"Back in August, I argued that Todd Blanche's interview of Ghislaine Maxwell was not intended to elicit useful information. Rather, it was an effort to lock in transparently false testimony that would minimize the damage she could do to Trump going forward. It was quite clear from Blanche's interview that he wasn't interested in meeting with Trump's sex trafficker buddy to advance any normal investigative interests."
"TODD BLANCHE: Do you know whether masseuses from Mar-a-Lago's spa ended up giving massages to - private massages to Mr. Epstein? I'm not asking for what you may have read, but from - at the time, from your personal knowledge, do you know whether that's true? GHISLAINE MAXWELL: I - I don't - I don't recall. Is it possible? Yes. But I don't remember - I don't remember that. So I don't want to - I don't recall that, but it's possible."
Todd Blanche's interaction with Ghislaine Maxwell aimed to lock in testimony that would limit Maxwell's ability to harm Trump's reputation rather than gather reliable investigative facts. Blanche offered Maxwell favorable treatment and opportunities to harm victims in exchange for information about Trump's political opponents. Blanche neglected core proffer practices: he did not insist on dates, did not test Maxwell's recollections, and relied on gossip. The transcript shows Maxwell initially denying recruitment of Mar-a-Lago spa masseuses and later conceding that such recruitment might have been possible while Blanche pressed for a narrow denial about recruiting Virginia Giuffre.
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