Vice President JD Vance allegedly proposed that conservative commentator Tucker Carlson interview convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell as the White House scrambled to contain political fallout tied to the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy, according to a new report.
The claims were detailed in an excerpt from the forthcoming book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, published by The New York Times Magazine.
Why was the interview reportedly suggested?
According to the report, Vance viewed the administration’s handling of the Epstein files as “a huge problem” politically and believed a high-profile interview could help address mounting speculation and public backlash.
The emergency meeting reportedly took place in the White House Situation Room on July 17, 2025, days after the Justice Department and the FBI released a memo stating they had found no evidence of a so-called Epstein “client list.”
Instead of calming controversy, the memo reportedly triggered anger among parts of Donald Trump’s MAGA base.
The report claims Vance argued that transparency would ultimately be the best strategy and allegedly floated the idea of Carlson interviewing Maxwell directly. However, other senior administration officials reportedly rejected the proposal almost immediately.
Concerns raised inside the White House
Officials at the meeting allegedly worried that any cooperation from Maxwell could come with demands, including the possibility of a pardon or reduced sentence.
Communications director Steven Cheung reportedly warned that pardoning Maxwell, who was convicted on child sex trafficking-related charges, would create a major public relations crisis.
The report says officials instead considered other options, including petitioning courts to unseal grand jury testimony or arranging for Justice Department officials to conduct a new interview with Maxwell and release transcripts publicly.
How the Epstein controversy escalated
The issue reportedly intensified after The Wall Street Journal published a report alleging that Donald Trump had sent Epstein a lewd birthday letter in 2003. Trump denied wrongdoing and later sued the newspaper over the report.
According to the New York Times Magazine excerpt, the White House meeting became even more tense after news of the Wall Street Journal story broke while officials were still gathered in the Situation Room.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein and has not been charged in connection with the case.
Following the controversy, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had asked then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony” related to Epstein, subject to court approval.
