How Do You Make a Deal With Trump?

What would a Maxwell pardon deal even look like?

Author

mister mix
July 28, 2025

The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, said on Sunday he would have “great pause” about granting a pardon or commutation to Ghislaine Maxwell while another House Republican said it should be considered as part of an effort to obtain more information about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.

[…]

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has been pushing for disclosure of more Epstein information, said a pardon should be on the table for Maxwell.

“That would be up to the president. But if she has information that could help us, then I think she should testify. Let’s get that out there. And whatever they need to do to compel that testimony, as long as it’s truthful, I would be in favor of,” he told Welker on Meet the Press.

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who has joined Massie’s effort to release more information, said he did not support a pardon for Maxwell, who was charged with perjury in connection to a civil deposition in 2016 (prosecutors did not move forward with those charges once they obtained her sex-trafficking conviction.)

“I’m concerned that the deputy attorney general Todd Blanche is meeting with her supposedly one-on-one. Look, I agree with Congressman Massie that she should testify. But she’s been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files. This is why we need independent evidence,” he said on Meet the Press.

I didn’t have Ro Khanna on my Epstein bingo card, but good for him. And he’s right, Maxwell wouldn’t be a reliable witness since she’s a liar who would be lying to get out of jail.

The “deal” that Trump will make with Maxwell for a pardon or commutation is one where Maxwell’s only leverage is her willingness to say whatever Todd Blanche tells her to say. But once she says it, what is Trump’s motivation to pardon her? A pardon or commutation would discredit her testimony. I guess Maxwell doesn’t have many moves here, so she could throw the dice, but the risk that Trump wouldn’t do anything for her once he got what he wanted is pretty high.

The problem with making any deal with Trump is that he’s untrustworthy and capricious, so no deal with him is worth the paper that it’s printed on. In addition, he sees the willingness to make a deal as weakness that he can exploit. This is why Columbia is being stupid, and why Canada and Mexico and the rest aren’t running to the bargaining table when Trump issues his tariff threats. It’s also why an operator like Ghislane Maxwell is going to be reluctant to fall for the first deal that hits the table.

The other interesting thing that Democrats (Khanna and Robert Garcia) did this week was to request a copy of Epstein birthday book from his estate’s attorneys. Chip, chip, chip.

(BTW, I found this resource for tracking Trump’s tariffs, which lists them by country. It’s a reminder of what a mess they are.)

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