Devastating Files That Could Blow Trump’s Epstein Escape Bid
Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out pardoning Jeffrey Epstein’s former accomplice.
The sex trafficker Donald Trump is considering pardoning has repeatedly lied about her long-standing role in Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex abuse operation and, according to an official US government assessment, should not be trusted to tell the truth.
While the president refuses to rule out a plea deal with Ghislaine Maxwell to quell the controversy surrounding the Epstein case, a 2022 Justice Department sentencing memo criticized the convicted sex offender and warned her about the steps she would be willing to take to reduce her sentence.
“In sum, the defendant appears to decide when she wants to reveal the facts in court, and those facts change when it serves her interests,” the memo reads.
“If one thing stands out from the defendant’s sentencing statement, it is her complete inability to address her criminal conduct and her complete lack of remorse. Instead of offering even a shred of acceptance of responsibility, the defendant desperately attempts to shift the blame.”
The memo was released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York after Maxwell’s conviction for sex trafficking and conspiracy to assist Epstein in the recruitment and abuse of minors.
But the document resurfaced in recent days after Trump—entangled in a major political quagmire surrounding the Epstein files—ordered Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche to meet with Maxwell in the hopes of finding a resolution to the case.
Blanche, who represented Trump during his criminal trial last year, spent two days meeting with Maxwell last week. According to her lawyer, David Oscar Marcus, they discussed “over 100 different people” connected to Epstein.
One of those people is likely the president, who spent years associating with the convicted financier but maintains he had nothing to do with his sex trafficking operation.
One of Maxwell’s victims, Virginia Roberts (later renamed Virginia Giuffre), was recruited from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, where she worked at the age of 17.
On Monday, Marcus said Maxwell would appeal her conviction not only to the Supreme Court, but also directly to Trump, demanding that the president acknowledge that she was the “scapegoat” for Epstein’s crimes.
But the Justice Department memo suggests otherwise, detailing the extent of Maxwell’s efforts to befriend vulnerable girls—some as young as 14 and all from single-parent families—and traffic them to Epstein’s properties in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
But her abusive behavior wasn’t limited to manipulating the victims. She also participated in their sexual abuse, the memo states.
Maxwell also lied repeatedly under oath in a civil affidavit related to a lawsuit filed by one of the victims, according to the memo.
She then lied again about her separation from Epstein in 2002 (even though flight records show she traveled several times on his private jet between 2003 and 2005), and about her finances (records show Epstein transferred millions into her account).
“Defendant Maxwell’s attempt to defame the government in order to prosecute her, and her claim that she is responsible for Epstein’s crimes, are absurd and offensive,” the memo states.
“She must be held accountable for her disturbing role in a vast child exploitation scheme.”
However, Trump has not ruled out pardoning Maxwell or striking a plea deal to commute her sentence.
“I have the authority to grant him a pardon, but no one has contacted me and no one has asked me to,” he said Monday.
“It’s in the news, but for now, it would be inappropriate to discuss it.”
This decision is likely to anger the president’s inner circle, supporters of the MAGA movement, and Republicans in general, many of whom dislike the convicted felon for her role in aiding Epstein in his heinous crimes.
“In my opinion, 20 years is a little short,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on “Meet the Press” this weekend.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump White House aide, was even more scathing.
“There’s a special place in hell for women who help men abuse young women,” she told CNN.
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger said Trump hasn’t ruled out pardoning Maxwell “because she knows a lot. She knows Trump, and if Trump pardons her, she’s not going to talk.”
“How are you going to spin this one?” Kinzinger, a never-Trumper, asked MAGA supporters in a video posted online.
Are we concerned about child sex trafficking, yes or no? Answer that question, guys.
