<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US Department of Justice said it has reached out to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/jeffrey-epstein" rel="" target="_blank" title="Jeffrey Epstein's"><span>Jeffrey Epstein's</span></a><span> former associate Ghislaine Maxwell for a meeting amid backlash over the administration's handling of files related to Epstein.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know? At @AGPamBondi's direction, I've contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law – and no lead is off-limits," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said </span><a href="https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/1947623916538617946" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>in an X post</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Blanche added in a statement posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi on </span><a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1947622027587723365" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>social media</span></a><span> that if "Ghislane 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 he anticipates meeting with Maxwell soon.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/ozzy-osbourne-death-black-sabbath-lead-singer-and-heavy-metal-pioneer-dies-aged-76/90b1cd81-6cc1-49a5-8404-95749e9c7634" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76, just weeks after final concert</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maxwell's attorney told CNN they "are in discussions with the government" on the matter. "Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case," attorney David Oscar Markus said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President Donald Trump said Tuesday he didn't know about the DOJ's plans to reach out to Maxwell but that it "sounds appropriate," while praising Blanche.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, repeating his efforts to put to rest the Epstein story.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/jeffrey-epstein-scandal-us-department-of-justice-reaches-out-to-ghislaine-maxwell/b0a56664-fae2-4a2c-b90e-cb0bd375645e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the drumbeat for transparency around the case is growing louder among Republicans on Capitol Hill, with the House Oversight Committee expected to subpoena Maxwell "as expeditiously as possible," a committee source told CNN on Tuesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-administration-releases-fbi-records-on-mlk-jr-despite-his-familys-opposition/8b76aaf9-ba10-4fe9-9173-de943eba399d" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Trump administration releases FBI records on MLK Jr despite his family's opposition</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in federal prison for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls. She has continued to appeal her conviction.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A potential meeting and testimony come on the heels of a request from the Justice Department to a federal judge to make public years-old grand jury testimony against Epstein, which took place behind closed doors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two judges have given the department until Tuesday to provide more information on that request, including why officials are seeking the disclosure and whether Maxwell objects to it. A person close to her said she would oppose release of materials related to her and Epstein.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A judge in Maxwell's case asked her legal team to weigh in by August 5.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/banishing-a-reporter-trump-escalates-battle-with-wall-street-journal-over-epstein-story/ac09c56a-820a-468c-9a67-c4acca20eb28" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Trump escalates battle with Wall Street Journal over Epstein story</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Democrats criticised Blanche's announcement, with Representative Dan Goldman of New York accusing the deputy attorney general of "doing an end-run around the SDNY and its institutional policies by acting as a political agent of President Trump."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche well knows from his lengthy tenure as a prosecutor and supervisor in the Southern District of New York, this is almost certainly not the first time the DOJ has inquired about cooperation from Ghislaine Maxwell, who, as a matter of course, would have been offered the opportunity to reduce her sentence in return for truthful and forthright information about Epstein and all others involved in the scheme," Goldman, who also worked in the Southern District of New York's US attorney's office, said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Do not be fooled: this latest delay tactic is yet another effort to conceal the Epstein files."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The request to unseal the materials was made at Trump's direction in the wake of a </span><a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F07%2F17%2Fpolitics%2Fepstein-birthday-letter-trump&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ckatherine.dautrich%40cnn.com%7Cf8b0164197d54d0c090908ddc641735b%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638884706584935272%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=CfdlvoxSydvTQ9oZMto4XBWTcTYaviFNb2r9sRJAqxA%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>Wall Street Journal report</span></a><span> about a 2003 birthday letter for Epstein that bore Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman. The president has denied the letter came from him and is suing the newspaper's publisher.