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Photo: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News/Getty Images

Hey, if you were president, would you pardon a person convicted of child sex trafficking? Most people would say “no.” And they’d probably answer even faster if their friendship with said sex trafficker was at the center of one of the biggest scandals of their presidency.

Donald Trump went with a different tactic on Monday. During an Oval Office press conference, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked the president if he’d consider pardoning Ghislane Maxwell, now that the Supreme Court has declined to review the 2021 conviction of Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice.

“I haven’t heard the name in so long,” he said. “I can say this: I’d have to take a look at it.”

Trump suggested he was totally ignorant of Maxwell’s appeal, asking Collins for details. “Well, I’ll take a look at it,” he repeated. “I will speak to the DOJ. I wouldn’t consider it or not consider it. I don’t know anything about it, but I’ll speak to the DOJ.”

Then Trump tried to deflect by noting that Sean Combs — another old pal recently convicted of sex-related offenses — had already asked him for a pardon.

“I have a lot of people that have asked me for pardons. Uh, I call him ‘Puff Daddy.’ He’s asked me for a pardon,” he said.

Trump was trying to merely play dumb, but he’s actually an idiot if he thought this strategy would work.

He said he hadn’t heard Maxwell’s name “in so long” like he was struggling to remember someone he’d crossed paths with a few times in the ’90s. There are plenty of photos of Trump partying with Maxwell, but we don’t even have to go back that far. Shortly after Maxwell was arrested in 2020 for her role in helping Epstein abuse girls, Trump said, “I just wish her well, frankly.” Now Maxwell is at the center of a major scandal hanging over Trump’s second term. It’s been only one month since the House Oversight Committee released the image of the poem attributed to Trump in the Epstein birthday book put together by Maxwell, prompting a new round of denials from the White House.

And we know Trump isn’t totally ignorant of what became of Maxwell after her arrest. During a July 25 press conference, he said he was aware that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was meeting with her in prison. Trump even addressed a question about pardoning Maxwell, saying, “It’s something I haven’t thought about. I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”

Even Trump’s allies did not buy him pleading ignorance on Maxwell. Hours after the president gave his noncommittal answer in the Oval Office, right-wing activist Laura Loomer — who has criticized his handling of the Epstein scandal — warned there would be “no coming back” from pardoning Maxwell.

I strongly advise AGAINST anyone lobbying the Trump admin and the DOJ to Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell.Do not do it. I repeat. Do not do it. There will be no coming back from that. I repeat again. For the love of God. Do NotDo It @realDonaldTrump @JDVance @PamBondi

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 6, 2025

So Trump’s “I don’t know her” act just annoyed MAGA types who are still waiting for his administration to release the Epstein files and reminded everyone of all the suspicious things he’s said about his former pal Ghislane.

Trump’s Dumb Act on Ghislane Maxwell Pardon Fooled No One

Trump’s Dumb Act on Ghislane Maxwell Pardon Fooled No One