Newsroom
Donald Trump is once again stirring the pot, this time by leaving the door open to a possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted accomplice of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
When asked Monday if he’d consider setting Maxwell free, Trump shrugged it off, but not entirely.
“I haven’t heard the name in so long,” he told reporters. “I can say this, I’d have to take a look. I’ll speak to the DOJ.”
That quick comment, casual as it sounded, landed like a grenade in Washington. It came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Maxwell’s latest appeal, sealing her 20-year sentence for helping Epstein recruit and abuse teenage girls.
For anyone who thought Trump might stay far away from the Epstein saga, think again. His name has shadowed the case for years. He and Epstein were once friends before a reported falling out, but the connection has kept resurfacing, much to the discomfort of his campaign team.
A Maxwell pardon would be a political minefield. Trump’s supporters have long demanded the Justice Department release sealed Epstein files, while his critics warn that any sympathy toward Maxwell would send a disastrous message.
And just when the room couldn’t get any noisier, Trump tossed in another name.
“I call him Puff Daddy,” he said with a grin, referring to rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. “He’s asked me for a pardon.”
Combs was sentenced last week to more than four years in prison on prostitution-related charges. The idea that both Combs and Maxwell might be in Trump’s pardon queue lit up social media faster than campaign staff could refresh their feeds.
Trump’s offhand “I’ll take a look” might have sounded like a brush-off, or maybe a teaser. Either way, it reminded everyone that in Trump world, no topic is off-limits, no matter how radioactive.
