On Epstein, the White House Puts DOJ in the Driver’s Seat

The White House is trying to shift the weight of the everlasting Jeffrey Epstein saga to the Department of Justice, with the president and administration officials saying they plan to let the DOJ lead the way on outreach to Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer — and for potentially any additional twists and turns.

“I don’t know anything about it,” President Donald Trump said during a bilateral meeting Tuesday of the DOJ’s outreach to Maxwell. “They’re going to what? Meet her?”

Maxwell, a close associate and romantic partner of Epstein’s, has been serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for child sex trafficking and other crimes since 2022. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday morning that he plans to meet with Maxwell to speak with her about Epstein’s crimes. Maxwell’s lawyers said Tuesday afternoon that they had spoken with Blanche about the case.

“I don’t know about it, but I think it’s something that sounds appropriate to do,” Trump told reporters. “I didn’t know that they were going to do it, I don’t really follow that too much. It’s sort of a witch hunt, just a continuation of the witch hunt.”

An administration official corroborated this, telling NOTUS that the decision to reach out to Maxwell’s counsel wasn’t led by the White House. Multiple aides also told NOTUS that they believe the potential meeting to be “DOJ-led” and said it’s not the focus on their end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Attorney General Pam Bondi faced the brunt of the attacks from the MAGA base after an unsigned memo leaked announcing no additional documents would be provided on the 2019 Epstein case nor was there evidence of a “client list” of his potentially powerful accomplices — despite some of Bondi and other Trump officials’ previous comments. But the White House has also been on the defensive over Epstein for the better part of two weeks as Trump sought to push his base off the story, attacking them for aligning with Democrats.

Throughout it all, Trump has seemed ready to turn the page, but the administration official refuted the idea that Trump hasn’t given attention to the issue.

“He has certainly addressed this in a very direct way,” the official said, adding that the DOJ’s decision to reach out to Maxwell’s camp was the department taking “to heart” the president’s public statements that credible evidence should be released.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that Bondi had the latitude to act without Trump’s direct approval.

“He said if she has any more credible evidence, she should release it,” Leavitt said when asked if Bondi needs to clear anything with Trump before releasing any documents.

But the saga has brought new developments nearly daily since last week. Last Wednesday, the president told NOTUS that Bondi could release any “credible document” on the case. On Thursday, the White House said that Trump would not appoint a special prosecutor to review the Epstein case, something that his own allies had called for.

Later that day, The Wall Street Journal published a story alleging Trump sent Epstein a sexually suggestive letter for his 50th birthday, which Trump has denied. In response, Trump announced that he directed Bondi to ask a federal judge to release transcripts of the grand jury testimony concerning the 2019 Epstein indictment. On Friday, the president sued the Journal for libel. And on Tuesday, after the story continued to percolate through the weekend, the Department of Justice announced contact with Maxwell’s lawyer.

Still, the issue has brought at least half of Congress to a grinding halt, as Speaker Mike Johnson has struggled to corral his Republican lawmakers.

And even some MAGA allies panned the most recent move to meet with Maxwell.

“Today’s statement by Pam Bondi seems like a massive cope,” Laura Loomer wrote on X, shortly after the DOJ’s statements were posted. “Why wasn’t this ‘interview’ with Ghislaine Maxwell done on day 1?”

For his part, the president said reporters were focused on the wrong scandal, ratcheting up his language to accuse former President Barack Obama and his administration of suppressing information that the Trump administration says undercuts the idea that Russia interfered in the outcome of the 2016 election.

“Whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people,” the president said Tuesday. (Obama called the allegations “bizarre” and “a weak attempt at distraction” in a statement.)

Conspiracies ripped across the internet about whether a meeting was Maxwell’s first step to getting a Trump pardon in exchange for her cooperation. The pardon process has become personal under Trump, benefiting some people who can make their case to the right person or have the right connections.

“I hope not,” said one source with knowledge of how others have gotten a pardon under Trump, when asked about potential Maxwell clemency. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Nothing surprises me anymore,” said a second source.

An official, when asked if a pardon is possible, told NOTUS, “The White House will not comment on the existence or nonexistence of any clemency request.”