TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As demands intensify for full disclosure of the Jeffrey Epstein case files, senior Justice Department officials met Thursday with convicted sex trafficker and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell at a federal courthouse in Tallahassee. The high-stakes meeting comes amid deepening public scrutiny and political fallout stretching from the White House to Congress.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, formerly a personal attorney to President Donald Trump, arrived at the courthouse at approximately 9:00 a.m. ET for the closed-door interview with Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence at a nearby federal prison.
When asked by ABC News for comment outside the courthouse, Blanche shook his head and said simply, “no.”
WATCH: Ghislaine Maxwell interviewed by DOJ as Epstein transparency push heats up
Maxwell’s legal team, including her appellate attorney David O. Markus, was also seen entering the courthouse. Markus told ABC News, “We’re looking forward to a productive day,” but declined to elaborate further.
Blanche’s visit was confirmed earlier this week by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said the Justice Department was acting on directives from President Trump to uncover any “credible evidence” Maxwell may have.
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. 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 in a statement shared by Attorney General Pam Bondi on X.
Leavitt added Wednesday that the White House considers the meeting “an appropriate idea,” reiterating Trump’s support for the investigation.
Pressure From All Sides
Despite the administration’s framing of the visit as a step toward transparency, critics argue the government’s actions haven’t gone far enough. On Wednesday afternoon, a federal judge in Florida denied a Trump administration request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts, sparking fresh outrage from victim advocates and watchdog groups.
At the same time, President Trump has faced renewed scrutiny over his own past connections to Epstein.
“It’s, uh, it’s uh sort of a witch hunt, just a continuation of the witch hunt,” Trump said Tuesday when asked about Epstein. “The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold…”
His deflection did little to cool speculation, as media outlets continue to surface evidence—including letters, photographs, and videos—of a potentially closer Trump-Epstein relationship than the former president has acknowledged. A recent Wall Street Journal report revealed that Attorney General Bondi informed Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in sealed Epstein files, though inclusion in the documents does not imply criminal conduct.
Bipartisan Calls for Full Disclosure
The lack of widespread prosecution beyond Maxwell has drawn criticism across party lines. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged full transparency during a Sunday appearance on Fox News.
“Just release it, let people see,” DeSantis said. “Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell didn't just do this amongst themselves… there were obviously other people involved, and yet no one has been brought to justice.”
Professor Alain Sanders, Political Science Emeritus at St. Peter’s University, warned that Trump’s political capital may depend on how his administration handles the Epstein fallout.
“Well, I think what it's going to take is the release of all the information that the Administration has in its possession,” Sanders said. “They've been riled up about it for years now… They wonder why this has not happened.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are using the issue to hammer the GOP. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted House Republicans after they adjourned for summer recess without voting on a proposal to unseal additional Epstein-related documents.
“Yesterday was truly a sorry sight in the House of Representatives,” Schumer said. “The ghost of the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein is haunting our Republican colleagues so much so that Speaker Johnson decided to cut bait and send the House home to escape discussions about Epstein, instead of doing their jobs like grown-ups and making progress on appropriations.”
WATCH: Deputy US AG Todd Blanche set to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell
Deposition Scheduled for August 11
The controversy is set to escalate further. On Wednesday afternoon, Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer announced that his panel will depose Maxwell at the Tallahassee facility on August 11.
“The Justice Department is cooperating and will facilitate the prison interview,” Comer said in a statement on social media.
While details of the deposition remain unclear, the renewed attention on Maxwell places Tallahassee at the epicenter of an expanding investigation into Epstein’s broader network—and the lingering questions about who else may be implicated.
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