There's Only One Conclusion to Draw From Trump's Newfound Leniency for Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell and Donald Trump in 1997. Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Last month, the Department of Justice’s response to the Jeffrey Epstein saga culminated in an incredibly bizarre move: The Federal Bureau of Prisons transferred a convicted sex offender to a minimum security prison. The special treatment given by the Trump administration to Ghislaine Maxwell is a travesty of justice. It also suggests only one conclusion: A rotten deal between Trump’s DOJ and Epstein’s accomplice to keep quiet in exchange for preferential treatment.

The treatment is, ultimately, not surprising, given how the Trump administration has handled Maxwell in recent months. From her private meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer, to her abrupt transfer to a cushy minimum-security prison, everything about the Trump administration’s conduct appears designed to shield Trump from fallout in the Epstein sex scandal, which involved more than 1,000 victims.

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Maxwell claimed (and continues to claim) that she was scapegoated for actions carried out by Epstein. But Judge Alison Nathan, in sentencing Maxwell, stated that “Ms. Maxwell is not being punished in place of Epstein or as a proxy for Epstein.” The judge found that Maxwell “over the course of many years participated in a horrific scheme to entice, transport, and traffic underage girls, some as young as 14, for sexual abuse by and with Jeffrey Epstein.” Judge Nathan also said that Maxwell herself had engaged in sexual abuse and that “the damage done to these young girls was incalculable.”

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Ultimately, Trump and the Justice Department have entirely ignored the victims of Maxwell and Epstein, showing no interest in or concern about the women who as minors were subject to horrific and traumatic sexual abuse crimes. It is hard to escape the conclusion that President Trump just wants the Epstein controversy to go away. Even if it takes a pardon of Maxwell or other actions, he appears ready and willing.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/08/trump-pardon-ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-friend.html