'What the hell?' Ex-RNC chair gobsmacked by this shocking prison privilege for Maxwell

MSNBC anchor and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele was gobsmacked Friday over reports that Ghislaine Maxwell is receiving preferential treatment at a federal prison — and that officials warned inmates not to speak to the press about her sweetheart conditions.

Maxwell's transfer in the first place ran afoul of longstanding Justice Department policy against giving these perks to sex offenders — and came as the Trump administration used her testimony to try to defuse public anger over the failure to release the Epstein case files.

"The systematic failure clearly knows no bounds," Steele told former prosecutor Catherine Christian. "It is absolutely reprehensible at this stage when you consider the treatment of Ms. Maxwell, relative to other sexual predators who are now serving in prison."

"I want to give you two things to consider," said Steele. "The first, from Rep. Jamie Raskin, who sent a letter demanding answers on special treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell, noting, quote, 'shocking new reports reveal that Ms. Maxwell is not only receiving VIP treatment at FPC Bryan, including private meetings with mysterious visitors, meal delivery to her dormitory and other special perks, but that you and other prison officials have retaliated against inmates who dare to speak about her fawning preferential treatment.' And then this from the Wall Street Journal ... 'The warden called a town meeting for inmates. She warned that if inmates made threats to Maxwell, put her in any sort of danger, or talked to the press about her, those inmates would be shipped to a harsher facility, people familiar with the matter said.'"

"What the hell have we come to here?" added Steele. "That this administration and this Justice Department are giving preferential treatment to a serial sexual predator duly convicted under the laws and the courts of this country? I don't understand what's going on here. How does this work? Becausethis is not consistent with any,any, any prison movie I've everseen."

"What the hell is right, because this is inexplicable," agreed Christian. "Ms. Maxwell's interview with Todd Blanche provided no new information. It seems the only purpose was to exonerate President Trump. No, he was a very nice man. No, he really had nothing to do with Mr. Epstein. No new information. And her treatment is basically a reward for that interview that provided no information, did not help the government, you know, find criminals, people who were involved in abusing these girls, not women. We have to remember, these were not adult women. These were children."

"So it's inexplicable," she added. "Her Supreme Court appeal was denied. They refused to hear it. So she, barring a commutation or a pardon, will be in prison to fill out the rest of her sentence. But it's inexplicable why she's getting this treatment, as, you're right, she is a sex offender. A convicted sex offender."

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