Senate Judiciary Committee rating member Dick Durbin (D-In poor health.) is demanding that the Justice Division (DOJ) flip over all recordings, transcripts and notes from its interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein who’s serving a 20-year sentence for intercourse trafficking.
Durbin is elevating the alarm over Deputy Legal professional Basic Todd Blanche’s interview with Maxwell, calling it “highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for the deputy attorney general” to conduct such an interview instead of line prosecutors who are familiar with the details of the case and who “can more readily determine if the witness is lying.”
“In light of troves of corroborating evidence collected through multiple investigations, a federal jury conviction, and Ms. Maxwell’s history and willingness to lie under oath, as it relates to her dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, why would DOJ depart from long-standing precedent and now seek her cooperation?” Durbin requested within the letter, which was additionally signed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), the highest Democrat on the Judiciary federal courts subcommittee.
Durbin and Whitehouse warned that Maxwell “may provide false information or selectively withhold information in return for a pardon or sentence commutation,” noting that Maxwell is pursuing an enchantment to overturn her 2021 conviction for crimes she dedicated with Epstein.
They flagged what they referred to as “the potential for a corrupt bargain” between the Trump administration and Maxwell that might have an “impact” on the victims and survivors of Epstein’s and Maxwell’s “horrific abuses.”
Trump final week stated he hadn’t considered pardoning Maxwell.
The Democrats requested the Justice Division to offer full transparency to the victims and survivors “with respect to any decisions the department makes regarding Ms. Maxwell’s appeal” and to pledge to not provide a pardon or commutation of sentence to Maxwell in trade for data.
They requested Blanche to offer an in depth clarification of why the Justice Division believes Maxwell can be truthful after federal prosecutors argued in courtroom that she demonstrated a “willingness to brazenly lie under oath about her conduct.”
The Democrats identified that Maxwell was charged in 2020 with two counts of perjury stemming from false statements she made in a civil deposition whereas below oath.
They requested the deputy lawyer normal to offer an in depth clarification of what data the DOJ believes Maxwell might reply that it didn’t acquire previous to her 2020 arrest and indictment.
And so they demanded the Justice Division “provide all recordings, transcripts, reports of investigations” and different notes pertaining to interviews with Maxwell that befell on July 24 and 25.
In addition they requested for recordings and transcripts from any prior interviews with Maxwell and a whole description of any oral or written settlement the Justice Division entered into with Maxwell concerning previous or future interviews.
Durbin and Whitehouse hypothesized the conferences with Maxwell are “another tactic to distract from DOJ’s failure to fulfill Attorney General [Pam] Bondi’s commitment that the American people would see ‘the full Epstein files.’”
An official on the Justice Division confirmed that it acquired the letter from the Democratic senators and declined to remark additional.
