Comer Discourages Pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
On Tuesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) expressed strong opposition to the idea of pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein, after President Trump left that possibility open.
During an interview on CNN, Comer referenced the evidence reviewed by his committee in relation to Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her involvement in Epstein’s activities and the sexual exploitation of minors.
“I don’t think he should,” Comer stated when asked if Trump should consider a pardon for Maxwell. “I’ve been quite vocal about my stance on this issue.”
He added that he believes there is sufficient information—culled from thousands of pages of documents from the Department of Justice, as well as conversations with victims of Epstein and Maxwell—to firmly discourage any pardon or commutation of her sentence.
Comer was responding to Trump’s earlier comments, where he acknowledged the possibility of considering a pardon but emphasized the need for more investigation.
In his remarks, Trump mentioned, “You know, I haven’t heard that name in a long time. We’ll have to take a look at it,” during a conversation with CNN’s Caitlan Collins.
He continued, stating, “I won’t or won’t consider it. I don’t know anything about it. I’ll talk to the Department of Justice.”
When asked about the reasons some believe Maxwell deserves a commuted sentence, Trump noted that “a lot of people have asked me to pardon her,” naming figures like Sean “Diddy” Combs, who just received a prison sentence for related charges.
Collins pointed out that Maxwell’s conviction was specifically for child sex trafficking, to which Trump responded, “Yeah, I mean, we’ll have to look into it.” He admitted he was unaware that her request for a pardon had been denied.
Earlier this year, Maxwell was moved to a low-security prison following her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to review her conviction from 2021.
