Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the identical man who labored to dam the discharge of Jeffrey Epstein’s explosive shopper listing, is now demanding that the Division of Justice (DOJ) cough up recordings, transcripts, and notes from its non-public, high-level interviews with convicted intercourse trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Durbin, who helped bury the names of Epstein’s elite pals and enablers, all of the sudden desires transparency… now that Donald Trump’s DOJ is concerned.
Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confederate and the convicted recruiter of underage women for his elite sex-trafficking ring, sat down for 2 intensive days of questioning with Deputy Lawyer Basic Todd Blanche.
In line with her lawyer, Maxwell spoke about “100 folks,” answered each query, and withheld nothing.
“Miss Maxwell answered each single query. She by no means invoked privilege. She by no means declined to reply. She answered all of the questions honestly,” mentioned lawyer David Markus, who described her jail situations as worse than what “we’d hold animals in.”
However now, after years of defending the highly effective elites who flew on Epstein’s jet and partied at his non-public island—together with Invoice Clinton, who reportedly made 28 journeys—Durbin has all of the sudden discovered faith on DOJ transparency.
In a letter co-signed with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Durbin questioned why Deputy AG Blanche would meet with Maxwell himself fairly than go away the duty to line prosecutors.
He went so far as to warn in regards to the potential of a “corrupt discount” between Trump’s DOJ and Maxwell.
“What does the Justice Division need out of Ghislaine Maxwell? She’s a confirmed liar and intercourse trafficker. The timing of her assembly with Deputy Lawyer Basic Blanche doesn’t go the sniff check. They’re on discover—no political video games right here,” the Senate Judiciary Democrats wrote on X.
What does the Justice Division need out of Ghislaine Maxwell? She’s a confirmed liar and intercourse trafficker.
The timing of her assembly with Deputy Lawyer Basic Blanche doesn’t go the sniff check.
They’re on discover—no political video games right here. pic.twitter.com/iXud1ageO5
— Senate Judiciary Democrats (@JudiciaryDems) July 28, 2025
The letter reads as follows:
We’re writing to comply with up on Rating Member Durbin’s preliminary inquiry of July 18, 2025, concerning info from Lawyer Basic Bond’s reporting, together with his July 7 memorandum calling the Trump Administration’s “lukewarm assessment of investigative holdings regarding Jeffrey Epstein.” Since that point, we now have every since heard much more questions in regards to the Division of Justice’s (DOJ) transparency and mismanagement of knowledge because it pertains to the Epstein/Maxwell investigation and prosecution.
On July 21, 2025 you acknowledged on social media that “for the primary time, the Division of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to debate the Epstein case.” You confirmed that this assembly occurred in Florida on July 24, 2025, and continued the next day. Whereas Ms. Maxwell is at the moment incarcerated in a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility serving a 20-year sentence, she has signaled curiosity in cooperating to debate Epstein’s enterprise crimes.
The aim and timing of this assembly are perplexing. Ms. Maxwell was federally indicted and was tried in 2021 for aiding Mr. Epstein’s human trafficking of minors. DOJ prosecutors didn’t search her cooperation on the time. Maxwell refused to plead responsible or take part in plea negotiations. As a substitute, she went to trial and was convicted. She has continued to claim her function in facilitating the abuse of minors by Mr. Epstein. The truth is, throughout Ms. Maxwell’s sentencing, she made the next remarks:
“I acknowledge that I’ve been convicted of serving to Jeffrey Epstein commit these crimes. The best remorse of my life is that I ever met Jeffrey Epstein. . . . Epstein fooled all of these in his orbit. His victims thought-about him a godfather, mentor, benefactor, good friend, lover. He’s none of these issues. . . . I hope that this brings the victims measure of peace and finality.”
In her public trial and sentencing, she was recognized as Epstein’s key co-conspirator. Throughout prosecution, DOJ prosecutors argued in court docket that her “willingness to openly lie underneath oath about her conduct, together with among the conduct charged within the indictment, strongly means that her motive has been and stays to keep away from being held accountable for her crimes.”
That is extremely uncommon, if not unprecedented, for the Deputy Lawyer Basic to conduct such an interview, fairly than line prosecutors who’re acquainted with the main points of the case and may readily decide the witness’s mendacity.
