump’s supporters over its previous refusal to release additional records related to Epstein’s abuse. As part of that push, the DOJ last week asked a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts, citing the president’s directive.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and sentenced in 2022 for recruiting and grooming girls as young as 14 for Epstein, who authorities say sexually abused children “hundreds of times” over more than a decade. He died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Earlier this month, the DOJ said it had found no evidence to charge others connected to Epstein’s crimes. But in his post, Blanche said the department “does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead.”
He added that he expects to meet with Maxwell “in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, two federal judges — Paul Engelmayer and Richard Berman — are weighing whether to unseal the grand jury transcripts and have given the government until July 29 to justify their release. They also want to hear by Aug. 5 from Epstein’s victims and Maxwell on whether they support making the records public.
