Former Watergate prosecutor questions DOJ, Maxwell meeting: ‘Extremely unusual'
'This is extremely unusual — you never have the number two person in the Department of Justice go and interview anybody,' Nick Akerman, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Of New York, said in an interview with CNN on Thursday. 'I mean, that is something that is done by line attorneys.'
Akerman added that Maxwell's statements in the interview may be motivated by her desire for a pardon from President Trump.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to comment on Akerman's remarks or the protocol to set up the new interview with Maxwell this week.
Akerman was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate investigation team in the 1970s that reviewed the political scandal that ultimately prompted Nixon's resignation.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump, himself, has urged supporters to move past the case.
The DOJ on Thursday dispatched Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to meet with Maxwell at the U.S. attorney's office in Tallahassee. The meeting comes as the Trump administration faces backlash from many within the Republican Party over its handling of files related to Epstein.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that he felt the move was appropriate but wasn't told about it in advance.
'I didn't know they were going to do it,' Trump said. 'I don't really follow that too much; it's sort of a witch hunt.'
Akerman isn't the only one raising concerns about interviewing Maxwell.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this week questioned whether she could be counted on to tell the truth after a House panel voted to subpoena her testimony.
'Every single one of us are for maximum transparency, and we'll use every power that we have to ensure that that's done,' Johnson told reporters Wednesday while detailing House members' efforts to secure more information. 'If they see fit to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony, that's fine.'
'I will note the obvious concern … can she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness?' he added.
Blanche, who formerly worked on Trump's criminal legal team, said in a statement this week that he hopes to get new details, no matter who they implicate.
'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 in a statement Monday.
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