Sources: Maxwell Had Some Protection During DOJ Queries

UPDATE Jul 26, 2025 8:30 AM CDT

Sources say that Ghislaine Maxwell was the one who initiated her meetings this week with the DOJ's Todd Blanche, and that she was offered limited immunity to reveal what she knows about her late partner, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reports ABC News, which adds it's "almost unheard of for a convicted sex trafficker to meet with such a high-ranking Justice Department official." Another source tells the New York Times the conditional immunity won't hold if it's found Maxwell lied during her chats with DOJ officials. ABC notes that this type of immunity "is commonly granted to individuals prosecutors are seeking to make cooperators in a criminal case," giving Maxwell the freedom to answer questions "without fear that her responses could later be used against her." Maxwell has already been convicted and sentenced to 20 years behind bars for her role in Epstein's sex trafficking of minors.

Jul 25, 2025 5:00 PM CDT

President Trump said Friday he hasn't given a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell any thought, and her lawyer said he hasn't talked to anybody in power about one. But should the subject come up at the White House, David Oscar Markus suggested to reporters, he's a yes. "The president this morning said he had the power to" pardon the convicted sex trafficker, her lawyer said, per the Hill. "We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way." Oscar Markus made the comments outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, where his client was interviewed by Department of Justice officials for the second straight day.

The partner of the late Jeffrey Epstein didn't ask for or reach any deal with the administration on Friday, her lawyer said, adding that Maxwell answered every question put to her, as she had Thursday. "We're very proud of her and proud of how the process worked over the past day and a half," Oscar Markus said, per the Washington Post. The session was led by Todd Blanche, the second-highest official in the Justice Department and a former personal lawyer to Trump. Blanche had said he sought the meeting to see what more Maxwell could tell him about Epstein, per USA Today. "She was asked maybe about 100 different people" in total, Oscar Markus said, per CBS News. "She answered questions about everybody, and she didn't hold anything back."