President Trump is still being hounded by the case of Jeffrey Epstein. It's not clear if a second day of meetings between a top Trump administration official and Epstein's imprisoned co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell will cool the controversy.

Washington

Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted for her role in the sexual abuse of minors alongside Jeffrey Epstein, has recently participated in two closed-door meetings with Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer. Maxwell's attorney stated she is cooperating freely and has not requested anything in exchange for her testimony. 

President Trump has declined to rule out a pardon for Maxwell, but stated he has not considered it. The Justice Department has come under increasing pressure to release more information about the Epstein case, with critics questioning the transparency of the process. The relationship between key officials involved in the meetings has also drawn attention, as the public awaits further disclosure from the Department of Justice.

Closed-door meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell fuels pardon speculation

Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, were convicted of child sex-related charges. Epstein is dead, Maxwell's in prison, and her attorney made it clear today she wants out. A pardon. President Trump said he hadn't thought about it, then flew off to Scotland, where he added he didn't want to talk about it. But his deputy attorney general and former personal attorney did talk about something with Maxwell today. They met for a second time in Florida, and Maxwell's attorney says they talked about every possible thing you could imagine. The Justice Department is under growing pressure to put out more about Epstein's crimes as curiosity grows about who else may have been involved. Mr. Trump and Epstein were friends for years until they had a falling out. The president wishes everyone would stop talking about it, but Scott McFarlane in Washington? That is not likely. Yeah, John, the week ends with the president still being hounded by the case of Jeffrey Epstein. It wasn't clear after a second day of meetings between that top Trump administration official and Epstein's in prison co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, that will cool the controversy. But it is raising a new question. Is Maxwell about to score a deal? As he emerged from a second day of interviews in Tallahassee, Ghislaine Maxwell's defense lawyer David Marcus said she is cooperating freely. We haven't asked for anything. This is not a situation where we're asking anything in return for testimony or anything like that. But, as he departed for his golf resort in Scotland, President Trump refused to rule out a pardon for Maxwell, who's serving a 20-year prison term. Would you consider a pardon or a commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell if she cooperated? It's something I haven't thought about. It's something I'm allowed to do, but it's something I have not thought about. Maxwell was convicted of conspiracy in the repeated sexual abuse of young girls. During her trial, some of the victims said they wanted her to be sentenced to life in prison. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump criminal defense lawyer, has now conducted two closed-door meetings with Maxwell in an effort to quiet criticisms the administration is blocking access to the Epstein files. A plane flew a banner over the courthouse meeting site, accusing the president and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi of a cover-up. Blanche, Trump's number two Department of Justice official, said he sought the meetings with Maxwell as a response to the president's directive to release more evidence in the case. That is totally unorthodox and outside the norms of the way the Department of Justice is supposed to operate. Liz Oyer, a former U.S. pardon attorney, was fired from the Department of Justice in March. Is she well-positioned to get a pardon? There's every reason to believe that they are seeking to make some sort of deal with Maxwell that will help them solve this political crisis. Trump dismissed any talk of a pardon as he arrived in Scotland late today. A lot of people are asking me about pardons. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons. Scott, the president's supporters want more information. So when will the information from these two days of interviews be ready to be seen by the public? So far, all the Department of Justice has said is that it will release information at, quote, the appropriate time, which doesn't tell you a whole lot. And that type of opacity, John, is just the kind of thing that in the meantime will fuel this criticism that they're not being transparent enough. It's hard to keep all these relationships straight without a whiteboard. The president's personal attorney, now the number two at DOJ. There's also a relationship between the number two at the Department of Justice and the defense attorney for Maxwell. That defense attorney you heard from earlier, David Marcus, is friends with Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general. They were the two people in the room, which is going to raise more questions, John. Are they going to be robust and open in that interview and what they release from it?

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Breakdown