On Monday (Oct. 6), President Donald Trump affirmed that he would consider granting a pardon to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, after the Supreme Court rejected her pardon request. He made the declaration at an event in the Oval Office, after CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked him if there was a chance he’d do it. “I haven’t heard the name in so long,” Trump responded. “I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look.”
He followed up right after, stating: “I will speak to the DOJ. I wouldn’t consider it or not consider it.” Collins replied, “But she was convicted of child sex trafficking,” to which Trump answered, “Yeah, I mean, I’m going to have to take a look at it. I have to ask DOJ.” He also said that he would look into the possibility of a pardon for Diddy aka Sean Combs, who recently received a sentence of a little over four years for crimes related to prostitution and trafficking last Friday (Oct. 3).
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence after her 2021 conviction of federal charges associated with criminal acts committed by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. He died as a result of suicide in 2019 while in federal custody, awaiting a trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell’s contention is that when Epstein was convicted in 2008 in Florida, there was an agreement that federal charges wouldn’t be pursued against his associates and that her 2020 indictment was a violation of that agreement.
Federal prosecutors have been adamant against granting Maxwell a pardon, but the Trump administration has behaved in a furtive manner concerning anything related to Epstein, as he and Trump enjoyed a lengthy friendship, which Trump has repeatedly denied. The Department of Justice has said that there is no “client list” and has blocked attempts to disclose the entirety of files related to him, despite a growing call to do so from both Democrats and Republicans in government.
A Maxwell pardon or the possibility of it has led to mounting pressure on President Trump from his base of supporters, including controversial far-right activist Laura Loomer, who in a post on X, formerly Twitter, wrote: “I strongly advise AGAINST anyone lobbying the Trump admin and the DOJ to Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. Do not do it. I repeat. Do not do it.”
