Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) introduced a resolution Tuesday urging President Trump and the Department of Justice not to offer any form of clemency in exchange for Ghislaine Maxwell’s testimony about the crimes of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Krishnamoorthi introduced his resolution after several Republican senators warned that granting a pardon to Maxwell or reducing her 20-year prison sentence for sexually exploiting teenage girls would be a bad idea.
The Democratic resolution affirms that Maxwell’s conviction and sentencing “were more than warranted by the facts, and any receipt of a pardon, commutation, or other form of clemency by Ghislaine Maxwell would deny survivors the justice they deserve.”
The resolution formally opposes the granting of a pardon or other form of clemency.
Krishnamoorthi said in a statement that Maxwell “enabled one of the most appalling child exploitation networks in modern history. Her conviction was not only just, it was necessary.”
“The idea that she could now bargain for clemency insults every survivor and undermines our justice system. The message must be clear: no one gets to traffic children and then negotiate their way out of accountability,” he said.
At least eight Democrats have already joined Krishnamoorthi in introducing the resolution: Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), Lou Correa (Calif.), Nabeela Syed Ansari (Ariz.), Dan Goldman (N.Y.), Shri Thanedar (Mich.), Dina Titus (Nev.), Suhas Subramanyam (Va.) and Eric Swalwell (Calif.).
The resolution is the latest example of bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill that the Trump administration may reduce Maxwell’s sentence if she testifies about which powerful and connected elites participated or did not participate in Epstein’s illicit activities.
Several Republican senators told The Hill that it would be a mistake for Trump to grant Maxwell a pardon or allow his administration to reduce her sentence.
“It’s ridiculous that he would consider shortening a sentence for somebody who aided and abetted sexual trafficking as she did,” said a Republican senator who requested anonymity to comment on the sensitive topic.
“She’s trafficking underage children. I can’t imagine anything she could say could nullify her heinous crimes,” the senator added.
Trump hasn’t ruled out a pardon for Maxwell, though he says that no one has approached him about the possibility.
“I’m allowed to do it, but nobody’s asked me to do it,” he told Newsmax on Friday. “I know nothing about the case.”
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