Trump says he has not been asked to pardon Maxwell following Epstein interviews
Maxwell was found guilty in December 2021 of luring young girls to massage rooms for paedophile financier Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004.
The US Department of Justice met with the 63-year-old convicted sex-trafficker last week – interviews in which her lawyer David Markus said his client would 'testify truthfully'.
The US government faced a backlash from Mr Trump's support base following words from Attorney General Pam Bondi that there was no evidence Epstein had a 'client list'.
Following the criticisms, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell over the course of two days – with Mr Blanche saying: 'No-one is above the law and no lead is off-limits.'
Mr Markus previously said the disgraced socialite had not been offered a pardon as part of the interview process.
In a short statement ahead of the meetings, the lawyer said: 'I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully.
'We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.'
Questioned on whether he had been asked to pardon Maxwell, the US President told reporters on Monday: 'Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it.
'It's in the news – that aspect of it – but right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.'
During her three-week trial in 2021, jurors heard prosecutors describe Maxwell as 'dangerous', and were told details of how she helped entice vulnerable teenagers to Epstein's various properties for him to sexually abuse.
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the southern district of New York (SDNY) in June 2022.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The death was ruled a suicide.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a few seconds ago
- The Independent
‘We're not leaving': Border Patrol uses ‘Trojan Horse' unmarked truck to resume deportation raids
A group of masked Border Patrol agents leapt out of an unmarked commercial truck and arrested 16 people on Wednesday outside a Home Depot store in the Westlake section of Los Angeles, in an operation critics say violates a series of recent court rulings against the Trump administration. 'For those who thought immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again,' Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, whose district includes Los Angeles, wrote in a statement on X. 'The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable, and there are no sanctuaries from the reach of the federal government.' The raid, which officials later called Operation Trojan Horse, began around 6:45am, according to bystanders. A yellow Penske box truck reportedly approached day laborers in the parking lot of the store and someone asked for workers in Spanish. As a crowd gathered, the doors to the truck's trailer flew open and agents jumped out, chasing people through the parking lot. "This is the worst feeling ever," a day laborer who identified himself as Caesar told The Los Angeles Times of watching the raid. Critics said the raid violated a Friday ruling from the federal Ninth Circuit Court, which upheld a temporary restraining order barring Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from carrying out roving immigration raids solely on the basis of people's perceived ethnicity, language, location, or occupation. The ruling came after a lower court paused such raids in response to a lawsuit from immigrants and civil rights groups accusing federal agents of racial profiling during their immigration sweeps across the Los Angeles area, making arrests that included a U.S. citizen and a lawfully present day laborer outside a Home Depot. 'Border Patrol at a Home Depot in Los Angeles days after the 9th circuit affirmed a court order that purports to block this exact behavior,' David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank, wrote on Bluesky. 'They don't even know who they're chasing! This is insane. Send them all to jail.' The Department of Homeland Security believes that the MS-13 gang has a 'chokehold' on the area, part of the rationale for such 'highly optic immigration raids,' Matt Finn of Fox News, who embedded with agents for the Home Depot operation, reported on X. The Independent has contacted the Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's office for comment. 'Penske strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances,' Penske said in a statement on X. 'The company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today's operation and did not authorize this. Penske will reach out to DHS and reinforce its policy to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future.' The Border Patrol has raided the store parking lot before, and Wednesday's operation came as the agency continued to carry out operations across the Los Angeles area. 'Different day, different illegal aliens, same objective,' the Border Patrol's Gregory Bovino, commander of the multi-agency Operation At Large, wrote on X, sharing video of agents arresting men outside a car wash. 'We're on a mission here in Los Angeles. And we're not leaving until we accomplish our goals.' Los Angeles, which has one of the largest immigrant populations in the country, has been at the center of the Trump administration's unprecedented immigration crackdown. Federal officials sent National Guard troops and Marines to the city over the objection of local and state officials in the face of mass protests against federal raids. The Border Patrol has made use of rules allowing it to operate within 100 miles of any U.S. border to carry out large-scale raids across Los Angeles, Sacramento, and farm areas in the state's Central Valley.
Daily Mirror
a minute ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump slammed by late night host as he mocks strange White House conference
US President Donald Trump confused reporters when he clambered onto the roof of the White House and rambled unintelligibly during a conference Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert hit out at convicted felon Donald Trump after the US President's unexpected White House roof press conference. Trump was seen clambering onto the White House roof through an open window on Tuesday morning for an "inspection" before the construction of the building's ballroom begins next month. The US president was filmed walking around the rooftop while yelling unintelligibly to the reporters down below. Not one to miss a dig at the former reality star, Stephen Colbert discussed the strange moment on the recent episode of The Late Show, which will air its last episode in May. He highlighted the strangeness of the situation by pointing out that a reporter had to ask him: "Why are you on the roof?" Stephen said to the audience: "At one point, the president tried to communicate through hand signals of some kind." It comes after Donald Trump's mental state 'clear to see' as lawmakers urged to 'act now'. "I don't know what this is," Stephen joked as he copied how Trump gesticulates. "I think he's saying, 'Look, the Capitol dome is a D cup. Look at that'." Stephen continued: "Then he did some very normal unmiked roof shouting," before showing the footage of the president's unintelligible ramblings. A reporter was heard yelling: "What does that mean?" A bewildered Stephen echoed the reporter's thought and said: "Yeah. What does that mean?" as the camera panned to a higher angle above him. "What does any of this mean? How are you the guy in charge? "Why do we have to pretend? Why do we have to pretend it's normal when an old man wanders around a roof and shouts at us?" During the impromptu roof conference, a reporter asked: "What are you building?" Trump answered: "It goes with the ballroom, which is on the other side." "What are you trying to build?" another reporter shouted. "Missiles," Trump responded. "Nuclear missiles," he repeated while making the gesture of a rocket launching. However, it ended up looking like a Nazi salute. Meanwhile, CBS recently announced their decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with the show not returning after May 2026. Trump, who is known to lash out at celebrities, was delighted at the news and took to his social media to share his excitement over The Late Show's cancellation. "I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!" he wrote. "Greg Gutfield is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show." In a segment on Stephen's show, the host read out Trump's tweet while doing an impression of the President's voice. The audience booed the tweet before Stephen confidently said: "How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?" before turning to a different camera and adding: "Go f**k yourself!"
Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Killers must reveal where victims are before they are released, say devastated families
Killers must be locked up for life if they refuse to disclose the location of the body, the families of two high-profile murder victims have said. Relatives of Arlene Fraser, whose husband Nat Fraser has twice been convicted of her murder following her 1998 disappearance in Elgin, spoke of the 'mental torture' they are having to endure because no trace of her has ever been found. The family of Suzanne Pilley, who was murdered in 2010 by her work colleague David Gilroy, who was given a life sentence for murder, also condemned his lack of remorse or rehabilitation as he continues to refuse to disclose the location of her remains. They both welcomed a commitment secured from Justice Secretary Angela Constance that this 'must' be taken into account by the Parole Board when making decisions about release and that this will be delivered before next year's election. But they are now pushing her to go further still and introduce a 'no body no parole' rule which means killers who don't disclose the remains can never be released on parole. Ministers will consider whether to go further on 'Suzanne's Law' as part of a consultation on parole which will be published imminently. Gail Fairgrieve, Suzanne Pilley's sister, said: 'I think that people need to understand, the Parole Board need to understand, that this crime was still continuing. It is perpetrating the crime against us. We are still dealing with this every day. 'Everyday events - you go into a card shop and you can't buy anything for your sister. It's there constantly and he has information that could just put us at ease and bring Suzanne home. 'I feel that this ruling had to consider now that he can't possibly be rehabilitated or show remorse if he is continuing to withhold this information. This information is a full part of his crime and he needs to give us that information, otherwise life imprisonment means life imprisonment.' She added: 'They have to consider it and when they look at all the considerations that the Parole Board look at to release a prisoner, (by) withholding that information from us he is not rehabilitating, there is no remorse, there is nothing.' Carol Gillies, the sister of Arlene Fraser, said: 'I feel that he (Nat Fraser) controlled Arlene when she was alive, and he is controlling her when she's dead as well. 'If the Parole Board can almost give them a choice - tell us more information or stay in jail - so he needs to make a choice, it's his choice what he does.' On the emotional impact of Arlene's body never being discovered, she said: 'It is a form of mental torture for us, it really is. I don't like using dramatic words but it is. He has that information, there is no doubt about it.' The families of the two victims yesterday spoke to journalists at an event organised by Victim Support Scotland following a meeting with Ms Constance. During the talks, Ms Constance gave a firm commitment that an amendment to the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill, which was added at stage two and ensures the Parole Board 'must' take into account when killers don't disclose the location of their victim's remains when making decisions, will be delivered. Choking back tears yesterday, Ms Fairgrieve described the difficulty of family events like birthdays, Christmases and weddings, and went on: 'It's the same with my kids, she had a niece and a nephew... and she wasn't there for it. He denied her that. 'I think I sometimes feel guilty that I have a life. She was only 33 when she was taken. She wouldn't want me to feel guilty, she would want me to live my life. But she has missed out on so much.' Sylvia Pilley, mother of Suzanne: 'I know Suzanne had justice when he was put in prison but her life has been cut short. She really wanted a family and she has never been given that, and we miss her. That's really why we are doing this.' Under current legislation, Gilroy will be eligible to be considered for parole in March 2030, while Nat Fraser - who was found guilty of killing his wife Arlene - will be eligible in October 2028. Describing why the families are fighting to deliver 'Suzanne's Law, Ms Fairgrieve said: 'We may never find where she is, and he may get out of prison and that is something we will have to learn to live with. But we can challenge the rules and the regulations now and we've got people that are committed to changing those. We will just hopefully improve the life for people if it happens to them.' Now the families are pushing alongside Victim Support Scotland for a 'no body no parole' rule to be introduced as part of an upcoming consultation on parole. Ms Fairgrieve said: 'Parole regulations are something that will effect the perpetrators in these cases but we would like to see the law changed initially so that when they come to trial they are well aware that if they never disclose where their remains or a body is there is no chance of parole. That is where the law needs to stand, we need to move towards that.' During yesterday's talks, Ms Constance is said to have pledged to consider the idea, similar to a system currently in place in Australia. Ms Gillies said: 'I think it should happen because when Nat was sentenced Lord Bracadale said 'you instigated this, you instructed this' and he obviously knows what happened: he disposed of Arlene in a very ruthless, efficient way. To just have Nat Fraser in front of the Parole Board and all they are considering is the risk or how he behaved in jail is just not enough. 'If he was to get out then it would be gone forever.' Ms Constance said: 'I am grateful to the families of Suzanne Pilley and Arlene Fraser for meeting with me today. They have suffered heartbreaking losses, compounded by not knowing the final resting place of their loved ones. My deepest sympathies remain with them. 'In March, I supported an amendment to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill that will mean the Parole Board, when making decisions about release, must take account of whether a prisoner has information about the disposal of a victim's remains, but has not disclosed it. 'At today's meeting, I reiterated my firm commitment to this change, which will become law if the Bill is passed in Parliament.'
