A top Democrat introduced a resolution Tuesday opposing a presidential commutation or pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein who is now serving time in prison for sex trafficking.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), who introduced the resolution, is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. Raskin recently claimed that Maxwell is pursuing a commutation application, citing whistleblower information reviewed by Democrats on the committee. He did not reveal what the application would entail or disclose the full whistleblower information.
President Donald Trump has indicated he is not considering a pardon or commutation but has also not ruled out doing so. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in recruiting and sexually exploiting young women and girls for Epstein.
“Sigh. This kind of resolution is performative virtue signaling,” David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Maxwell, said in a statement. “Shouldn’t Congress prioritize substantive legislative work rather than meaningless gestures?”
Markus did not respond when asked if Maxwell was pursuing a commutation.
Raskin’s resolution is widely seen as legally toothless because the Constitution grants Trump broad pardon powers that cannot be curbed by Congress. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) introduced a similar resolution to Raskin’s in August, but it was never brought up for a vote.
But the resolution could put House members on record opposing a pardon for Maxwell, adding pressure to the White House if the chamber votes overwhelming in favor, as it did last week on releasing more records related to Epstein.
“It is true that the President has unilateral control over the pardon power. But Congress has the unilateral power to speak on behalf of the lawmaking branch and the people we represent,” Raskin said in a statement. “Just as President Trump aggressively lobbied Members of Congress not to vote for release of the Epstein files (until he changed his mind at the last minute), we have the right to speak about the abuse of the pardon power to violate the rule of law, justice and public safety.”
Congress voted nearly unanimously last week for a bill to compel the Justice Department to release its records on Epstein. All but one member of the House voted for the bill. Trump initially opposed the effort, claiming it was a Democratic “hoax.” The president flipped his position and encouraged Republicans to vote for the documents’ release once it became apparent that a significant number of Republicans also supported the measure.
The Epstein case has become a major wedge issue between the Republican base, which has demanded greater transparency, and Trump, who would like to see the issue go away. Trump campaigned on more transparency in the case but has so far declined to release all Justice Department records.
Trump’s allies have asserted that Raskin’s resolution is a waste of time because Republicans in Congress have largely indicated that they would also oppose a Maxwell commutation or pardon. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told Kristen Welker of NBC News that Maxwell’s 20 years was a “pittance” and discouraged a pardon.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Kentucky) has discouraged Trump from pardoning Maxwell. Comer’s committee has led congressional efforts to investigate the Epstein case.
“I’ve seen enough information thus far from the thousands of pages of documents that the Department of Justice has turned over, in addition to the documents that we subpoenaed from the estate, in addition to conversations that I’ve had with some of the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, that I can say with confidence I would strongly discourage any type of pardon or commutation of Maxwell,” Comer told CNN’s Jake Tapper earlier this month.
After Raskin’s initial claim that Maxwell was pursuing a commutation application, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a commutation or pardon “is not something [Trump] is talking about or even thinking about at this moment in time.”
“These Democrats are so pathetic they will do anything to distract from their colleagues like [Rep.] Stacey Plaskett and [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries soliciting money and dinner from Jeffrey Epstein AFTER he was a known sex offender,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement in response to the latest Raskin resolution.
Plaskett, a Democrat from the U.S. Virgin Islands, texted with Epstein during a congressional hearing in 2019, potentially influencing her questions for Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer. The Post reported the text exchange, leading to an unsuccessful censure motion against her last week. Plaskett also received campaign donations from Epstein, who donated handsomely to politicians from the territory where he maintained his private island. Plaskett said in 2019 that she would return Epstein’s campaign donations following public outcry.
Epstein received a campaign donation solicitation from a fundraising firm in 2013 that included an invitation to a private event with Jeffries, then a rising Democrat from Brooklyn. Comer asserted on the House floor earlier this month that the invitation amounted to “coordination” with Epstein. Jeffries called Comer a “malignant clown” when asked about Comer’s assertion at a news conference, adding that he didn’t know what the Republican was talking about.
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