Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime co-conspirator of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is preparing a commutation application to be reviewed by the Trump administration, according to a new document obtained by the House Judiciary Committee Democrats.
If approved by President Donald Trump, Maxwell could see her sentence — 20 years for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme — significantly reduced. She wrote in an apparent message to her lawyer Leah Saffian, provided to Judiciary Democrats by an unidentified whistleblower, that she would send application materials through the warden.
“I am struggling to keep it all together as it is big and there are so many attachments,” she wrote in a very brief message with the subject line “RE: Commutation Application.”
She added, “More coming to replace others..hopefully it will all make sense.”
The Supreme Court has already rejected Maxwell’s appeal to her conviction, meaning Trump’s pardon could be her only clear means to escape her decadeslong sentence. The president has not ruled out granting her a pardon.
Even years after Epstein’s apparent suicide behind bars in 2019, the case has presented a political quagmire for the GOP, given Trump’s relationship with the disgraced financier (Trump has said the two had a falling out years ago).
Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to stoke division within Trump’s base by arguing his administration has reneged on a promise for transparency in the case.
In July, Maxwell sat for a prolonged two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in which she extolled the president and said she had never seen him in an inappropriate setting. She also claimed to have “never, ever [seen] any man doing something inappropriate with a woman of any age” during the interview, although a host of evidence has supported her role in Epstein’s schemes.
Shortly afterward, Maxwell was transferred from a Florida low-security prison to a Texas prison camp. Democrats have argued she has received special treatment since she began cooperating with the administration’s renewed review of the case.
In a letter to Trump, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, also pointed to additional information provided to his office, suggesting that “Maxwell’s meals have been customized and prepared by federal prison camp staff.” Additionally, the information suggested that Maxwell’s guests could bring computers, and the warden helped organize visits for Maxwell that included “snacks and refreshments for her guests.”
Maxwell was also given special time to play with a service dog in training, per the information from the whistleblower.
“You should not grant any form of clemency to this convicted and unrepentant sex offender,” Raskin wrote in a letter to Trump. “Your Administration should not be providing her with room service, with puppies to play with, with federal law enforcement officials waiting on her every need, or with any special treatment or institutional privilege at all.”
Raskin asked that Blanche, who interviewed Maxwell, sit for a public hearing with the committee. Democrats, currently in the minority, do not have the power to subpoena witnesses or hold formal hearings.
Raskin also asked Trump, in the letter, whether he had previously discussed the potential commutation with his staff and whether he had directed special treatment for Maxwell.
