Justice Department issues transcripts of interviews with Epstein ex-girlfriend Maxwell

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday released transcripts of interviews its No. 2 official did with Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned former girlfriend as the Trump administration scrambles to present itself as transparent amid a fierce backlash over an earlier refusal to disclose a trove of records from the sex-trafficking case.

The disclosure represents the latest Trump administration effort to repair self-inflicted political wounds after failing to deliver on expectations that its own officials had created through conspiracy theories and bold pronouncements that never came to pass. By making public two days worth of interviews, officials appear to be hoping to at least temporarily keep at bay sustained anger from President Donald Trump's base even as they continue to sit on other evidence they had suggested was being prepared for public release.