Donald Trump has said he is “allowed” to grant convicted teen sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell her freedom.
Before jetting off for his visit to Scotland, the US leader said as he left the White House that he hadn’t thought about giving a pardon or commutation – although he didn’t rule it out. “It’s something I haven’t thought about,” he said. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”
Asked again later if clemency was on the table for the British socialite, he added: “I can’t talk about that now… it’s very sensitive.”
Of the talks between Maxwell and his Deputy Attorney, Todd Blanche, the president said: “I don’t know about the meeting. I know it’s taking place, and he’s a fantastic man. He’s a great attorney.”
The Brit is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, and is the only person to be convicted in the case.
As President, Trump has the authority to grant pardons or commute sentences. He has granted executive clemency to more than 1,600 individuals, all of whom were charged or convicted of federal criminal offences.
Earlier this month, the President’s Department of Justice controversially announced that no charges would be brought against Jeffrey Epstein’s high-profile associates, including Prince Andrew. The move has sparked an unprecedented backlash against Trump from within his MAGA supporters, who are furious that no one other than Maxwell has faced justice. Some of his outraged supporters have even burned their red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats.
The president himself has repeatedly lashed out at being asked why no charges have been brought.
Maxwell has appealed to America’s Supreme Court to have her conviction overturned. Her lawyers argue that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement in Florida between Epstein and the US government protected her. But a federal appeals court already ruled against the 63-year-old, and the Department of Justice is now calling on the Supreme Court to do the same.
The move has led Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus, to question whether Trump knows his lawyers were arguing to keep her locked up.
Many Americans believe the Epstein files that Trump had promised to release in full were suddenly shut down after Elon Musk named the US leader as being identified within them. Markus has added more fuel to the fire by saying he believes Trump would not stop Maxwell’s conviction from being quashed due to the non-prosecution agreement.
He said: “I would be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal.
“He’s the ultimate dealmaker – and I’m sure he’d agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it.”
The lawyer added: “With all the talk about who’s being prosecuted and who isn’t, it’s especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the US government made and broke.”
The president’s concern is that Maxwell may now decide to speak about his friendship with Epstein in an effort to restore her reputation or retaliate against those she believes left her to take the fall. While Trump has denied any wrongdoing and insists he severed ties with Epstein years before the financier’s 2019 arrest, the pair frequently socialised in the early 2000s, including at Mar-a-Lago.
Maxwell attended events at several of Trump’s properties during the same period. The Mirror previously reported how the caged British socialite was considering asking her old pal, the president, for a pardon, as he is in the White House.
Trump was a long-time associate of Epstein and Maxwell and was famously videotaped at a party discussing the appearance of young girls who were present during a conversation with the late paedophile. During his first term in the White House, he was concerned by a US newspaper story in July 2020 about her arrest.
It quoted a friend of Epstein as describing Maxwell as believing herself to be “protected by the intelligence communities she and [Epstein] helped with information … by Prince Andrew, President Clinton and even by President Trump,” whom they described as having been “well-known to be an acquaintance of her and Epstein’s”.
According to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s book about Trump, Confidence Man, the US leader tackled his advisers about the story at an Oval Office meeting. “You see that article in the Post today that mentioned me?” he asked aides. When they didn’t react, Trump pressed them further, asking: “She say anything about me?”
Maxwell, 63, Oxford-educated and the daughter of crooked tycoon Robert Maxwell, was once a fixture in the same Palm Beach and New York elite circles as Trump. The president has acknowledged knowing her for years, and the pair were frequently seen together at high society events in the 1990s and 2000s.
When Maxwell was first arrested, Trump’s response raised eyebrows. “I just wish her well,” he said during a White House briefing. “I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they [Maxwell and Epstein] lived in Palm Beach,” he added. “But I wish her well, whatever it is.”
The remarks had many questioning just how deep their connection ran.
The FBI’s decision to end its Epstein probe came as Attorney General Pam Bondi, appointed by the president, faces growing scrutiny over contradictory statements she has made about the case. In February, she confirmed the existence of a non-public list of Epstein’s alleged clients, saying there were “tens of thousands of videos and documents” still held by the FBI, some of which allegedly showed “horrific crimes involving minors.”
However, last week, Trump’s US Department of Justice stated that it had concluded its review and had “no further information” to share with the public. The abrupt reversal prompted questions for the White House.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Bondi, saying: “She was referring to the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper, in relation to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes… and I’ll let her speak to that.” The contradiction intensified criticism that the Trump administration has failed Epstein’s victims, many of whom have accused the justice system of protecting the powerful while offering only one conviction.