House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said on Wednesday that some lawmakers on the committee are in favor of a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for Maxwell answering questions on her and Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme.
Maxwell appeared for a virtual deposition before the committee in February, but she pled the Fifth Amendment and said she would only testify on Epstein’s crimes if she was granted clemency. Maxwell’s demand has caused some debate in the Oversight Committee over a potential pardon, which would have to be granted by President Donald Trump.
“My committee’s split on that,” Comer told POLITICO. “I don’t speak for my committee.”
He did not name any of his colleagues who have voiced support for pardoning Maxwell, but he clarified that he is not on the side of lawmakers who want Trump to offer her the deal.
“I think it looks bad. Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell,” he said.
The lawmakers who support a pardon for the convicted sex trafficker appear to be on the Republican side of the aisle. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said that Democrats are united in their opposition to a pardon for Maxwell.
“That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors. She is a known abuser. She is a known liar,” Garcia said. “If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is … not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public, it’s a part of a massive cover up.”
Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein acquire underage girls for sex, has been pushing for a pardon from Trump for nearly a year. The president was asked last October if he was considering a pardon for Maxwell and said he wasn’t aware that she had requested clemency. Trump added that he would “take a look at it” and “speak to the DOJ.”
After Maxwell refused to answer questions before the Oversight Committee in February, Trump was asked again if he would consider a pardon for her.
“It’s something I haven’t thought about,” he said again. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”
Last week, Maxwell’s lawyer, David Markus, told POLITICO that he remains optimistic that Maxwell will receive a pardon.
“I don’t know what the percentages are,” he said. “There’s a good chance and for good reason that she would get a pardon.”
Markus added that he has not yet spoken directly with the administration about Maxwell’s request.
“I don’t think now is the best time to do it, with everything going on,” he said, referring to the ongoing backlash to the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation. “We’re not on a full court press right now.”
The Oversight Committee, which has been conducting its own probe of the Epstein case, has interviewed multiple high-profile people connected to the convicted pedophile. Last month, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were grilled by the committee over their relationship with Epstein.
The Oversight Committee plans to interview Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in the coming weeks.
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