Ex-Republican operative Rick Wilson said Thursday that he anticipates President Donald Trump will extend a pardon to Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
In his Substack, the co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project wrote how Trump's pervasive use of pardons could soon lead to Maxwell's exit from prison.
"And the pardons. Dear God, the pardons," Wilson wrote. "What was once the solemn prerogative of a sovereign, the mercy of a republic, the final conscience of the state, is now a product on a shelf, with a price tag payable in cash, crypto, or the correct political humiliation."
Trump has issued more than 1,700 pardons since returning to office in 2025, including nearly 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters.
"Fraudsters walk. Tax cheats walk. Violent insurrectionists walk," Wilson added. "Campaign donors with federal indictments walk twice and get brunch. Pay the man, take the paper, leave through the back door of the West Wing, and don’t forget to tip the butler. Very soon now, Ghislaine Maxwell will walk. Mark it down."
Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking of a minor, has told lawmakers she will testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency. The move has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members leading the probe into Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon. Maxwell was previously deposed by House lawmakers and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the committee's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.