Trump’s new ‘fixer’ spends two days interviewing Epstein accomplice
ALSO INSIDE: ICE denies Rep. Ansari’s right to conduct oversight inspection
Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
A top official within the US Justice Department met with Ghislane Maxwell twice this week to discuss her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
But not just any official: Trump’s new fixer, US Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche. Blanche entered Trump’s orbit in 2023, when he started his own law firm with the sole purpose of representing Trump in his criminal trials. Blanche is one of a number of the president’s private attorneys he’s brought into his administration, including Emil Bove, who has been nominated for a lifetime judicial appointment, and US Solicitor General John Sauer.
The appointments are beginning to blur the line between public servant and private attorney — even for Blanche, who accidentally filed his request to interview Maxwell using his law firm’s address in New York. The task itself is an unusual one for the DOJ’s deputy attorney, but fell to Blanche after the department fired Maurene Comey, one of the chief prosecutors on Maxwell’s case.
“Sending Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, to interview Ghislane Maxwell while she’s in prison — a woman who’s been convicted of abusing people — to offer some kind of corrupt deal so that she can exonerate Donald Trump just stinks of high corruption,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Like Trump’s old fixer, Michael Cohen, Blanche’s main job consists of cleaning up the president’s messes. He successfully delayed criminal proceedings in the three cases against Trump in 2024, with two cases ultimately dropped and the third ending in a conviction without consequences. His efforts in the Epstein saga appear to be more of the same; he’s turned a request to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation into a drawn-out back-and-forth with the courts, and the hourslong, private meetings with Maxwell and her attorney is believed to be an opportunity for Trump and Maxwell to cut a deal.
“If Todd Blanche, now running the DOJ and formerly Trump’s personal lawyer, is personally meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, it suggests something far outside the norm,” said former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin. “This isn’t some career prosecutor following protocol. It’s a direct line from Trump’s inner circle to one of the most infamous inmates in the country.”
The meetings come after government agents spent weeks tracking mentions of Trump in the Epstein files on a spreadsheet, and reporting from the Wall Street Journal illustrating the close friendship Epstein had with Trump and former President Bill Clinton. The revelation reaffirms that Epstein’s reach spans across the political spectrum, and Blanche — who has asked Maxwell about at least 100 people — could offer a deal that involves releasing the names of Trump’s opponents who are tied to Epstein’s sex trafficking, while omitting those of the president and his allies.
Attempts to Sanewash
In Seeking More on Epstein, Justice Dept.’s No. 2 Official Occupies Unusual Role
Justice Dept. finishes second day of Ghislaine Maxwell interview
Meeting over between US official and Ghislane Maxwell, who will 'welcome any relief', lawyer says
Far-Right Spin
Ghislaine Maxwell had ‘productive day’ in DOJ meeting on Epstein case, lawyer says
Ghislaine Maxwell Answered DOJ's Questions On 100 Tied To Epstein, Attorney Says
Rep. Kamlager-Dove: We need to keep the pressure on ‘til the lid blows’
The US House of Representatives began its summer recess early this year, after US Speaker Mike Johnson cleared the legislative calendar in order to avoid any votes relating to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.
I was able to catch US Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) before she left DC to talk with her about what’s happened so far this year. The conversation focused on the Trump administration’s mass incarceration through immigration enforcement, what aspects of the federal budget people can expect to see the impact of first, and why the House recessed so abruptly.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Camaron Stevenson
You and Democrats have been trying to get the Epstein files released, time and time again. It got blocked over and over again, and now they shut down the entire House so they don't have to vote on it. How is this shit legal?
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove
So, you know — good question! No one's ever asked me that before.
I will say: to withhold evidence from Congress, to not allow folks to be subpoenaed, to not support transparency, I don't think that is legal. It's certainly not constitutional, because we have the jurisdiction of oversight.
The fact that they shut down the Rules Committee because they didn't want to have to vote on these amendments says something. The fact that Pam Bondi said, 'oh, we're going to release,' 'oh, nothing to see here.'
