(Hill) – President Trump told reporters Friday that he had not thought of Githlane Maxwell’s pardon as the longtime Jeffrey Epstein Associate was scheduled to meet Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on the second day.
“That’s something I didn’t think about. I’m allowed to do it, but that’s something I didn’t think about,” Trump told reporters when asked about Maxwell’s pardon and tolerance.
Justice Department officials meet Jeffrey Epstein and Gislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned ex-girlfriend
“I certainly can’t talk about pardons,” he added as he later left the White House for a trip to Scotland.
When asked at the Maxwell Blanche conference, Trump told reporters that he should focus on other Epstein peers and other topics, including the release of documents related to former President Obama and a survey of Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 election.
“I don’t know about the meeting. I know it’s going on, and he’s a great guy. He’s a great lawyer,” Trump said of Blanche.
“And they should focus on how well the country is going to be, or on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led the coup, or they should focus on, they should focus on. [former Treasury Secretary] Harvard’s Larry Summers, that [former President] Bill Clinton, you know well, and many other friends, Jeffrey’s truly close friends [Epstein] It should be spoken. ”
“They don’t talk about them, they talk about me. I have nothing to do with that guy,” he added.
Trump later suggested he had a list of people other than him who were associated with Epstein, whom he could give to the media.
“We should focus on Clinton… Former Harvard president. We should focus on some of the hedge fund people. We’ll pass the list. These people lived with Jeffrey Epstein.
The president twice said he didn’t want to talk about Maxwell’s pardon. He then insisted that he had never been to Epstein’s private island. He then continued to name other people he thought were associated with Epstein.
“You should talk about summer. You should talk about some of his friends, who are men in hedge funds. They’re all over the place. You should talk to Bill Clinton, who has been to the island 28 times.
The Trump administration is facing increasing pressure to release more information from the Epstein Files after the Justice Department released a memo about his suicide death earlier this month. Attorney General Pam Bondy previously said that such files were on her desk.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi told Trump that he had appeared in files related to Epstein in May.
The memo led to massive outrage from within the Republican Party. The White House tries to move forward, then distracted, Republican leaders have tried to contain the rage among GOP lawmakers, but are seeking more Epstein-related material releases.
After Blanche traveled to Tallahassee, Florida, Maxwell’s lawyers held a “very productive” meeting to meet Maxwell on Thursday, saying they “answered all the questions.”
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in connection with Epstein in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She is currently pleading her belief in the Supreme Court. Epstein died in prison awaiting trial in 2019 regarding the related charges.
