Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Dealing with the Devil: DOJ Turns to Ghislaine Maxwell for Answers | Crime Alert 07.25.25

Episode Date: July 25, 2025

While the FBI maintains there is nothing else of public interest to release in the Epstein case, government officials are pursuing other avenues to the late financier's secrets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now. I'm Sydney Sumner. The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen? It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. After months of promises to release more of the files associated with the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice and the FBI release a joint statement claiming there isn't anything else to publish and a rumored client list does not exist. The FBI says

searches of their records revealed more than 300 gigabytes of data, but most of that accounts for photos of Epstein, images and videos of minor victims, and over 10,000 videos and images of child sex abuse material and other pornography. The DOJ insists that any further releases would only harm Jeffrey Epstein's victims, who number more than a thousand. This as reports surfaced that President Trump was informed there were no more files to release back in May, along with being briefed that his name, among several other high-profile

individuals, were mentioned in the documents. Attorney General Pam Bondi says the mentions do not constitute any evidence of wrongdoing. However, Epstein's answers regarding his relationship with Trump in a 2010 deposition are leading many to believe otherwise. Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump? What do you mean by personal relationships? Have you socialized with him? Yes, sir. Yes?

Yes, sir. Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18. Though I'd like to answer that question, at least today, I'm going to have to assert my fifth, sixth, and 14th Amendment right, sir. Despite the seemingly dead end with the FBI releases, there is one more unexplored avenue to achieve the clarity both the public and government officials seek. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanch responded to the Department of Justice and FBI statement on Tuesday, agreeing with their decision to protect the remainder of the evidence against Epstein,

but wrote, quote, Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about Ghislaine Maxwell's willingness to meet with the government. That changes now. Blanche explained that Bondi has given him the green light to seek a meeting with Maxwell, who may be willing to provide new evidence after five years in prison for her part in recruiting and abusing minors. According to Maxwell's brother, Ian, the 63-year-old convicted sex trafficker is very open to meeting

with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch. Maxwell has never told her side of the story, giving no interviews, refusing to speak with prosecutors and declining to take the stand in her own defense. Ian Maxwell claims his sister is preparing new evidence ahead of the meeting, items he says were not available at the time of her trial and would have had a significant impact on the outcome. Yesterday, just two days after Blanche announced plans for a meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, the disgraced socialite was transported to the U.S. Attorney's Office at the Tallahassee Federal Courthouse just after noon.

When Maxwell's attorney David Marcus emerged from the building four hours later, he commented that the meeting was extremely productive. Marcus says Maxwell answered each of Blanche's questions truthfully and to the best of her ability, never invoking privilege or refusing to answer. Blanche confirmed the meeting on X later in the afternoon, saying they will continue their discussions today and the information gathered during the meetings will be shared at the appropriate time. Maxwell is also set to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee next month. Representative James Comer, the committee chair, announced that Maxwell will be subpoenaed, saying his fellow representatives echo the

public's cry for transparency and at this point, Maxwell may be the only person alive who can provide it. Comer makes it clear that Maxwell will not be receiving any kind of pardon or immunity in exchange for her testimony. The jailhouse deposition has been tentatively scheduled for August 11. Though the government seems confident that Ghislaine Maxwell may provide new evidence regarding Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, many of her victims are not sure the disgraced socialite will bring any more clarity to the table. The late Virginia Jafray, a former Epstein sex slave, always pointed to Maxwell as the

crueller of the couple. It kind of worked like a pyramid scheme. Gielin brought me in. I brought other girls in. Those girls brought other girls in. They said, take off your clothes. I had these little girl undies on, like little hearts on them, I remember.

And they were laughing at that because they liked that. The younger you look, the better it is. It turned very sexual and it was abuse straight away from both of them. Jouffre called Maxwell vicious, evil, and the Geppetto to Epstein's Pinocchio. Maxwell was heavily criticized for playing dumb in a 2016 deposition, asking the deposer to explain a sex toy to her at one point in the interview. Maxwell also publicly denied that Jouffre ever

met Prince Andrew despite standing next to her with the royal in heavily circulated photos. I have simply no recollection of a photograph ever being taken. The photograph is taken upstairs and I don't think I ever went upstairs in Ghislaine's house. Victim Theresa Helm echoes others' concerns that Maxwell will not provide any more truth on the situation. Helm describes Maxwell as crafty and extremely articulate. Helm worries Maxwell will walk away from these meetings with a sweetheart deal and the public will be left wanting. Helm says if Maxwell negotiates anything like

Epstein's 2007 slap on the wrist, it would be a tragic day for those who survived her horrific abuse. While the Department of Justice and FBI seemingly hope to end the demand for answers with their latest statement on the Jeffrey Epstein case, no one seems to be backing down from the call for transparency. Will Maxwell provide it? For the latest crime and justice breaking news, be sure to follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Sydney Sungner.