Trump will 'take a look' at pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell in extraordinary admission

A presidential pardon could be used to free Jeffrey Epstein's fixer and former girlfriend, convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump hinted in a jaw-dropping admission while speaking in the Oval Office.

Despite questions about President Trump's lengthy association with Maxwell and the notorious convicted paedophile dogging the first year of his second term, he told CNN he would "take a look at" pardoning the 63-year-old sex trafficker and would speak to the Department of Justice (DOJ) about her case.

Trump made the admission after reporter Kaitlan Collins asked the President about the Supreme Court's decision to throw out Maxwell's final legal appeal, saying: "You know, I haven't heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I'd have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?"

In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in trafficking children and facilitating their sexual abuse by infamous paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, who reportedly committed suicide while awaiting trial three years earlier. But with all of her legal appeals exhausted, the last hope for the only person in prison for Epstein's decades of child abuse is now a pardon from President Trump.

The 79-year-old commander-in-chief added that many convicted criminals ask him for a pardon, telling reporters that rap mogul P. Diddy had recently approached the White House for clemency.

But with Trump appearing to admit that he is considering a pardon for Maxwell, Collins pressed him: "But she was convicted of sex trafficking."

"Yeah, I mean, I'm going to have to take a look at it," Trump replied. "I'd have to ask DOJ. I didn't know they rejected it. I didn't know she was even asking for it, frankly."

MAGA supporters have struggled to back Trump in recent months due to major backlash over his administration's alleged cover-up of documents relating to Epstein's crimes and the high-profile individuals who could also be implicated.

This reached a boiling point earlier this year, when the FBI and DOJ closed their investigations into the billionaire financier's crimes, despite Trump's promises on the campaign trail to "release the Epstein files" in office.

"It is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted," officials said.

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's industrial-scale abuse of children have expressed "horror and disgust" at the events of recent months, after it appeared that Ghislaine Maxwell could be receiving preferential treatment from Trump's Justice department, following a move to a minimum security women's prison not often used to house sex offenders.

This move from a tough Florida penitentiary was preceded by two interviews with top DOJ officials, with the White House claiming at the time that "no leniency is being given or discussed" regarding Maxwell's conviction. But Trump's off-the-cuff comments on Monday appear to show that clemency is still on the table.

After the Supreme Court threw out her final appeal, Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus promised: "This fight isn't over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done."