A senior Department of Justice official met with longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell for six hours on Thursday in Tallahassee, Florida.
The meeting between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Maxwell occurred in downtown Tallahassee at the U.S. attorney’s office, which is located inside the federal courthouse, sources familiar with the matter said.
Maxwell initiated the meeting, multiple sources told ABC News.
Blanche and Maxwell will meet again on Friday, according to a statement he posted on X.
“Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow. The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time,” Blanche said.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022, which she is serving at a federal prison in Tallahassee. She is appealing her conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Maxwell’s appellate lawyer, David O. Markus, said after the meeting Maxwell “answered all the questions and answered them honestly.”
Markus said there were “a lot of questions and we went all day and she answered every one of them.”
He also declined to describe the questions Blanche asked but said he and Maxwell were “grateful” for the meeting.
Blanche arrived at the federal courthouse around 9 a.m. ET. He shook his head and said “no” when asked if he had anything to say ahead of his sit-down with Maxwell.
The Justice Department said earlier this week that the meeting between Blanche and Maxwell would occur “in the coming days.”
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislaine 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 the statement posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi on X earlier this week.
Blanche added that at the direction of Bondi, he has “communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department.”
“Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now,” Blanche said.
Maxwell’s attorney confirmed earlier this week that they were in discussions with the government about the visit, saying in a statement that “Ghislaine will always testify truthfully.”
Separately, on Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued a subpoena for Maxwell for a deposition to occur at the prison on Aug. 11.
“The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,” Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday.
ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.
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