House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he would “strongly discourage” President Trump from pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Trump declined to rule out the possibility.
In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” Comer pointed to the dearth of evidence he’s reviewed as part of his committee’s investigation into the disgraced financier and Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors.
“I do not think he should,” the Kentucky Republican told host Jake Tapper about whether Trump should consider pardoning Maxwell. “I’ve been very vocal about that.”
“I’ve seen enough information thus far from the thousands of pages of documents that the Department of Justice has turned over, in addition to the documents that we subpoenaed from the estate, in addition to conversations that I’ve had with some of the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, that I can say with confidence — I would strongly discourage any type of pardon or commutation of Maxwell,” he continued.
Comer was asked about remarks Trump made Monday, when the president declined to rule out issuing a pardon for Maxwell but said he would need to look into the matter further.
“You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?” Trump said during an exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in the Oval Office.
“Well, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ [Department of Justice],” he continued. “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.”
Asked why Maxwell might deserve reprieve, Trump said, “a lot of people have asked me for pardons,” including Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was sentenced last week to four years in prison on prostitution charges.
Collins added, “But she was convicted of child sex trafficking.”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m going to have to take a look at it,” the president replied. “I’d have to ask DOJ. I didn’t know they rejected it. I didn’t know she was even asking for it, frankly.”
Maxwell, who was moved earlier this year to a lower-security prison, was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking charges. Epstein died in 2019 in his New York jail cell while awaiting charges.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction.