Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche completed nine hours of meetings over two days with Ghislaine Maxwell on Friday but made no public statements about what she said or the next steps in the Justice Department’s much-criticized Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Former prosecutors said it was highly unusual — and potentially unprecedented — for a the department’s No. 2 official to personally interview a witness. Secrecy in a criminal investigation is normal, but the prosecutors involved in the case would typically be included in questioning.

“I’ve never heard of a deputy attorney general doing anything like this before,” said a former senior Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.