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Ghislaine Maxwell was reportedly questioned for approximately nine hours across two days this week under a limited immunity agreement, according to individuals said to be familiar with the matter. The interaction was believed to have been initiated by Maxwell herself, with discussions held under the Trump administration’s Department of Justice.
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The arrangement, known as proffer immunity, permitted Maxwell to interact with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche without her answers being used against her in subsequent proceedings, according to sources quoted in media reports. Usually, only those who are being considered as possible cooperators in ongoing federal investigations are eligible for such agreements. Maxwell had already been found guilty and given a sentence related to the trafficking of kids for prostitution.
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A follow-up session on Friday was reported to have lasted close to three hours. Her legal representative acknowledged that no specific deals or requests had been made on behalf of Maxwell and that a wide range of names, possibly around a hundred, had been raised during the interrogation. It was further stated that she refrained from withholding any responses throughout the questioning process.
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No clarification was provided regarding which individuals were brought up or whether any actionable intelligence was shared concerning others who may have committed offenses against victims, although it was indicated that this line of inquiry had been of particular interest to Deputy AG Blanche.
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Maxwell remains engaged in an appeal process regarding her 20-year sentence tied to the broader Epstein scandal, which involved high-level allegations of trafficking and abuse. According to her legal team, no details concerning the substance of the interviews were intended for public release, though it was emphasized that every inquiry was met with full cooperation.
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Questions concerning possible intentions and ramifications were raised by the unusual nature of the meetings, particularly between a top Justice Department official who had previously defended President Trump and a convicted sex offender.
Later, questions were posed to President Trump about whether clemency for Maxwell may be an option. Citing the delicate nature of the ongoing process, the president reportedly refrained from going into further detail on that subject. Referring to Blanche as a very capable lawyer, he avoided more speculation.
While it was suggested that Maxwell’s legal team had not yet initiated any pardon discussions with the president, a possibility of future engagement in that direction was acknowledged. The legal representative hinted that if executive clemency were to be considered, it would ideally be applied fairly and appropriately.
According to earlier Wall Street Journal reports, former Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Trump that his name was mentioned several times in documents pertaining to Epstein’s network, but that this did not, in the opinion of different media outlets, constitute proof of wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly denied any inappropriate connection to Epstein.