“I think it looks bad,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY).
By Catholics for Catholics
A pardon for Jeffrey Epstein’s associate?
It’s not so far-fetched. In fact, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said on Wednesday that some lawmakers on the committee want a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate in a give-and-take for answering questions on her and Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme.
In February, Maxwell showed up for a virtual deposition before the committee, however, she pled the Fifth Amendment and said she would only testify on Epstein’s crimes if she was granted clemency. Her request has caused some debate in the Oversight Committee over a possible pardon, which would have to be granted by President Donald Trump, according to a story by The Daily Wire.
“My committee’s split on that,” Comer told POLITICO. “I don’t speak for my committee.”
Comer remained mum about who were the members who said they wanted to pardon Maxwell. He made it clear that he was not on the side who wished Trump would extend her a deal.
“I think it looks bad. Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell,” he said.
Oddly, it is the Republicans who appear to be on the side of pardoning the convicted sex trafficker. Conversely, Democrats like Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said that his party colleagues 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 is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein acquire underage girls for sex. She has been lobbying for a pardon from Trump for nearly a year, but the president was asked last October if he was deliberating 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.”
The Oversight Committee plans to interview Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in the coming weeks.
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