LAST UPDATE | 22 Jul 2025

THE US DEPARTMENT of Justice is seeking to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the Trump administration struggles to quell a furore over its handling of the explosive case.

The former British socialite is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking of minors on behalf of Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Maxwell, who is the only former Epstein associate who has been convicted, is appealing her sentence before the US Supreme Court.

“President (Donald) Trump has told us to release all credible evidence,” US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on X.

Statement from @DAGToddBlanche:

This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead. The joint statement by the DOJ and FBI of July 6 remains as accurate today as it was when it was…

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 22, 2025

Blanche said an FBI review of the evidence against Epstein had found nothing “that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

But if Ghislaine Maxwell “has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said.

Blanche added he was in touch with Maxwell’s attorneys and he expects to meet with her in the coming days.

David Oscar Markus, Maxwell’s lawyer, confirmed on X that he was in discussions with the government and said “Ghislaine will always testify truthfully.”

“We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case,” Markus added.

The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case has threatened to split the Republican’s far-right Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, with some of his supporters calling for a full release of the so-called Epstein files.

In another ploy to bury the controversy, US Speaker Mike Johnson, a key Trump Republican loyalist, said he would shut down the House of Representatives until September.

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This was to avoid what he called “political games” over attempts by mostly Democrats to force votes on exposing more about the Epstein case.

The president sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal last week after it published a story on Trump’s longtime friendship with Epstein, a wealthy financier with connections to powerful figures.

Epstein was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida, in what the New York medical examiner ruled a suicide.

© AFP 2025