Jeffrey Epstein scandal surrounding President Trump is intensifying, fueled in large part by growing Republican defiance.

Today, Todd Blanche, the second highest-ranking Justice Department official, met with Galane Maxwell at a U.S. Attorney's Office in Tallahassee to discuss the Epstein case.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse underage girls.

Here to discuss the latest developments is Carrie Johnson.

She's the National Justice Correspondent for NPR.

Always good to see you.

Thanks, Jeff.

So let's start with this meeting today between Todd Blanche and Galane Maxwell.

Everything about this meeting is highly unusual, starting with the fact that the deputy attorney

general, the person who runs the day-to-day operations at the DOJ, would even take a meeting

like this.

What more should we know about it?

Well, Galane Maxwell was convicted and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Her case is actually on appeal,

and the Justice Department is contesting her appeal. And yet we have the second highest in command at DOJ

traveling down to Florida and conducting an hours-long meeting with this defendant. It's really

unusual, and it may be the start of conversations that lead somewhere with respect to her case and its resolution.

Well, it's hard to see how Maxwell would provide or the DOJ would release any information that would be negative about Donald Trump.

What could she potentially tell them?

Or should we see this meeting as part of an effort to give the impression

that the Trump administration is really sleuthing this entire thing out?

You know, one of the interesting things about this is that she and the Justice Department

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