The Justice Department changed a prison policy last month, and some Democrats are questioning the convenient timing.
“I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out what they’re doing,” Rep. Deborah Ross told MS Now, referring to a policy change published last month at the Federal Bureau of Prisons that now allows the attorney general to “designate or redesignate the place of a prisoner’s imprisonment.”
Before the policy change, decisions on prisoner placement and transfers were handled by the Federal Bureau of Prisons under its standard designation process.
Ross argues that the policy change is an attempt by the DOJ to “cover their tracks retroactively,” after convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a lower-security facility in Texas following two days of talks with then–Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Blanche, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, 79, on Monday to serve as attorney general after Pam Bondi’s dismissal in April, is now facing a difficult path to confirmation after a New York Times report revealed the controversial steps he took to limit media attention surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the report, Blanche nominated himself to personally lead an interview with Maxwell and release the transcript. In the interview, Maxwell referred to the president as a “gentleman” and was subsequently granted a transfer to a different prison.
On Friday, Ross sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons asking how the policy change was developed and authorized, calling it “troubling” and saying it raises serious questions, especially given the expanded authority now granted to the attorney general.
In the letter, co-signed by Reps. Jamie Raskin and Ro Khanna, Ross argues that any policy update “warrants careful scrutiny by Congress and the public,” especially in light of Maxwell’s transfer. The congresswoman told MS Now that she hopes the issue will come up during Blanche’s upcoming confirmation hearing.
Maxwell, a former socialite and longtime associate of Epstein, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in December 2021 after being convicted of sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three counts of conspiracy.
She was moved from a federal prison to a minimum-security facility—the lowest level of restriction in the federal system—in August and has reportedly received special treatment, though information about her time in Texas is limited.
The facility, nicknamed “Club Fed,” offers a “puppy program” with gym and yoga classes. There are no cell blocks or guard towers. Prisoners can use an outdoor running track, access music programs, participate in intramural competitions, attend social and cultural events, and even play table tennis, according to prison consultant Michael Santos.
“Her experience there is very different from anyone else’s—she is treated very differently there,” Maxwell’s former prisonmate and ex-Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah told People, adding that the convicted sex trafficker made it clear she feels “no remorse” for her actions.
Email exchanges obtained by NBC News in November indicated that Maxwell is “happier” at the Texas facility to which she was transferred. Some staff members were later fired after allegedly leaking her private emails.
Noella Turnage, a former employee at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, who was dismissed for leaking Maxwell’s private correspondence, said that she was alarmed by the extent to which the prison appeared to accommodate Maxwell’s needs. The facility is known for housing non-violent, white-collar offenders, with Maxwell as an unusual exception.
“What I can tell you is that the things that were being done for her were not common for any of the other inmates, not even the other high-profile inmates,” she told CNN’s Erin Burnett in May.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for comment.
