They always knew.
Today, the DOJ published records unsealed by court order in the Ghislaine Maxwell case. These included a motion and numerous exhibits detailing what the FBI/DOJ – and in particular, the Southern District of New York – knew about the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell back in 2016.
Recall that Epstein was given a sweetheart deal back in 2007. Notes from a meeting in 2016 – read the document here – reveal that a “US Attorney has said [Epstein] could be prosecuted elsewhere.” They failed to act for years, however.