US Senate unanimously urges Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell

The US Senate has unanimously urged President Donald Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker who helped Jeffrey Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls. The resolution was approved without objection and was introduced by Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen.

Senate resolution and lawmakers’ message

The resolution, introduced by Senator Jacky Rosen, says Maxwell should not receive “a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency.” Rosen called it

“horrifying”

that President Trump had even entertained the possibility of clemency and said Maxwell should never receive a pardon for helping Epstein abuse underage girls.

Maxwell’s conviction and sentence

Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and related offenses.

Trump’s comments and past connections

President Trump has not categorically ruled out pardoning Maxwell. When asked about the possibility last year, he said he had the authority to do so but that nobody had approached him with a request. He later said he would consult the US Justice Department following the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Maxwell’s appeal in October 2025.

The coverage notes that Trump and Maxwell moved in the same social circles in New York and Florida during the 1990s and early 2000s. After Maxwell’s arrest in 2020, Trump said,

“I just wish her well, frankly.”

Trump has denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein and says he ended his relationship with Epstein years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest. Maxwell later told Justice Department officials that she had never witnessed Trump behaving inappropriately.

Justice Department interviews and aftermath

As part of the Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein, Todd Blanche, then deputy attorney general and now Trump’s nominee for attorney general, interviewed Maxwell for around nine hours over two days. Maxwell was granted limited immunity for that interview and was transferred to a lower-security federal prison shortly afterward.

Maxwell’s lawyer denied that she had sought anything in return for cooperating but acknowledged that she would welcome relief from her sentence. Todd Blanche has said he would not recommend a pardon.

Reaction to handling of Epstein records

The Senate action comes amid ongoing criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files. The disclosure process has faced criticism over delays, extensive redactions and the absence of major new prosecutions, according to the reporting.