WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) took to the Senate floor to unanimously pass a resolution opposing any presidential pardon or clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child-trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator. The resolution comes at a time when the Trump Administration was forced to reschedule Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Under Blanche’s supervision, the Department of Justice has completely mishandled the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell case. Todd Blanche met with Maxwell – who was sentenced to 20 years for her role in grooming and trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein – in order to get her to say positive things about Trump. At the same time, Donald Trump has refused to rule out a pardon for Maxwell.
MSNOW: Rosen: “She should be serving in a maximum security prison”
Sen. Rosen: “We can’t stop the president’s pardon power, but I wanted it to be a sense of the Senate that there has to be some red line somewhere. Somewhere that says this isn’t right. That someone who could do the most heinous of crimes- is there nothing you stand for? And so nobody dared to come and object to my amendment. It is the sense of the Senate that Donald Trump will not pardon, give clemency, commute, whatever the legal terms are.”
The Washington Post: Senate resolution opposes pardon for Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell
- The Senate formally urged President Donald Trump on Wednesday not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, accomplice to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- In a resolution, passed by unanimous consent, the Senate expressed that Maxwell, in the interest of justice and accountability, should serve out her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking minors.
- “It’s frankly horrifying that Trump would entertain the idea of clemency for even a second,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), who introduced the resolution. “There should never be a pardon for someone who helped a monster — a monster — abuse underage girls for years.”
The Guardian: Senate unanimously passes resolution opposing pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell
- The resolution was brought on Wednesday, as the Senate weighed Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, to stay in the role permanently.
- Rosen said its unanimous passage sent a clear message to the White House and Blanche that “there should be NO special treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell.”
- By refusing to object, Republicans agreed to the resolution, which states that granting Maxwell “a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency” would be “inconsistent with the interests of justice and accountability for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.”
Axios: Senate goes on record to oppose any possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell
- The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday declaring that Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker who aided Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls, should never receive a presidential pardon.
- Why it matters: Democrats wanted to put every Republican senator on record as opposed to a potential pardon.
- By failing to object to Sen. Jacky Rosen’s resolution, Republicans agreed that the president “should not grant a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell,” according to the resolution.
The Hill: Senate unanimously agrees to oppose pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell
- The Senate unanimously agreed Wednesday that Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex offender and collaborator of Jeffrey Epstein, should not be allowed a presidential pardon or clemency of any kind.
- The resolution was brought by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who said it was to prevent acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom President Trump nominated to stay in the role, from giving Maxwell a pardon in exchange for clearing Trump’s name. Trump has denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.
- “If Republicans advance Todd Blanche’s nomination tomorrow in the Judiciary Committee, this is the least they can do to make their opposition to a Maxwell pardon clear,” she said.
Huffington Post: GOP Senators Really Don’t Want Trump To Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell
- Bipartisanship in the Senate isn’t completely dead ― at least where Ghislaine Maxwell is concerned.
- On Wednesday, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) introduced a resolution declaring that Maxwell should not be given any presidential pardon or clemency.
- “It’s frankly horrifying that Trump would entertain the idea of clemency for even a second for a convicted sex trafficker,” Rosen said in a speech on the Senate floor, according to The Hill.
Raw Story: Senate GOP unanimously abandons Trump after he opens door to Ghislaine Maxwell pardon
- Every Senate Republican went on record against a presidential pardon for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, breaking with President Donald Trump, who has refused to rule one out.
- Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) forced the vote Wednesday through a procedural move called unanimous consent, which passes automatically when no senator objects. No Republican objected, according to Axios.
- That meant Republicans agreed Maxwell “should not” receive “a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency” — the language of Rosen’s resolution.
New York Post: Senate unanimously agrees to oppose pardon for Epstein accomplice, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell
- The Senate unanimously agreed on Wednesday that socialite and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell should not be allowed a presidential pardon or clemency.
- The resolution was introduced by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) to prevent the president from granting “a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency” to Maxwell, the accomplice and occasional girlfriend of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
- Rosen asked for unanimous consent for her resolution during an impassioned speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday — and received no opposition.
Democratic Wins Media: A democrat just forced every senate republican to break with Trump on pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
- This was a clean piece of political jiu-jitsu. Trump has spent the past year refusing to rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein’s former partner.
- So on Wednesday, Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada called his bluff. She brought a resolution declaring that Maxwell should not receive a pardon, commutation, or any clemency, and moved it by unanimous consent, a maneuver that passes automatically unless a single senator stands up to object.
Roll Call: Senate panel postpones Blanche attorney general vote
- While Epstein died in 2019, his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, is still serving a federal prison sentence. On Wednesday, senators agreed via unanimous consent to a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Maxwell shouldn’t receive a presidential pardon or clemency.
- While the resolution is nonbinding, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said it sent a message ahead of any movement on Blanche and was glad no Republicans objected.
- Trump last year wouldn’t rule out the possibility of pardoning Maxwell, and Rosen said she worried about a quid pro quo situation: “I’ll say nice things if you promise me a pardon.”
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