President Donald Trump fielded several questions including from CNN’s Kevin Liptak about Ghislaine Maxwell, saying that he hasn’t considered giving Maxwell a pardon or commutation, although he didn’t rule it out.

Washington

Former President Donald Trump was asked if he would consider a pardon or commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and has appealed her case. Trump responded that he has not thought about it, though he acknowledged it is within his presidential powers.

During the discussion, Trump expressed confidence in Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General interviewing Maxwell, and attempted to redirect attention to other figures associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Trump is currently traveling abroad, distancing himself geographically from the ongoing matter.

Trump asked if he would pardon Ghislaine Maxwell

One of the most interesting things that he was asked and sort of answered was whether he was considering a pardon or commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell. Remember, she is the associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who is down in Tallahassee, Florida yesterday and today speaking with the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is potentially looking for more information about this Epstein case in a bid to kind of tamp down on the furor among some of the president's supporters who believe the administration has not been transparent enough. And the reason this question of a pardon or commutation has come up is because people are wondering what incentive Maxwell will have to kind of spill the beans, to talk to Blanche, to give him the information that he needs. You know, she's serving a 20-year prison sentence down there for sex trafficking, and she has appealed her case. She wants to get out of prison. Listen to what the president said when I asked him this. Would you consider a pardon or a commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell if she cooperated? It's something I haven't thought about. It's something I'm allowed to do, but it's something I have not thought about. But you wouldn't rule it out, sir? So, you hear the president saying that he hasn't thought about it, but that it is within his power to do that. At another point in this, the president was asked, well, do you think Maxwell's words are really credible, given she clearly seems to be jockeying for some sort of leniency? And the president said that Todd Blanche, the person who is interviewing her down there, that he has an enormous amount of faith in him, that he is a great man, that he kind of knows what he's doing. Remember, Blanche is also President Trump's former criminal defense attorney. Now, on this Epstein matter, the president also clearly looking to deflect some of the questions, asking why people aren't asking more about, for instance, Bill Clinton's associations with Epstein, other Democrats who may have had associations with the late convicted sex offender. And so the president, you know, clearly trying to deflect some of those questions as he now tries to also put some geographic distance between himself and this matter. He's on his way now to Scotland, putting the entire Atlantic Ocean between himself and Washington, where this fear has kind of built up.

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Glasgow

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