Democratic senators ask Blanche to commit that DOJ won't advocate for pardon or commutation for Maxwell
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche Monday morning seeking a public commitment that the DOJ will not advocate for a pardon or commutation for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her cooperation.
The letter comes after Blanche met with Maxwell privately for nine hours over two days last week, and after ABC News first reported that Maxwell was granted limited immunity during her meetings with Blanche.
In the letter, the senators call the "purpose and timing" of Blanche's meeting with Maxwell "perplexing."
"It is highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for the Deputy Attorney General to conduct such an interview, rather than line prosecutors who are familiar with the details of the case and can more readily determine if the witness is lying. In light of troves of corroborating evidence collected through multiple investigations, a federal jury conviction, and Ms. Maxwell’s history and willingness to lie under oath, as it relates to her dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, why would DOJ depart from long-standing precedent and now seek her cooperation?" Durbin and Whitehouse wrote.
The letter is a follow up to a letter Durbin wrote earlier this month to Attorney General Pam Bondi inquiring about alleged discrepancies in Bondi's public comments about Epstein.
Blanche's meeting, the senators allege, appears to be an effort to distract from Bondi's past comments.
"It seems likely this meeting is another tactic to distract from DOJ’s failure to fulfill Attorney General Bondi’s commitment that the American people would see “the full Epstein files,” especially in light of credible reports that FBI officials were told to “flag” any Epstein files in which President Trump was mentioned and that Attorney General Bondi told the President that his name appeared in the files," the senators wrote.
The lawmakers cite Maxwell's "documented record of lying and her desire to secure early release" as cause or concern that she "may provide false information or selectively withhold information in return for a pardon or sentence commutation."
When asked Monday if he would rule out a pardon for Maxwell, Trump responded by saying he has the power to give her a pardon but that he has not been asked about it yet.
“Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it,” Trump said.
Trump told reporters on Friday that it was "inappropriate" to discuss a pardon then.
In addition to commitments to not advocate for a pardon or commutation for Maxwell, the senators also asked Blanche to commit that the DOJ will provide transparency to the victims and survivors of Epstein and Maxwell with respect to decisions the department makes regarding Maxwell's appeal to the Supreme Court, which seeks to overturn her conviction.
And they called for a release of the Epstein files.
"Rather than engaging in this elaborate ruse, DOJ should simply release the Epstein files, as Attorney General Bondi promised to do," they write.
The senators posed a list of questions to Blanche, seeking an explanation for why Blanche believes Maxwell would now be truthful and asking what information the department believes she has that was not learned during her prosecution.
They also asked for recordings and transcripts of Blanche's meeting and for the complete terms of the limited immunity proffer ABC first reported.
