Rep. Thomas Massie open to Ghislaine Maxwell pardon
And that could include giving Maxwell a presidential pardon, which Trump admitted he has the power to do late last week. However, Trump said he isn't actively considering a pardon for her and shared on Monday that 'nobody' has asked him for one.
Maxwell participated in two days of interviews with Trump's Department of Justice last week and in exchange scored 'limited' immunity in her own case. She's currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Epstein [sexual] traffic young girls.
Maxwell appears to be angling for a pardon from Trump after she 'didn't hold back' during secret questioning from the Justice Department. Meet the Press host Kristen Welker asked if Massie would ' support a pardon or commutation of Ghislaine Maxwell' in exchange for her revealing information on Epstein. Massie said that the decision about a pardon 'would be up to the president.'
'But if she has information that could help us, then I think she should testify,' he stated. 'Let's get that out there. And whatever they need to do to compel that testimony, as long as it's truthful, I would be in favor of,' Massie added. Massie and Progressive Democrat Ro Khanna introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act earlier this month, which would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to publicly release all unclassified materials relating to Epstein.
Khanna - who appeared on Meet the Press Sunday alongside Massie - told host Kristen Welker that he considered the issue of the Epstein filed a winning one for his party. On the issue of a Maxwell pardon, Khanna noted that he agreed that she should testify. 'But she's been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files. This is why we need independent evidence,' he added.
Khanna also praised Massie for standing up to Trump on this issue. 'The only person who suffered political pain in this whole thing is Congressman Thomas Massie for telling the truth. He's got the president's entire team who got the president reelected coming down on him in his district. And it's just made him stronger.' Massie has recently bucked Trump not only on the Epstein files, but also in opposing Trump's 'big, beautiful' spending bill which was signed into law on July 4th.
Despite facing Trump's wrath, Massie touted a substantial fundraising haul two weeks ago. On July 14, Massie said that he raised $584,325 from over 5,000 donors, 68 percent of which were new. Massie also shared that he had over $1.7 million total cash on hand. Notably, Massie is not the only Republican calling out the administration's handling of the files, described as a 'political mistake' and 'misstep.'
Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, told CNN 's Manu Raju Sunday that part of the issue is 'that there were false expectations that are created, and that's a political mistake.' 'I think that saying that you're going to be able to deliver when you haven't even looked at all of the files, what's available, was probably a misstep,' Burlison said.
His criticism comes as voters are not happy with Trump's handling of the files. Only 16 percent of respondents to a recent Emerson College poll saying that they approve 'of the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.' Emerson College Polling director Spencer Kimball noted Thursday that the Epstein files issue was the one Trump fared the worst.
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