House Democrats are ramping up pressure on the White House to prevent a reprieve for Ghislaine Maxwell, with some key lawmakers expressing concern over the possibility of a pardon for the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a resolution on Tuesday registering opposition to commuting, pardoning or granting clemency to Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse and exploit young girls.
“Every Member should support this Resolution to send a clear and unequivocal message in advance to President Donald Trump before he makes a mockery of the pardon power once again,” Raskin said in a statement.
Ye there is no indication at this time that Trump plans to pardon or commute Maxwell’s sentence, though he has not ruled it out. Weakening or eliminating Maxwell’s sentence would carry significant political risk for the president as the Epstein controversy continues to roil the Republican Party and the first year of Trump’s second presidency. Trump abruptly reversed his position and recently signed a bill to force his Justice Department to release its files on the investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in 2019 in prison.
“You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long,” Trump said last month after he was asked if he’d pardon Maxwell after the Supreme Court rejected her challenge to her criminal conviction. “I can say this: that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look…I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.”
Democrats have continued to press Republicans on an issue that has irritated Trump and divided the GOP. They appear to be shifting the spotlight to Maxwell following a successful vote to release the Epstein files.
Raskin’s resolution comes after Democrats on the Oversight Committee obtained and released a document disclosed by a whistleblower indicating that Maxwell is preparing a commutation application for review by the Trump administration.
“America opposes the grant of any get-out-of-jail-free card to the unrepentant, unremorseful liar and criminal who was an indispensable actor in a vicious billion-dollar international child sex trafficking ring.” Raskin said of his bill. “Let’s take a stand against the child traffickers and sexual predators—and for the survivors of Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes.”
It certainly would be a purely symbolic gesture if the House were to pass such a resolution because they cannot restrict the president’s presidential pardon power,” said Liz Oyer, the former pardon attorney at the Justice Department.
Raskin’s resolution is largely symbolic as neither Congress nor the judiciary branch has any legal ability to restrict presidential pardon authority. But after a successful bipartisan effort forced the Trump administration’s hand on passage of a bill to release the Epstein files, lawmakers may be emboldened to continue their campaign on the issue.
“It certainly would be a purely symbolic gesture if the House were to pass such a resolution because they cannot restrict the president’s presidential pardon power,” said Liz Oyer, the former pardon attorney at the Justice Department under President Biden. “But the fact that they are even considering doing this highlights that people are taking this seriously and are concerned that Trump hasn’t ruled out this pardon and this commutation that would really defy all traditional norms about who is an appropriate candidate for executive clemency.”
The administration’s treatment of Maxwell has already elicited criticism after she was interviewed by Trump’s deputy attorney general over the summer, and subsequently transferred to a minimum security prison camp where she has enjoyed special privileges, according to the whistleblower.
And Trump has not shied away from utilizing executive authority to benefit perceived allies, granting clemency to a broad range of donors, culture war figures and MAGA adherents since taking office.
Jacqueline Alemany is co-anchor of "The Weekend" and a Washington correspondent for MS NOW.