Vice President JD Vance allegedly proposed that Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine Maxwell as the White House scrambled to contain the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy.
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.
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.
Concerns raised inside the White House included the possibility of Maxwell demanding a pardon or reduced sentence in exchange for cooperation.
Communications director Steven Cheung reportedly warned that pardoning Maxwell would create a major public relations crisis.
