Trump Says He’s ‘Allowed’ To Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell


Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be ruling out the possibility of pardoning convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, telling reporters on Monday that he is “allowed to give her a pardon,” but that he is yet to be asked to do so.  

“Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” Trump said when asked about the prospect while meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland. “But nobody’s approached me with it. Nobody’s asked me about it. It’s in the news, about that, that aspect of it.” 

“Right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it,” he added before moving on to the next question.

Last week, the Justice Department met with Maxwell — who is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of sex trafficking and other charges related to her and Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse ring — in an effort to determine if she has “information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.” The move is part of an effort by the Trump administration to appease members of the MAGA base furious over the administration’s refusal to release large troves of evidence related to the Epstein case. 

Trump gave a similar answer to reporters at the White House on Friday when asked about the possibility of a pardon for Epstein’s longtime accomplice: “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about.”

Trump also told reporters on Monday that he had never had “the privilege” of going to Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, where the disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker, who died in prison 2019, allegedly invited wealthy associates to party and have sexual encounters with underage girls. 

“A lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island,” Trump said. “In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island.” 

The president claimed that he had fallen out with Epstein — his friend for many years — not because he was a predator with a fixation on underage girls, but because the financier had poached his staff. “For years I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein. He did something that was inappropriate: He hired help, and I said don’t ever do that again. He stole people that worked for me,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of [Mar-a-Lago], persona non grata.”  

The notion that Trump is even considering a pardon for Maxwell has sparked backlash from Epstein accusers, as well as some Republican lawmakers. 

“She didn’t just procure girls for Epstein, but she participated in their abuse — I think that’s an important thing for people to understand,” Epstein abuse survivor Annie Farmer said on Saturday in an interview with ABC News. Farmer added that if Maxwell were to be released from prison, it would be “devastating” not only to her but “for so many people involved in this case.” 

Teresa Helm, another survivor, told MSNBC on Friday that a pardon for Maxwell “mean the complete crumbling of this justice system that should first and foremost stand for, fight for and protect survivors.”

On Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told NBC News that while it’s up to Trump to decide whom to pardon, in his opinion, Maxwell’s 20 year sentence “was a pittance. I think she should have a life sentence at least.” 

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“So again, not my decision, but I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would,” he added of the prospect of pardoning Epstein’s accomplice. 

The president seems to still be weighing his options.


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