White House denies Trump considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
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The White House has denied author Michael Wolff’s claim that Donald Trump considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell to protect himself from potential revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, dismissing the allegation as fabricated and baseless.
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In this July 2, 2020, file photo, Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in New York
The White House has pushed back against allegations made by author Michael Wolff, who suggested that US President Donald Trump once contemplated issuing a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell due to concerns she might expose details about his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In comments to the Daily Beast, Wolff claimed that during Trump's first term, the idea of pardoning Maxwell was floated when her trial for sex trafficking charges linked to Epstein was approaching. According to Wolff, Trump's advisers ultimately persuaded him to abandon the idea, warning it would trigger severe political fallout.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung issued a sharp response, dismissing the claims outright. "Michael Wolff ... has been proven to be a fraud. He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain," Cheung said.
A senior White House official also denied Wolff's account, insisting there had never been any internal discussions about pardoning Maxwell.
Epstein Secrets
Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in connection with Jeffrey Epstein, who faced federal charges in 2019 for trafficking minors for sexual exploitation. Prosecutors alleged Epstein sexually abused numerous underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005, sometimes involving victims as young as 14. Authorities said he paid the girls in cash and recruited some of them to bring in others.
After his arrest, Epstein was ordered to remain in custody without bail. He was later found dead in his jail cell in July 2019. The official cause of death was ruled a suicide, though the circumstances surrounding his death have fueled widespread speculation.
Read more: Prosecutors knew Epstein assaulted teenagers years before plea deal
Earlier this year, Elon Musk stirred controversy by claiming that the reason files related to Epstein's activities remain sealed is because Trump is mentioned in them. However, according to a recent memo released by the FBI and the Department of Justice, Epstein did not possess a "client list" and was not engaged in blackmailing high-profile individuals.
