WASHINGTON — Uproar over the Trump administration’s handling of files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation continues to grip Washington, prompting the Justice Department on Tuesday to schedule an unusual meeting with Epstein’s top confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the House Oversight Committee to move to subpoena her testimony amid bipartisan calls for transparency in the case.
The renewed focus on Maxwell comes amid persistent questions over Trump’s years-long friendship with Epstein, the late and disgraced financier whose sprawling sex-trafficking ring victimized more than 200 women and girls.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison for her role in perpetuating one of the most expansive sex-trafficking rings in modern U.S. history.
It is the first time the Justice Department has approached Maxwell’s counsel for a meeting, according to the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, who wrote in a statement that he would take the meeting himself “to ask: What do you know?”
“No one is above the law — and no lead is off-limits,” said Blanche, formerly one of Trump’s personal attorneys.
And yet, Republicans and Democrats alike are expressing suspicion over the Justice Department’s moves, questioning whether its outreach to Maxwell could be an effort to cut a cooperation agreement with a figure holding unique insights on the president’s friendship with Epstein.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, called Trump “the ultimate dealmaker” earlier this month, and said this week that Maxwell’s team is “grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
“Ghislaine Maxwell is a federal prisoner right now. Obviously, she wants a pardon, so she will probably sing from whatever hymnal Donald Trump tells her to sing from,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, told CNN this week.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a binding resolution that would compel the release of FBI files related to the Epstein investigation, drawing a rebuke from Trump on social media Tuesday. And Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), a longtime ally of the president, told reporters that he did not trust what the Justice Department was telling the public about the case.
“No, I don’t. I don’t. I don’t trust them,” he said. “I’m big on clarity and transparency, and that’s a good reason people don’t trust government in either party.”
Burchett motioned in the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday to have the panel proceed with a subpoena for Maxwell to appear for public testimony, a move that was adopted by voice vote.
But to prevent a bipartisan vote on releasing the files from moving on the House floor, House Speaker Mike Johnson planned to send the chamber home for summer recess a day early, telling reporters that there was no purpose in Congress pushing the administration “to do something they’re already doing.”
Epstein, a wealthy financier with a deep bench of powerful friends, died in a New York City prison in August 2019 facing federal charges over a child sex-trafficking conspiracy.
The New York City medical examiner and the inspector general of the Justice Department both ruled Epstein’s death was a suicide. But suspicions of conspiracy have surrounded his case and his untimely death due to his known association with some of the country’s most powerful men.
Photos of Trump, Epstein and Maxwell are widely available, and Trump has acknowledged their friendship in the past.
“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York magazine in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with.”
“It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” he said. “No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump sent a raunchy 50th birthday card to Epstein that included a sketch of a naked woman, featuring breasts and a squiggly “Donald” signature mimicking pubic hair. The sketch also included a note that read, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Maxwell compiled the album, according to the report.
Trump has begged and scolded his supporters to move on from the controversy, despite stoking conspiracies around the existence of a list of Epstein’s clients throughout the 2024 presidential election.
“I would say these files were made up by [former FBI Director James] Comey and [former President] Obama, made up by the Biden” administration, Trump now says, “and we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.”
