4 days ago
Trump says he could pardon Ghislaine Maxwell ‘but hasn't thought about it' as Epstein enabler meets with his former lawyer
President Donald Trump said Friday he has not thought about pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted enabler of financier sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — but noted that he could — as she prepares for a second consecutive day of questioning from his former attorney, who is now a top Justice Department official.
'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about,' Trump told reporters outside the White House on his way to Scotland.
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to continue interviewing Maxwell at a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, near the federal prison where she is serving her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
Blanche, Trump's one-time personal lawyer, is there to see if she has additional information about the highly scrutinized case.
The interview will be a continuation of his questioning of Maxwell — who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of grooming young women and girls for Epstein's sex-trafficking operation, that began on Thursday.
It's unclear what exactly Blanche is asking Maxwell. The former socialite was the subject of an investigation that lasted at least six months, beginning in 2019, and culminated in her arrest in July 2020. She remained in custody prior to being found guilty of sex trafficking of a minor in December 2021.
The top DOJ lawyer said he wanted to meet with Maxwell to discuss others who may have 'committed crimes against victims.'
Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, declined to clarify what exactly Blanche had asked or what Maxwell had answered so far. However, he said his client answered 'all of the questions truthfully, honestly, and to the best of her ability.'
'He took a full day and asked a lot of questions,' Markus said. 'And Ms. Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped, she never invoked a privilege. Never declined to answer.'
It comes at a turbulent moment for the Trump administration, which has faced public uproar after the DoJ announced earlier this month that there would be no further disclosures from the so-called 'Epstein Files' about his sex trafficking scheme.
Many in Trump's MAGA base had boosted conspiracy theories about those involved with Epstein, believed to be a network of high-profile individuals, including some in the government.
Senior members of the administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, had previously made claims that there was more to the Epstein case than publicly disclosed.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was accused of child sex trafficking and running a decades-long scheme of sexually abusing women and girls. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while being held in federal jail.
But the sudden reversal disappointed and outraged supporters. Some MAGA supporters and Democrats have accused Trump and officials in the administration of covering up information to protect those involved.
The president angrily attempted to divert attention away from the Epstein Files, an effort that appeared to backfire.
In the weeks following the July 6 memo, a public spotlight has been cast on Trump's former relationship with Epstein. The president previously said the two were friends for many years, but he has denied any involvement in Epstein's crimes. Trump has not been accused of any formal wrongdoing or charged with a crime.
A recent Wall Street Journal article reported that the president sent Epstein a lewd birthday card referencing 'secrets.' The president denied sending any card and filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the WSJ.
Reports from CNN and the WSJ also claimed that Bondi alerted Trump, in early spring, that his name appeared in the Epstein Files. Being mentioned in the files does not suggest any wrongdoing, and hundreds of other people were also named.
The president denied to reporters earlier this month that his name was in the files. Trump has also claimed the Epstein Files were 'made up' by former FBI director James Comey, former president Barack Obama, and former president Joe Biden.
The fallout over the Epstein Files has sent shockwaves throughout the Republican Party. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson sent Congress into an early summer recess to avoid a vote that would force the release of the files.
On Friday, the president tried to divert attention away from the situation again, encouraging people to 'focus on how well the country is doing.'
