Justice Department to Meet With Ghislaine Maxwell

A new development in the Jeffrey Epstein drama: A top Justice Department official plans to meet with the sexual predator's longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, reports the New York Times. Todd Blanche, the No. 2 official under Attorney General Pam Bondi, tweeted that Bondi instructed him to seek the meeting with the imprisoned Maxwell, and that he expects it to happen in the coming days. The meeting comes as the MAGA base is agitating for the Trump administration to release all of its information on Epstein, per Axios.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year term for helping Epstein procure the underage girls he molested. The meeting "raises the question of whether Maxwell may try to leverage the meeting for a reduced prison sentence by telling the Justice Department what it wants to hear," per Politico. But Blanche and Bondi put a much different spin on things:

• "President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence," said Blanche in a statement retweeted by Bondi. "If Ghislane [sic] Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say."
• "This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths," added Blanche.
• Maxwell also is pushing for the Supreme Court to review her case, and the DOJ last week urged the court to reject that request.