WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he has not considered granting clemency to convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, though he underscored his authority to issue a pardon if he chooses to.
“I haven’t thought about it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House when asked whether he had considered a pardon or commutation for Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse network. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”
When pressed again later, Trump declined to elaborate. “I don’t want to talk about that,” he said, before offering praise for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who met with Maxwell and her legal team earlier this week in a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida.
The president also reiterated, “I never went to his [Epstein’s] island,” in response to longstanding speculation about his past associations with Epstein.
Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said on Friday that his client is cooperating fully with investigators and urged the public to keep an open mind. “We just ask that folks look at what she has to say with an open mind,” Markus told reporters. “Everything she says can be corroborated and she’s telling the truth. She’s got no reason to lie at this point, and she’s going to keep telling the truth.”
Blanche, according to Trump, is handling the matter professionally. “He’s a professional lawyer. He’s been through things like this before,” Trump said when asked if Maxwell could be trusted while seeking a reduced sentence.
The Justice Department’s renewed engagement with Maxwell comes amid a broader resurgence of public and congressional scrutiny over the Epstein case. The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Maxwell for an August 11 deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, and is also pushing the Justice Department to release documents tied to Epstein’s operations and clients.
A committee spokesperson confirmed this week that the panel voted—with support from both Democrats and three Republicans—to compel the release of Epstein-related files. The vote followed weeks of mounting bipartisan pressure on the Trump administration to provide more transparency, especially after Attorney General Pam Bondi previously claimed to possess a list of Epstein’s associates—only for the DOJ to state this month that no such list exists.
Meanwhile, House Republican leadership decided to recess early for the summer. Democrats allege the move was aimed at avoiding a floor vote on whether to formally compel the Justice Department to hand over Epstein files.
As the Epstein scandal continues to dominate headlines, Trump has sought to redirect political focus. This week, he intensified criticism of former President Barack Obama, accusing him of “treason” over alleged misconduct tied to the 2016 election.
Trump’s comments followed the declassification of a report by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, which she claims reveals that Obama’s administration fabricated aspects of the intelligence community’s findings on Russian interference. Obama’s office dismissed the accusations as “ridiculous” and “bizarre.”
When asked whether last year’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity might shield Obama, Trump replied: “It probably helped him a lot—the immunity ruling. But it doesn’t help the people around him at all. He’s done criminal acts, there’s no question about it, but he has immunity.”
The White House has not confirmed whether any formal pardon application has been filed on Maxwell’s behalf. Trump, now in his second term, has issued 58 pardons and 12 commutations, including sweeping clemency for hundreds of people convicted or awaiting trial for their roles in the January 6 Capitol riot.
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