Former US President Donald Trump has declined to rule out issuing a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, while simultaneously batting away questions about newly released documents from the Epstein estate.
Trump's Stance on the Epstein Files
This development follows the release of more than 23,000 documents to Congress by Jeffrey Epstein's estate. Among these documents were hundreds of emails where Trump's name appeared. In one particular email, Epstein himself claimed that Trump "knew about the girls," though he noted the former president "never got a massage."
When questioned by reporters about what Epstein meant by this statement, Trump deflected, stating, "I know nothing about that. It's really what did he mean when he spent all his time with Bill Clinton."
Shifting Focus and a Potential Pardon
Earlier, on his Truth Social network, Trump announced he would instruct Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate other high-profile friends of Epstein, explicitly naming former President Bill Clinton. He justified this by claiming his position as the "chief law enforcement agent" of the United States allowed him to order the Department of Justice to pursue individuals.
When pressed on whether he supported the House of Representatives' efforts to release more of the Epstein files, Trump displayed indifference. "I don't care about it, released or not. If you're going to do it, you have to go into Epstein's friends," he said, specifically mentioning LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman as someone who "spent a lot of time on the island." Trump reiterated, "I was never at his island. This is a Democrat hoax."
Shortly after these remarks, Reid Hoffman responded on the social media platform X, writing, "Trump should release all of the Epstein files: Every person and every document in the files."
The Maxwell Pardon Question
The most significant revelation came when Trump was asked directly if he would rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, who acted as Epstein's fixer, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and other related charges.
Trump's response was non-committal. "I haven't even thought about it. I haven't thought about it for months. Maybe I haven't thought about it at all," he told reporters. When pushed further on why he would not explicitly rule it out, he simply stated, "I don't rule it in or out." This refusal to dismiss the possibility of a pardon for a key figure in one of the most notorious criminal cases of recent years is set to fuel further political debate.
