WASHINGTON - As interest over the

Jeffrey Epstein files

continues to dominate Washington and ricochet through President Donald Trump’s base, right-wing influencers have pinpointed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, as the key to unlocking more details about the convicted sex offender.

On July 24 and 25, Justice Department officials interviewed

Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes.

Her lawyers said she answered questions about a host of people, but it was unclear what information she provided.

Mr Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney-general who brokered the meeting, said on July 24 that the department “will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time”.

After previously criticising Mr Trump for refusing to release the Epstein files, some conservative influencers have celebrated the move by the Trump administration to approach Maxwell as an effort to appear more transparent.

It does not come without risk, however.

While the administration tries to tamp down the backlash and send the message that it is continuing to dig, it is still unclear whether the focus on Maxwell will ultimately satisfy those who see a cover-up.

Those who have clamored for more information about Epstein’s crimes and the circumstances of his death have long suggested a conspiracy to shield elites who knew the disgraced financier, including high-profile Democrats, from exposure in the case.

Still, questioning Maxwell has helped to take some of the pressure off Mr Trump, at least for now.

Mr Benny Johnson, who hosts a popular pro-Trump podcast, said in a video posted on Instagram this past week, “This is what transparency looks like.” He called Maxwell the “living piece of evidence that is able to answer the toughest questions”.

One of Epstein’s former lawyers, Mr Alan Dershowitz, called her the “Rosetta Stone” on Fox News on July 20, saying he believed she would testify as long as she was given immunity.

Maxwell helped Epstein recruit and manage his roster of victims. She was convicted in 2021 of conspiring with him for nearly a decade.

She has made it clear that she wants her 20-year prison sentence thrown out or reduced. Before jetting off to Scotland on July 25, Mr Trump was asked by a reporter whether he would consider pardoning Maxwell. He replied, “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about.”

Mr Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump, youth-focused conservative group, also identified Maxwell as the answer to the base’s questions about the Epstein scandal, but he sprinkled some doubt as to whether Maxwell could be trusted to tell the truth.

“Some people say, ‘Can we trust Ghislane Maxwell?’ Probably, but also probably not,” he said on July 22 on Real America’s Voice, a right-wing cable channel. “She is in jail for doing some really bad and awful stuff.”

Mr Kirk called her a “mixed bag” but said he believed she would be motivated to tell the truth in return for immunity or protection.

Mr Jack Posobiec, a Trump loyalist, cast a more skeptical eye.

He said on July 22 that he believed Maxwell was acting in her own interests because she wanted out of prison, and that the Trump administration should only cooperate with her if she revealed “absolutely everything”.

That includes “receipts and names,” he said on Real America’s Voice. “When I say everything, I mean who did what, where did it happen and you also have to provide information that is able to back up the credibility of the accusation.”

As some of Mr Trump’s most ardent supporters set their hopes on Maxwell and try to leave behind the chaos that has swirled through their base in recent weeks, signs of division still remain.

Some pro-Trump figures have even painted Maxwell in a more forgiving light.

When asked if she should remain behind bars, Mr Dershowitz said that she should not and that her 20-year sentence was “not at all appropriate for her”.

Mr Greg Kelly, host of “Greg Kelly Reports” on NewsMax, waved off her sentence as a “rush to judgment.”

“She just might be a victim,” he said on July 23. NYTIMES

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

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