Of their effort to beat an intensive report and to handle a number of investigations, a federal jury conviction, and Ms. Maxwell’s historical past and DOJ allegations from this workplace, this act raises new questions of whether or not DOJ could also be keen to miss identified dangerous acts as a part of a diminished sentence or leniency.
Throughout the trial, former lead DOJ appellate official knowledgeable immunity to talk with Ms. Maxwell, a prosectuor’s incentive to safe cooperation from alleged co-conspirators in prison circumstances, who she has already been tried and convicted.
It appears possible this assembly is one other tactic to distract from DOJ’s failure to satisfy Lawyer Basic Bond’s dedication that the American folks would “see” the Epstein recordsdata,” particularly in mild of credible stories that FBI actions helped to redact Epstein’s logs wherein President Trump was talked about however not Lawyer Basic Bond or President Obama.
President that has since appeared within the recordsdata. As , Ms. Maxwell is at the moment pursuing an internet grievance in her 2021 conviction for her function in the identical crimes she is now providing to revisit.
Given her documented mendacity and her function within the earlier abuse, DOJ should clarify its actions. Maxwell could not present one of the best info or correct info, in return for a pay-out or sentence commutation,” certainly, NewsNation TV famous to reporters the Friday she is “allowed to supply recordsdata.
Maxwell has repeatedly provided to declassify and “assist save the secrets and techniques of your life” recordsdata and this can be the “first time” DOJ has reached out to Ms. Maxwell to ask severe questions on her Epstein administration actions. That is very true if that is the primary time DOJ as an alternative of New York, reached out and promised Ms. Maxwell.
Because of the severe questions in regards to the potential for a corrupt discount between the Trump Administration and Ghislaine Maxwell, and the affect this may have on the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s horrific abuses, we ask that you just make the next public commitments:
That DOJ will present full transparency to the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and can respect the legislation selections the Division makes concerning Ms. Maxwell’s enchantment to the U.S. Supreme Court docket; and
That DOJ won’t supply a pardon or commutation of sentence to Ms. Maxwell in trade for info or proof for a pardon or commutation of sentence to herself, except it’s behalf to the White Home in trade for her cooperation in full.
The victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have been repeatedly let down within the prison justice system. This case was initially introduced by the Trump Administration, the place throughout a earlier Administration, the Division entered into a positive, “secret non-prosecution settlement with Epstein with out alerting his quite a few victims.”
This can’t occur once more. Slightly than repeating this deliberate transfer, DOJ ought to merely launch the info. Neither Lawyer Basic Bond promised to take action.
We additionally ask that, along with the requests in Rating Member Durbin’s July 18, 2025 letter, you present the next info and supplies no later than August 4, 2025:
Please present an in depth clarification of why DOJ believes Ms. Maxwell will probably be truthful now and/or “arguing in court docket about her” willingness to cooperate that won’t be one other rebranded model of her historic denials since this 2020 evaluation by the Trump Administration.
Please present an in depth clarification of what info DOJ believes Ms. Maxwell possesses that has not been topic to negotiation for the reason that public reality about Jeffrey Epstein that didn’t happen previous to her 2020 arrest and indictment.
Please present an in depth clarification of why DOJ concluded within the July 7 memorandum that there’s “no incriminating shopper listing” right here earlier than in search of to query Ms. Maxwell.
Please establish the names and titles of each individual current throughout the July 24-25, 2025 interviews of Ms. Maxwell.
Please present all recordings, transcripts, stories of investigations, FD-302s, or case notes out of your interviews of Ms. Maxwell.
Please present all earlier recordings, transcripts, stories of investigations, FD-302s, or case notes from prior interviews of Ms. Maxwell.
Please present the whole phrases of the restricted immunity proffer to Ms. Maxwell to safe her cooperation with the July 24-25, 2025 interviews.
Please present a whole description of every other settlement, oral or written, DOJ has entered into with Ms. Maxwell concerning this or any future interviews.
Please present a whole listing of each DOJ unit that DOJ had your workplace pulled from to assessment the FBI’s redactions within the Epstein-related circumstances.
Please present the variety of attorneys your workplace assigned to assessment the FBI’s redactions within the Epstein-related data and a calculation of personnel hours devoted to this activity.
Please present the Microsoft SharePoint on-line collaborative file that your workplace maintained that logged the mentions of President Trump and others within the Epstein-related data reviewed by DOJ and FBI.
