US President Donald Trump has said he would speak to the Department of Justice (DOJ) about a potential pardon for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, after the US Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal.
"I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ. I wouldn’t consider it or not consider it... I don’t know anything about it, but I’ll speak to the DOJ," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
He added that "a lot of people" had asked him for pardons, but did not say whether he was leaning toward granting one.
Supreme Court rejects appeal
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Maxwell’s petition to overturn her conviction on sex trafficking charges related to recruiting underage girls for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The court’s brief, one-line order gave no explanation or indication of dissent.
Maxwell, 63, was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for procuring minors, some as young as 14, for Epstein.
Her defence argued that she was shielded from prosecution under a 2007 non-prosecution agreement Epstein struck with Florida prosecutors, which they claimed also protected his alleged co-conspirators.
Justice Department lawyers countered that the deal did not apply outside Florida and was not binding on federal prosecutors in New York, who pursued the case.
US Solicitor General John Sauer said in a court filing that there was no evidence Epstein’s agreement had been approved by his superiors or extended beyond Florida.
Political reaction
Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the Supreme Court’s decision.
"This fight isn’t over," he said.
"Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done."
The ruling leaves a presidential pardon or clemency as Maxwell’s only potential path to release.
Trump, a one-time acquaintance of Epstein, has repeatedly sought to downplay the political fallout from the case, calling speculation about elite involvement a "Democrat hoax."
Maxwell, the only former Epstein associate to be criminally convicted, was recently transferred from a Florida prison to a minimum-security facility in Texas after being interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer.
