President Trump and Vice President Vance blasted reports on Wednesday that said a group of top administration officials were gathering to discuss whether to publish audio and a transcript of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump was asked if Vance was hosting a gathering to discuss the Epstein issue, after CNN first reported that the meeting at the vice president’s residence was taking place that evening.
“I don’t know, I could ask you that question,” Trump said, looking at his vice president. “I don’t know of it, but I think, here’s the man right here.”
Vance then chimed in, bashing the journalists who reported it.
“I saw it reported today, and it’s completely fake news. We’re not meeting to talk about the Epstein situation, and I think the reporter who reported it needs to get better sources,” Vance said.
The president added, “Look, the whole thing is a hoax. It’s put on by the Democrats.” He added that the reporting is a “way of trying to divert attention to something that is total bulls—.”
The vice president’s office earlier Wednesday also criticized the reporting.
“The CNN story is pure fiction. There was never a supposed meeting scheduled at the Vice President’s residence to discuss Epstein strategy,” said William Martin, communications director to Vance.
The meeting was reportedly expected to include Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Blanche. The FBI didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Blanche recently met twice with Maxwell, a longtime associate of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, as the administration faces increasing pressure to release more information from the Epstein files.
Trump on Wednesday also said he hasn’t been briefed on what Maxwell told Blanche. He said earlier this week that he wasn’t aware of the decision to move Maxwell from a federal prison in Florida to a federal prison in Texas.
“I didn’t know about it at all,” Trump said. “It’s not a very uncommon thing.”
The move to Texas comes as Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, and her legal team are appealing her case to the Supreme Court in hopes of having her conviction overturned.
