House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday reportedly rejected the idea that President Donald Trump should consider granting clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, after Trump declined to rule out a pardon earlier in the week.
Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Johnson said there was “no way” Maxwell should ever be released from prison. The Louisiana Republican’s comments came in response to Trump’s remarks Monday, when the president said he would “take a look” at Maxwell’s case after being asked whether she might be a candidate for a presidential pardon.
“Ghislaine Maxwell’s attempt at an appeal has failed. Donald Trump was asked if he might pardon her. As you know, that’s a very contentious issue. He kind of batted it away and said, ‘We’ll take a look at it,’ which seemed to suggest the door may be open,” Morgan said to Johnson.
“I would never even consider it,” Johnson responded firmly. “I mean, she’s a convicted human trafficker. She was a party to this, she set it up by her own admission, she was involved in all this. There’s no way she should ever leave prison.”
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and other crimes related to her role in recruiting and grooming young girls for Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in federal custody two years earlier. Her conviction followed years of allegations that Epstein and Maxwell had used their influence to exploit minors under the guise of elite social and business networks.
Trump’s comments came during an interview Monday, when he was asked directly if Maxwell might receive clemency. “I don’t know… I’ll look at it,” Trump said. “I have a lot of people have asked me for pardons. I call them— Puff Daddy has asked me for a pardon.”
When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pointed out, “But she was convicted of child sex trafficking,” Trump replied, “Yeah, I mean, I’m going to have to take a look at it. I have to ask DOJ. I didn’t know they rejected it. I didn’t know she was even asking for it, frankly.”
The remarks quickly drew backlash, particularly from victims and their families. Sky Roberts, the brother of Virginia Giuffre — one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers who died by suicide earlier this year — criticized Trump’s response as “disgraceful” and “hurtful.”
“Why is this even a conversation? She’s a convicted—she was convicted of basically running a sex trafficking ring,” Roberts said in an interview on MSNBC. “My sister would be very hurt by it because we did believe based off of the campaign that he ran that he would do the right thing, and right now he seems to have amnesia, as does most of the campaign administrators or people that he appointed.”
While Trump’s offhand remarks may have reflected uncertainty rather than intent, Johnson’s unequivocal rejection signaled a clear position from congressional Republican leadership. “There’s no way she should ever leave prison,” the Speaker said, underscoring the seriousness of Maxwell’s crimes and the enduring political sensitivity surrounding the Epstein scandal.
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