Senate Democrats Demand DOJ Release Ghislaine Maxwell Interview Tapes

Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, has demanded that the Justice Department release all recordings, transcripts, and notes from interviews conducted with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein. The interviews were notably conducted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump personal lawyer, which Durbin criticized as unusual and potentially compromising the integrity of the investigation. Durbin and Whitehouse expressed concerns about a possible corrupt bargain between the Trump administration and Maxwell, urging the DOJ to pledge not to offer her a pardon or sentence commutation in exchange for information. They highlighted Maxwell’s history of lying under oath and questioned why the DOJ would deviate from precedent by seeking her cooperation after her conviction and the extensive corroborating evidence against her. Despite these demands, Democrats’ minority status in the Senate limits their ability to compel compliance from the DOJ. The issue has sparked controversy, with some Trump supporters upset by the administration's refusal to release full Epstein files, while Democrats continue to push for transparency and accountability in the case.