DOJ meeting with longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell
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(WASHINGTON) — A senior Department of Justice official is meeting with longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday in Tallahassee, Florida, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The meeting between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Maxwell is occurring in downtown Tallahassee at the U.S. attorney’s office, which is located inside the federal courthouse, sources familiar with the matter said.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. She is serving her sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee.
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 meeting with Maxwell.
Maxwell’s attorneys were also seen entering the federal courthouse in Tallahassee.
“We’re looking forward to a productive day,” David O. Markus, Maxwell’s appellate lawyer, told ABC News. He declined further comment.
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.
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.
(WASHINGTON) — Elon Musk called President Donald Trump on Monday night, two sources familiar with the conversation told ABC News, after their bitter public feud last week.
Musk posted on X early Wednesday morning, “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
Musk, however, did not not clarify which posts he was referring to in his statement. The posts included slamming Trump for “ingratitude” over the 2024 election, agreeing with a call for Trump’s impeachment, knocking the president’s “big, beautiful bill” signature legislation, and even claiming Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Musk’s call with Trump came after Vice President JD Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles spoke with the billionaire late last week and urged him to end the feud, sources familiar with the call told ABC News.
The president had previously told Vance to speak diplomatically when asked about Musk publicly, according to a White House official.
The White House declined to comment.
In her press briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt would not comment on whether the relationship would be reconciled.
“The president acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning and he is appreciative of it. And we are continuing to focus on the business of the American people,” Leavitt said.
Last Friday, Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that Musk was a “man who has lost his mind.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats walked out before Republicans voted on Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove — the controversial top Justice Department official who formerly served as Trump’s defense attorney — to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
The Democrats left before Republicans forced the vote for Bove’s lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump’s presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump’s chief enforcers at DOJ.
The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Bove means he will next face a vote in the full Senate.
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker spoke furiously from the dais, pleading with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow further debate on Bove’s nomination, but Grassley declined.
“What are you afraid of about even debating this?” Booker asked Grassley.
“Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdictions and past precedent, why are you doing this?” Booker asked.
More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove’s nomination.
He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Bove also was at the center of the department’s controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a ‘quid pro quo’ to secure Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.
Adams and Bove have both denied any such “quid pro quo” arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams’ case dinged the Justice Department writing, “Everything here smacks of a bargain.”
“Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,” the prosecutors wrote of Bove’s actions. “Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals’ lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power.”
More recently, however, Bove’s actions have come under scrutiny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump administration’s immigration actions.
Reuveni’s complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying “f— you” to courts who may try to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.
During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni’s complaint — though he only said he could “not recall” using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order.
“Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never — and would never — tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order,” the letter said. “Moreover, the Justice Department’s later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove’s intent all along.”
Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove’s defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove’s nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them.
Responding to the former DOJ officials’ letter Wednesday, department official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a “political hit squad masquerading as a support network” and said “they certainly don’t speak for DOJ.”
“They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots,” said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Bryan Bedford as FAA administrator, putting a former airline executive in charge of the agency responsible for ensuring the safety and efficiency of the nation’s air travel.
The final vote was 53-43.
Bedford, who previously served as CEO of Republic Airways, retired from the position last week after leading the airline for more than 25 years. During his tenure, Republic became one of the largest regional carriers in the nation.
His nomination narrowly cleared the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation vote by 15-13, with all Republican senators voting in favor and all Democrats against.
While Bedford’s nomination has received widespread support from across the aviation industry, he has faced criticism over his position on the FAA’s 1,500-hour flight training rule.
The FAA rule requires pilots have 1,500 hours experience in the cockpit before they can fly for a commercial airline.
The rule was implemented in 2013, in response to the 2009 Colgan Air crash, after an NTSB investigation cited the flight crews’s inadequate training and qualifications as a key safety issue.
In 2022, the FAA rejected a petition from Republic Airways seeking an exemption for its pilots from the 1500-hour rule — calling for it to be brought down to 750 flying hours if the pilots met certain other requirements.
The FAA denied the request, saying “if a reduction in hours was appropriate, an exemption is not the appropriate vehicle with which to make such a determination.”
During his nomination hearing, senators questioned Bedford about his position on the 1,500-hour rule and whether he’d try to change it once becoming FAA administrator.
Illinois Democratic Sen. Duckworth pressed Bedford multiple times over his commitment to the 1500-hour rule. Bedford never answered the question, saying he does not “believe safety is static” since pilot training has changed over time, but reiterated that safety is a priority.
“I will not roll back safety,” Bedford told the committee. “There won’t be safety loopholes. I commit to you. We will never do anything to reduce the safety and competency of our pilots.”
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the panel’s top Democrat, notably voted against advancing Bedford’s nomination out of committee.
Prior to the committee vote, Cantwell released a statement opposing his confirmation, saying Bedford “repeatedly refused to commit to upholding the 1500-hour rule and refused to recuse himself for his full term from granting his own company an exemption from this critical safety requirement.”
Scrutiny over Bedford’s position on the rule comes at a pivotal moment for aviation safety which has been in the spotlight since January’s mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed everyone onboard both aircraft.
Following Bedford’s confirmation, the pilots union released a statement congratulating Bedford and expressing a commitment to working with him, while also reiterating concerns over his position on the pilot training requirements.
“We have concerns about his past efforts to lower pilot training requirements, and we will continue to bring the line pilot’s perspective to any discussions about changing these life-saving measures and hold him to his word that safety is his top priority,” Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement. “Maintaining rigorous training requirements and keeping two pilots on the flight deck at all times remain top priorities for ALPA.”
Airlines for America and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association also released statements congratulating Bedford and reiterating their commitment to working with him to ensure aviation safety and to overhaul and modernize the nation’s air traffic control systems and facilities.
