Aug 6, 10:41 AM

Maxwell’s Cushy Prison Move Sparks Scrutiny of Trump DOJ and Epstein Files

The U.S. Justice Department has shifted Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, from a low-security prison in Tallahassee to FPC Bryan, a minimum-security women’s camp in Texas that lacks perimeter fencing and is normally reserved for non-violent offenders. Federal records show the relocation occurred last week, despite Bureau of Prisons guidelines that typically bar sex offenders from such facilities. The move came shortly after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—formerly President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer—conducted two days of closed-door interviews with Maxwell in late July. People briefed on the nine-hour session say Blanche asked about roughly 100 individuals connected to Epstein, but neither the department nor Maxwell’s attorneys have disclosed whether a cooperation agreement exists. Survivors and their families condemned the transfer as preferential treatment. Robert Hood, a former Bureau of Prisons warden, called placement of a sex offender in a camp setting “virtually unheard of,” and victims noted they received no advance notice. Maxwell’s lawyer confirmed the move but offered no explanation; the Justice Department has not detailed why the required waivers were granted. President Trump told reporters on 5 August that he had no prior knowledge of the transfer, describing it as “not a very uncommon thing,” while declining to rule out a future pardon. His comments have amplified bipartisan calls for transparency. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the Justice Department and several former senior officials as it seeks the sealed Epstein investigative files. Maxwell, meanwhile, has petitioned a federal judge to block the government’s request to unseal grand-jury transcripts from the Epstein probe, arguing public release would prejudice her pending Supreme Court appeal. The clash over records—and the unusual leniency shown to Maxwell—has deepened public scrutiny of both the Justice Department’s handling of the case and the president’s own past ties to Epstein.