Could Ghislaine Maxwell Have Helped Trump? The Epstein Proposal That Shocked White House Aides

Published 11 June 2026 · us

Could Ghislaine Maxwell Have Helped Trump? The Epstein Proposal That Shocked White House Aides Written By, Last Updated: June 11, 2026, 13:38 IST Vice-President JD

Could Ghislaine Maxwell Have Helped Trump? The Epstein Proposal That Shocked White House Aides Written By, Last Updated: June 11, 2026, 13:38 IST Vice-President JD Vance reportedly suggested a prison interview with Maxwell by Tucker Carlson, hoping a public denial of Trump's involvement in Epstein's crimes would ease the row Rapid Read Jeffrey Epstein with Ghislaine Maxwell. As pressure mounted over the Jeffrey Epstein files, some of the most powerful figures in Donald Trump’s administration reportedly found themselves grappling with a crisis that had little to do with foreign adversaries or military threats and everything to do with political survival. According to Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, a forthcoming book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, senior Trump officials held a series of damage-control meetings in the White House Situation Room as outrage over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files spiralled, including among Trump’s own supporters. The meetings, described in excerpts published by Axios, paint a picture of an administration scrambling for answers after a Justice Department-FBI memo intended to put the Epstein controversy to rest instead triggered a political firestorm. “This Is A Huge Problem" The crisis reportedly erupted after the DOJ and FBI concluded that they had found no evidence of a secret Epstein “client list" and no basis for many of the conspiracy theories surrounding the disgraced financier’s death and activities. ALSO READ | ‘Not Epstein’s Victim’: Melania Trump Junks Ties To Sex Offender.

Internet Revives Throwback Photos Instead of calming the debate, the memo angered many within the MAGA movement who had expected explosive disclosures. The backlash quickly spread across conservative media and social media platforms. According to accounts cited by multiple outlets, Vice-President JD Vance viewed the fallout as a serious political threat. One report says Vance told colleagues the issue had become “a huge problem" for the administration. The result was an unusual gathering in the Situation Room on July 17, 2025. Participants reportedly included Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, senior communications officials and then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, while Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel joined remotely, New York Post reported. The Tucker Carlson-Ghislaine Maxwell Proposal The most startling proposal to emerge from those discussions involved convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. According to Haberman and Swan, Vance floated the idea of asking conservative commentator Tucker Carlson to interview Maxwell in prison. The thinking was straightforward: if Maxwell publicly stated that Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes, it could help neutralise the controversy and reassure sceptical supporters, Axios reported. ALSO READ | ‘Spring Cleaning’ At White House: Did Epstein ‘Client Files’ Finally Sink Pam Bondi’s Career? The proposal immediately raised eyebrows inside the administration. Maxwell is serving a prison sentence for helping Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls. The Times reported that some advisers reportedly worried that relying on a convicted associate of Epstein to defend the president could create even bigger political problems than the ones they were trying to solve.