Trump on Ghislaine Maxwell pardon: 'I'm allowed to do it'
President Trump speaks ahead of Scotland trip
President Trump on Friday delivered remarks at the White House ahead of his trip to Scotland.
President Donald Trump was asked Friday whether he has considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, the girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein who’s serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping him abuse teenage girls.
Reporters questioned Trump about a Maxwell pardon as he was leaving the White House to travel to Scotland. His response comes as Justice Department officials met with Maxwell at a prison in Florida twice this week – and amid fierce backlash from some of Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional Epstein files.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files multiple times, and that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump about his mentions in May. Many high-profile people were also named in the files, according to WSJ, and being named does not mean there was any wrongdoing.
RELATED: Bill Clinton reportedly wrote letter in Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book, WSJ says
FILE - Pictured are Ghislaine Maxwell and Donald Trump, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ford Modeling Agency in 1997 (Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
What did Trump say about Ghislaine Maxwell?
What they're saying:
"I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about," Trump said Friday when asked whether he’d considered pardoning Maxwell.
In a social media post Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Trump "has told us to release all credible evidence" and that if Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the Justice Department "will hear what she has to say."
Blanche met with Maxwell twice on Thursday and Friday.
RELATED: DOJ meets with Ghislaine Maxwell: 'She answered every single question'
"Ms. Maxwell answered every single question. She never stopped, she never invoked a privilege, she never declined to answer. She answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability," attorney David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, where Maxwell met with Blanche.
Blanche says he will meet Maxwell for a second day
Justice Department officials met Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, at the Florida prison where she’s serving a 20-year sentence. This included Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. LiveNOW’s Andrew Craft is getting the latest on the ongoing case with New Mexico criminal defense attorney John W. Day.
Markus said his team was "thankful" the deputy attorney general came to question Maxwell, calling it a "good day."
Asked if his client could potentially receive a pardon or see her prison term reduced, Markus said: "There’s no promises yet. So she’s just answering questions for now."
Why is Ghislaine Maxwell in prison?
The backstory:
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires.
DOJ meets with Ghislaine Maxwell in prison
Officials with the US Justice Department (DOJ) meet Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, at the Florida prison where she is being held. This comes after the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Maxwell. Congressman Ralph Norman, a Republican representing South Carolina joined LiveNOW's Josh Breslow to discuss the controversy over the Epstein files and the potential release.
Epstein, under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
In 2019, Epstein was charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist.
What's next:
The House Committee on Oversight issued a subpoena on Wednesday for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August.
A subcommittee on Wednesday also voted to subpoena the Justice Department for documents related to Epstein. And senators in both major political parties have expressed openness to holding hearings on the matter after Congress’ August recess.
Why is Trump traveling to Scotland?
Dig deeper:
Trump is traveling to Scotland on Friday as his family’s business prepares for the Aug. 13 opening of a new golf course in Aberdeenshire billed as "the greatest 36 holes in golf."
While there, Trump will talk trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a meeting he’s said will take place at "probably one of my properties."
Using this week’s presidential overseas trip — with its sprawling entourage of advisers, White House and support staffers, Secret Service agents and reporters — to help show off Trump-brand golf destinations demonstrates how the president has become increasingly comfortable intermingling his governing pursuits with promoting his family’s business interests.
The Source: This report includes information from President Donald Trump, The Associated Press and previous LiveNow from FOX reporting.