As any constitutional scholar will tell you, the Constitution devotes as much time defining the limits of presidential power as it does defining its broad reach. But there is one exception to this: the presidential pardon power.
That broad power is clearly spelled out in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1: “The President…shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”
The Supreme Court has, in effect, subsequently interpreted that provision as allowing a president to pardon anyone, anytime, for any offense (except impeachment). In his masterful book, “The Pardon,” CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin argues that use of the pardon is the one time where a president is, for all practical purposes, a “king.”
Such an awesome power was bound to be abused, and several presidents, Republican and Democrat, have done so. Among other abuses, Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon to spare him from prison. Bill Clinton and Joe Biden pardoned members of their own families near the end of their terms. President Trump pardoned supporters who stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6.
But no previous abuse of the pardon can compare with what dominated the Sunday morning news shows last weekend, and which Trump has so far not ruled out: A possible presidential pardon for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Let’s remember who she is and what she is serving time for. Maxwell had more than a romantic relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. For years, she was Epstein’s enabler and procurer. Several young women testified that it was Maxwell herself who had sought them out, introduced them to Epstein, persuaded them to have sex with Epstein and other prominent men, trained them in sexual techniques, and herself participated in some of their sexual encounters.
In 2020, federal prosecutors charged that between 1994 and 1997, Maxwell personally “assisted, facilitated, and contributed” to the abuse of minor girls despite knowing that one of three unnamed victims was 14 years old.” She was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for what Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has accurately described as “terrible, unspeakable, conspiratorial acts and acts against innocent young people.”
And that should be the end of the story, but it’s not. Suddenly, having failed in every other attempt to change the narrative on Epstein, the Trump administration is now counting on Maxwell to be its lifeline. Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, now deputy attorney general, rushed to Tallahassee last week and spent nine hours over two days interviewing Maxwell.
Why? We know why Maxwell agreed to talk: She wants to get out of prison. She has already asked the Supreme Court to overturn her criminal conviction. And now she is clearly angling for a presidential pardon from a man who admits he was once one of Epstein’s best friends.
But by spending so much time with her, Blanche triggered a wave of speculation about a Maxwell pardon. This is especially bizarre, given that Maxwell has nothing to do with all the questions swirling around the White House about the Epstein matter.
What Trump’s MAGA base wants to know is why he and other administration officials spent six years spreading the conspiracy theory that Epstein was murdered while his client list was being covered up to protect powerful “elites” only, once in office, to turn around and report that Epstein committed suicide and there is no client list. Why won’t they simply release all the Epstein files?
Granted, the idea that anyone convicted of sex trafficking in underage girls would merit a presidential pardon is unthinkable. Even Johnson, in a rare break with Trump, admitted “I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would.”
But what’s even more unthinkable is that Trump didn’t immediately shoot it down. Instead, when asked by reporters whether he would consider a pardon for Maxwell, Trump would only offer a weak: “It’s something I haven’t thought about. I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”
Really? Whether or not to pardon a sexual predator is not something Trump should have to think about. His answer should have been an immediate, emphatic: “No way, no how. Period.” It’s insane even just to toy with the idea.
Clearly, this is one point on which Republicans and Democrats can agree: Sexual predators don’t get a mulligan. Ghislaine Maxwell does not deserve a presidential pardon. Trump should stop even teasing the possibility of giving her one.
Bill Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”
