On Monday, President Trump informed reporters that no one has requested him to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, who was a co-conspirator with Jeffrey Epstein, but he did emphasize that he is “allowed” to do so.
Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he is able to grant pardons, but no one has approached him about Maxwell’s case, who is serving a 20-year federal prison term for child sex trafficking and other offenses. It has gone unquestioned. At this moment, it would be improper to discuss it, even though it is in the news.
Although he did not specifically identify Maxwell, Trump has previously stated that “a lot of people” had contacted him about pardons while in Scotland meeting with U.K. politicians. The conviction of Maxwell is now on appeal. The attorney for Maxwell said in a Monday statement that her client is being used as a “scapegoat.”
“We are pleading with the Supreme Court and the President to acknowledge the utter injustice of trying to pin Epstein’s crimes on Ghislaine Maxwell,” stated David Oscar Markus. The context of his comments was Maxwell’s efforts to get her conviction overturned.
Following conservative and other protests, the DOJ wanted to question Maxwell, who last week finished a two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Epstein committed himself in 2019 while incarcerated, and the president’s administration has been criticized for refusing to reveal documents pertaining to the investigation into him. A document sent by the Justice Department in early July denied the existence of any evidence linking the murder of Epstein and said that no damning “client list” existed.
The GOP is split on the issue, with some lawmakers joining forces with Democrats to demand that the White House divulge any relevant material it possesses.
Trump was apprised by Attorney General Pam Bondi in May that his name appeared many times in papers pertaining to the federal investigation against Epstein, according to last week’s Wall Street Journal article.
The controversy surrounding Epstein shows no signs of abating. One social media post on Monday seemed to imply that tech billionaire and former close Trump associate Elon Musk will pardon Maxwell if she implicates Democrats in testimony. Musk responded with an emoji of a target.
From the start of the incident, Trump has tried to separate himself from Epstein. According to his Monday statement to reporters, he has never set foot on Epstein’s private island.
“I turned it down and I never had the privilege of going to his island,” Trump remarked. On the other hand, his island was visited by many Palm Beach locals. I declined it during one of my great times. I was reluctant to visit his island.
It seemed that Speaker Mike Johnson would likewise be against Maxwell getting a pardon. Though Trump ultimately has the last say, the Republican from Louisiana told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker of NBC that he had “great pause about that, as any reasonable person would.”
According to Johnson, Maxwell’s sentence of 20 years was “a pittance” in his perspective. “At the very least, I believe she deserves a life sentence.”
A pardon for Maxwell, though, may serve as a negotiating chip, according to one Republican. While acknowledging that the president has the authority to grant Maxwell a pardon, Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie told Welker that he would support “whatever they need to do to compel that testimony, as long as it’s truthful.”