Senators push for Justice Department commitments to releasing recordings and all notes from the Blanche-Maxwell meeting, not pardoning or commuting the sentence of Maxwell, upholding full transparency with victims and survivors, sharing other documents
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pressed for public commitments from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche after he met with Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator and fellow sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a letter to Blanche, the Senators shared concerns about the purpose and intention behind the meeting, including the nature of the immunity offered to Ms. Maxwell, writing: “The purpose and timing of this meeting are perplexing … [D]uring Ms. Maxwell’s prosecution, DOJ prosecutors argued in court that her ‘willingness to brazenly lie under oath about her conduct, including some of the conduct charged in the Indictment, strongly suggests her true motive has been and remains to avoid being held accountable for her crimes.’ It is highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for the Deputy Attorney General to conduct such an interview, rather than line prosecutors who are familiar with the details of the case and 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? And now a source has come forward to allege that DOJ offered limited immunity to speak with Ms. Maxwell, a prosecutorial tactic to secure cooperation from alleged co-conspirators in criminal cases, when she has already been tried and convicted.”
The Senators then characterized the meeting as an apparent distraction from the Administration’s failures regarding the Epstein case, citing previous whistleblower reports made public by Durbin, writing: “It seems likely this meeting is another tactic to distract from DOJ’s failure to fulfill Attorney General Bondi’s commitment that the American people would see ‘the full Epstein files,’ especially in light of credible reports that FBI officials were told to ‘flag’ any Epstein files in which President Trump was mentioned and that Attorney General Bondi told the President that his name appeared in the files … Given her documented record of lying and her desire to secure early release, there are serious concerns that Ms. Maxwell may provide false information or selectively withhold information, in return for a pardon or sentence commutation; indeed, President Trump noted to reporters on Friday that he is ‘allowed to’ pardon Ms. Maxwell, and Ms. Maxwell’s defense attorney said, ‘We hope he exercises that power.’ Your false claim that the meeting is the ‘first time’ DOJ has reached out to Ms. Maxwell also raises questions about the Trump Administration’s motives.”
The Senators then asked for two public commitments from Blanche:
· That DOJ will provide full transparency to the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell with respect to any decisions the Department makes regarding Ms. Maxwell’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court; and
· That DOJ will not offer a pardon or commutation of sentence to Ms. Maxwell in exchange for information or advocate for a pardon or commutation of sentence on Ms. Maxwell’s behalf to the White House in exchange for her cooperation.
The Senators concluded with a broad condemnation of DOJ’s mishandling and unnecessary politicization of the Epstein case, before making a series of information requests, writing: “The victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have been repeatedly let down by the criminal justice system. This case was initially brought to the public’s attention because, during a previous Republican Administration, the Department entered into a favorable, ‘sweetheart’ agreement with Epstein, without alerting his numerous victims. This cannot happen again. Rather than engaging in this elaborate ruse, DOJ should simply release the Epstein files, as Attorney General Bondi promised to do.”
For a PDF copy of the letter sent to Deputy Attorney General Blanche, click here.
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