Topline
President Donald Trump said he would “have to take a look” and speak to the Department of Justice before commenting on pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, the Jeffrey Epstein associate serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, hours after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of her conviction.
Trump made the comments hours after the Supreme Court declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal.
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Key Facts
Trump said he was unfamiliar with Maxwell’s case and her appeal, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “you know, I haven’t heard the name in so long, I can say this—I’d have to take a look at it.”
Trump said he would have to speak to the Justice Department before committing to any decision, telling reporters in the Oval Office “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider it—I don’t know anything about it.”
Earlier on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had not heard the possibility of clemency for Maxwell discussed, noting “we do not comment on clemency requests that may or may not have been made, but I’m certainly not tracking that one at this point.”
Maxwell was convicted on federal sex trafficking charges in 2021, and the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of her case.
Crucial Quote
In a statement, Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus said her lawyers would “continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done.”
Key Background
Maxwell is a key figure in the Epstein scandal, and was connected to the disgraced financier for years before his death in 2019. Earlier this year, as the Trump administration faced criticism for its handling of the promised release of the Epstein files, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche took the unusual step of interviewing Maxwell while she served her prison sentence. Around the same time, Trump told reporters he had not considered a pardon for Maxwell, but also refused to rule one out. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about,” Trump said in July. The Justice Department later released a transcript of the interview, where Maxwell said she saw no wrongdoing from Trump or former President Bill Clinton.