The fact that Tulsi Gabbard is now trying to suggest that Barack Obama had something to do with tampering with evidence around Putin and Trump in the 2016 election, so that we're not talking about the Epstein Files, the fact that they're trying to subpoena all of the folks — except just releasing the files, suggests to me, that maybe there's more in it than just Donald Trump being in these files — which we already believe to be true.
So I don't think this is legal. It's certainly not lawful. It's not right. Thankfully, we've run them out. But when we come back in September, we will be asking the same motherfucking questions.
Camaron Stevenson
I've spoken with a lot of people, and that's the questions they want answered too. And it's not just because files are being withheld, it's because of what that represents.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Why are you having rich, powerful people who are predators have more protection than folks who have been victimized, abused, sexually assaulted, trafficked?
Camaron Stevenson
If no one is above the law, then why are we offering protections to people? Strictly because they're rich and powerful, we allow them to do allegedly abhorrent things?
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove
And this is a Republican Party that says this is the swamp and we're hiding things. And now they are actually representing all of that swampy murkiness by not releasing these files and not showing the world what needs to be released.
Camaron Stevenson
Now, in the month while you're on recess, obviously, no legislation can come out. What can people do?
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Pressure. It's just like a crockpot, right? And when that thing is ready, and if the lid is still on, it blows.
That's what we need to be doing: speak up, stand up, call folks out for the fact that they talk about accountability, but they're hiding and don't want to have town halls, don't want to talk about the issues, don't want to talk about what's in the Big, Bad Bill, don’t want to talk about why they won't release the files, don't want to talk about why they're protecting Donald Trump at all costs.
We should be protecting the American people, not one person. And Republicans need to hear that.
US Rep. Steve Scalise, Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District
Since taking office in 2008, Rep. Scalise has:
Sponsored 110 bills, four of which have been signed into law
Been shot by an anti-Trump domestic terrorist while at baseball practice
Voted against certifying election results on Jan. 6, 2021
Opposed the Affordable Care Act, abortion rights, and legislation to protect LGBTQ rights
Denied humanity’s role in climate change: “it gets warmer, it gets colder — that’s called Mother Nature.”
Fun Facts
Rep. Scalise was within striking distance of becoming Speaker of the House in 2023—until his past caught up with him. Within 24 hours of winning his party’s nomination, Scalise’s relationship with the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, was put in the national spotlight. Scalise had spoken at an event in 2002 organized by individuals connected to Duke, and when Scalise was starting his political career, he would describe himself as “David Duke without the baggage.”
That, combined with the revelation that Scalise spent an average of $41,000 annually at a high-end steakhouse in DC, led to him withdrawing his name from the role of Speaker. As a consolation, Scalise was made House Majority Leader and has upped his steak budget to $78,000 per year.
ICE denies Rep. Ansari’s right to conduct oversight inspection
By The Copper Courier’s Sahara Sajjadi
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, attempted to conduct her second oversight visit to the Eloy Detention Center after her office received a wave of complaints from families concerned about conditions their loved ones are facing within the facility.
But just 24 hours before the scheduled tour, Ansari was informed she would be denied access to meet with her constituents.
Advertise in this newsletter
Do you or your company want to support COURIER’s mission and showcase your products or services to an aligned audience of 190,000+ subscribers at the same time? Contact advertising@couriernewsroom.com for more information.
Plain and simple also, some people will never change either.
Yep, and now his own personal lawyer was appointed to the doj and went to interview (if you believe that buy his crypto or other things he grifts) Maxwell to see if she’ll give him a pardon (not mention him) for a pardon quid pro criminal quo. You don’t even have to ask the have you no decency question because they don’t, never have nor will they ever. Plain and simple for all with even a minimal amount of decency to see even moreso for those of us that have an even higher bar of/for decency, ethics, aren’t habitual criminals, do no harm and all those other good things of which they continually fail at.