‘Bizarre Allocation Of Resources’: CNN’s Elie Honig Says Deputy AG Interviewing Maxwell In Person Comes With Danger

CNN’s Elie Honig said Tuesday on the network’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s potential in-person interview with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is “dangerous” politically.

After weeks of scrutiny over the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) handling of the “Epstein files,” Blanche said Tuesday that he expects to meet with Maxwell in “the coming days” regarding potential evidence in the case of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. While discussing the DOJ’s decision and whether Maxwell would testify in court, CNN’s Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller posed a question to Honig.

“One thing you’ve got to point out, and I ask this to Eli Honig, in the entire history of the United States and its Department of Justice, as a former prosecutor, have you ever heard of the deputy attorney general of the United States going to a prison to personally interview the subject of a closed case?” Miller asked.

The DOJ on July 6 quietly released a memo, first obtained by Axios, stating that the FBI found no evidence of Epstein’s “client list” and that his death involved no foul play. Republicans soon criticized the investigation, pointing to issues with more than 10 hours of missing footage outside Epstein’s cell the night he died, as well as past comments from Attorney General Pam Bondi. (RELATED: Federal Judge Wants More Information Before Ruling On Releasing Epstein Testimony)

Bondi has answered limited questions from the press about the files. President Donald Trump has repeatedly supported the attorney general’s conclusions, criticizing supporters for continuing to press questions about Epstein’s case. However, following a piece from The Wall Street Journal alleging the president had written Epstein a suggestive birthday card in 2003, Trump called for Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”

“Yeah, it’s preposterous to think about that. It is a bizarre allocation of resources. It’s actually dangerous, not physically, but dangerous politically for Todd Blanchett to do that,” Honig said.

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“Todd Blanche and I were both SDNY [Southern District of New York] prosecutors together. We both sat through countless proffers, meetings with potential cooperators, but we were 32-year-old line assistants,” Honig said. “The notion of the number two person in the entire Justice Department flying into a prison and meeting with an explosive potential cooperator like Maxwell is completely unprecedented.”

In a statement posted to Bondi’s X account on Tuesday, Blanche wrote that the DOJ “does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead.” The deputy attorney general continued to say that while the DOJ’s and FBI’s memo “remains as accurate today as it was when it was written,” the president had directed them to “release all credible evidence.”

“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 wrote.

“I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department.  I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days.  Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now,” Blanche added.

In June 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison “for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls” with Epstein over the “course of a decade,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

In addition to the DOJ’s decision, the House Oversight Committee unanimously approved a subpoena for Maxwell to appear for a deposition on Tuesday.

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