Justice Department officials interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday. Senators used a similar approach in the past to overcome a stalemate on judicial nominations.

A second meeting between Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche took place on Friday for about three hours.

Mr Trump attended a dinner organised by Maxwell at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan in honour of her close friend the Duke of York in 1999, according to The New York Post.

The Times also reviewed other records of the president’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, including an inscription in which the future president called him “the greatest.”