Johnson advises Trump against Maxwell pardon: ‘I would never even consider it’
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) advised President Trump against a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, a former associate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Would you want to see Ghislaine Maxwell pardoned? Or would you want the opposite?” media personality Piers Morgan asked on an episode of his show “Piers Morgan Uncensored” posted Wednesday.
“I would never even consider it. I mean, she’s a convicted human trafficker. She was a party to this. She set it up. By her own admission, she was involved in all this. There’s no way she should ever leave prison, “ Johnson responded.
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On Monday, Trump said he would need to talk to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and look over the case of Maxwell in the wake of the Supreme Court declining to review her sex-trafficking conviction from 2021.
In remarks from the Oval Office, the president repeatedly declined to rule out a pardon when asked about one, and stressed he would need to probe the matter.
“You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?” Trump said while talking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“Well, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.”
In recent months, the Trump administration has faced heat over its handling of documents linked to Epstein from both sides of the aisle.
On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that she has faced more pressure over a petition to trigger a House vote compelling the release of files linked to Epstein than any other issue.
“My signature is on that discharge petition, and there has not been another issue where I have ever received more pressure than that one, and I’m pretty much shocked by it. I can’t imagine — I’ve never understood how this is an issue,” Greene told NewsNation’s Blake Burman on “The Hill.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House and an attorney for Maxwell for comment.