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bondi had long vowed to release as many documents in the Justice Department's possession as possible, but </span><a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F07%2F07%2Fpolitics%2Fjeffrey-epstein-suicide-client-list-justice&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ckatherine.dautrich%40cnn.com%7Cf8b0164197d54d0c090908ddc641735b%7C0eb48825e8714459bc72d0ecd68f1f39%7C0%7C0%7C638884706584897048%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=bVAQBl1jk2N3KYSW6mG3G90NBIK1%2FBIMj5q1DLHsB%2FQ%3D&amp;reserved=0" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><span>in a memo</span></a><span> earlier this month, she announced there is no evidence Epstein kept a "client list" or was murdered – and that the department does not plan to release any new documents in the matter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Neither Tuesday's announcement nor calls from the president to move on from the case have done much to quell demands from his MAGA base for more information on the case of the disgraced financier, which has been the subject of myriad conspiracy theories since his death by suicide in 2019.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The calls for greater transparency have threatened in recent days to drive a deeper wedge between Trump and some of his most steadfast supporters on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who supports the effort to release additional information on Epstein, told CNN that the demand for transparency is "extremely high."</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/07/22/08/32/today-in-history-july-23-what-happened-on-this-day"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/0MWa5pbvUdMhzZgpyUhbB6KRK7E=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fde9ec5e5-3998-410e-9885-6a3bade9c7e6" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/0MWa5pbvUdMhzZgpyUhbB6KRK7E=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fde9ec5e5-3998-410e-9885-6a3bade9c7e6 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/QCoSdvXjRgve8XtK0GGumD4E7jI=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fde9ec5e5-3998-410e-9885-6a3bade9c7e6 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Director told parents their kids would not be in any danger before fatal on-set accident</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/07/22/08/32/today-in-history-july-23-what-happened-on-this-day">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are getting beaten up at home in their districts," she said of lawmakers facing constituents' anger over the issue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and influential Trump ally, suggested Blanche's interview plans are more about mitigation of the public fallout from the administration's botched handling of promised Epstein disclosures.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Seems like a massive cope," Loomer said in a text message to CNN, adding: "Why wasn't this done on Day 1? Why didn't they ask to meet with her before the memo was released on 4th of July weekend when they essentially said the case would be closed? Seems like this should have already taken place."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The decision on whether to release grand jury testimony now lies with a federal judge. It's unclear how long it will take for anything to be made public. Before ruling on the matter, the judge must consult with victims and any uncharged person discussed in the testimony, as their identities are protected under federal law.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some conservative lawmakers have pressed for people involved in Epstein's case to testify before Congress, including Maxwell and Bondi, even as GOP leaders have made it clear they are eager to move on from the controversy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>GOP lawmakers sound 2026 warning</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Seeking to sap the momentum behind Republican Representative Thomas Massie's push to force a vote on an Epstein-related measure, House GOP leaders are sending lawmakers home for August recess a day earlier than initially planned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team made the case to House Republicans behind closed doors Tuesday that the Trump administration needs time to deal with the Epstein issue, according to multiple sources in the room.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The message they delivered, one of the lawmakers said, was that "the administration is dealing with it," and Johnson argued that Republicans should not play "the political games" that Democrats are employing to to force uncomfortable votes on the issue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many were not pleased with that call for patience. The deadlock on the issue has essentially ground House floor activity to a halt.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lawmakers don't see the Epstein issue going away anytime soon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You don't lose your base over one single thing, but (Trump's) eroding his base. More importantly, if we don't take the right side of this issue, it's going to cost us votes in the midterms," Massie said Tuesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People are becoming despondent, they're apathetic. Why would they go vote if they gave us the House, the Senate and the White House, and the transparency and justice they were promised doesn't happen? Why should they vote in the midterms? And I think it could be a real problem for us."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Kentucky Republican continued, "That's why it would behoove the speaker to bring this to the floor. It would be in the best interest of this institution – just vote this out, give it to the Senate and let them do their thing."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Representative Ralph Norman agreed the issue won't fade over the five-week break. "No, it shouldn't die down. No. I mean, it's – look, the American people deserve it, and there's a lot of interest in it, and let's just put, put everything on the table and let the let the American people be the judge," the South Carolina Republican said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Moments after the closed-door GOP meeting, Representative Tim Burchett forced the House Oversight Committee to vote on the motion to subpoena Maxwell.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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