House Oversight Committee Republicans ‘Split’ Over Whether Convicted Child Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Pardoned

White House/Ralph Alswang

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are reportedly split over whether convicted child sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell should be pardoned by President Donald Trump in exchange for her cooperation in the Epstein investigation.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday that “a lot of people” believed it was worth pardoning Maxwell in exchange for her testimony on Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.

“My committee’s split on that,” he said, before revealing that he was personally against such a deal as it “looks bad.”

Comer told Politico, “Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell.”

While Comer refused to say who exactly was in favor of Maxwell receiving a pardon, House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA) insisted that all Democrats on the committee were unanimously opposed to such a deal.

“That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors,” he said. “She is a known abuser. She is a known liar.”

Garcia continued, “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 child sex trafficking – has so far refused to speak to the House Oversight Committee unless granted clemency.

“If this Committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path. Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” said Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus in February. “Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation.”

Trump, a former friend of Epstein, has not ruled out a pardon for Maxwell.

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