This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 5 episode of “Deadline: White House.”
The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s most high-profile victims, is pleading with Donald Trump not to pardon the millionaire’s co-conspirator and confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell. Another survivor said she would be “disgusted” to see Maxwell granted clemency. Despite this, Trump has repeatedly said he is “allowed” to pardon Maxwell. However, he also told reporters that no one has asked him to do so yet.
In my view, the short answer as to why the victims of Epstein and Maxwell have not been consulted about an alleged pardon and why the victims have seemingly been entirely left out of the government’s calculus is that the administration does not appear to care about them at all.
While a pardon for Maxwell would be a slap in the face to all sexual assault victims, we must also acknowledge the broader consequences such a move could have on the rule of law in this country.
America has watched Trump pardon criminals before. On the first day of his second term, the president issued sweeping pardons for the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including those found guilty of committing violent acts. He’s also used his pardon power to grant clemency for the wealthy, famous and well-connected. Many of these people pleaded guilty to serious crimes and were supposed to serve serious time — Trump pardoned them anyway. That kind of approach cheapens our system. If you’re an average American sitting on a jury and you’re presented with strong evidence that someone has committed fraud, or someone has robbed a bank, or someone has trafficked drugs, in the back of your mind you may now be thinking, “Well, this person doesn’t know anybody, and if they did, Trump would let them off. So should I really even convict them?” Folks need to realize that abusing our legal system, as Trump is doing, has serious potential consequences for public safety.
Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. She is currently an MSNBC and NBC News political analyst.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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