CNN’s Kaitlan Collins confronted President Donald Trump Tuesday over the quiet transfer of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to a minimum-security women’s prison in Texas — a move that came shortly after she reportedly met with Trump’s former lawyer and now Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche.
When Collins asked Trump whether he knew about or approved the transfer, Trump flatly denied any involvement.
During a White House event, Collins went straight to the point.
“Two questions for you,” she said. “One, did you — were you aware of and did you personally approve the prison transfer for Ghislaine Maxwell that your Justice Department—”
“I didn’t know about it at all, no,” Trump responded. “I read about it just like you did.”
Collins pressed further, asking Trump if he thought Maxwell was a credible source — considering his own Deputy Attorney General sat down with her.
“Do you believe that she’s credible to be listening to? Your Deputy Attorney General sat down with her recently,” Collins asked.
Trump responded by praising Blanche but again distanced himself from the meeting.
“Well, he’s, let me tell you. He’s a very talented man. His name is Todd Blanche. He’s a very legitimate person, very high. I just said very highly thought of person, respected by everybody,” Trump said.
“And I didn’t talk to him about it. But I will tell you that whatever he asked would be totally appropriate. And it’s not an uncommon thing to do that. And I think he probably wants to make sure that, you know, people that should not be involved or aren’t involved are not hurt by something that would be very, very unfortunate, very unfair to a lot of people.”
He added: “But I will say this. Todd Blanche is one of the most highly respected people you’ll ever meet. So I know this. I didn’t discuss it with him. But anything he talked about with her, or the fact that he did that, not unusual, number one and, most importantly, is something that would be totally aboveboard.”
Collins didn’t let that go unchecked. On her show, she pointed out that experts say Maxwell would have needed a special waiver to be moved to the minimum-security prison — often referred to as “Club Fed” — and that it’s highly unusual for the Deputy Attorney General himself to conduct an inmate interview like this.
“There are a few things, though, that are unusual,” Collins said. “Experts tell us that Ghislaine Maxwell would have been required to get a special waiver to be transferred to what is called and known as Club Fed. And it is certainly not every day that the number two person in charge at the Justice Department conducts an interview like this himself.”
The White House has not offered further explanation.
Trump has previously refused to rule out a pardon for Maxwell and has spoken publicly about having the right to issue one — while brushing off questions about whether he actually plans to. Now, the spotlight is back on how closely his Justice Department is working with a convicted sex trafficker — and what role, if any, he’s really playing behind the scenes.
Watch the clip below:
