Donald Trump Says He’ll Speak to DOJ About Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon
President Donald Trump said Monday that he would need to “speak to the DOJ” when asked about a potential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking connected to Jeffrey Epstein. During an Oval Office event focused on approving a new mining road in Alaska, Trump told reporters he hadn’t “heard the name in so long” and would “take a look at it.” The exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins came shortly after the Supreme Court rejected Maxwell’s appeal to overturn her conviction earlier that same day. When pressed about Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction, Trump reiterated, “I’ll have to take a look at it.”
The Supreme Court’s decision, issued without comment on the first day of its new term, left Maxwell’s conviction and sentence intact. Her legal team had argued that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement negotiated by Epstein’s attorneys should have protected her from prosecution, but the Department of Justice maintained that Maxwell was never a party to that agreement.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on multiple charges, including sex trafficking of a minor and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Her crimes were tied to her relationship with Epstein, her former boyfriend, as she helped recruit and groom victims for his abuse over several decades. Following her high-profile trial, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison and later transferred from a low-security federal facility in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas. Her transfer came after a July interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—Trump’s former personal attorney—during which she was granted limited immunity and denied seeing any inappropriate behavior involving Trump.
Epstein, 66, was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. Epstein had once described Trump as a close friend, though Trump has since said their relationship ended long before Epstein’s arrest. The disgraced financier was known for his connections with several high-profile figures, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton, though neither has been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s crimes.
Epstein was first convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida. That conviction stemmed from a controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement that allowed him to plead guilty to lesser charges while avoiding federal prosecution—the same deal Maxwell’s lawyers cited unsuccessfully in their appeal.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, expressed disappointment after the Supreme Court’s decision, telling CNN, “We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. But this fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done.” The Justice Department, in its July filing, maintained that Maxwell had no standing in Epstein’s prior plea deal, writing, “Petitioner was not a party to the relevant agreement; only Epstein and the Florida USAO were parties to the NPA.”
For now, Maxwell remains incarcerated in Texas, with no clear timeline for her legal team’s next steps beyond their stated commitment to continue challenging her conviction.