--- title: Trump: Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon 'Inappropriate' to Discuss ‘Right Now’ description: Trump continued to not rule out pardoning Ghislane Maxwell. He also said he "never had the privilege of going to" Epstein's private island canonical: https://time.com/7305903/donald-trump-ghislane-maxwell-pardon/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-28T15:19:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T13:05:55.410Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump: Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon 'Inappropriate' to Discuss ‘Right Now’ og:description: Trump continued to not rule out pardoning Ghislane Maxwell. He also said he "never had the privilege of going to" Epstein's private island og:url: https://time.com/7305903/donald-trump-ghislane-maxwell-pardon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0792f81545727a36/6998c8ab9fbc7c2fddd9a4be/GettyImages-2226604922.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: U.S. President Donald Trump Visits Scotland For Golfing Getaway og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump: Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon 'Inappropriate' to Discuss ‘Right Now’ twitter:description: Trump continued to not rule out pardoning Ghislane Maxwell. He also said he "never had the privilege of going to" Epstein's private island twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0792f81545727a36/6998c8ab9fbc7c2fddd9a4be/GettyImages-2226604922.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump: Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon 'Inappropriate' to Talk About ‘Right Now’ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Jul 28, 2025 3:19 PM UTC  President Donald Trump sits for a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Trump Turnberry golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27, 2025\. Trump answered questions from reporters about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell President Donald Trump sits for a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Trump Turnberry golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27, 2025\. Trump answered questions from reporters about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Andrew Harnik—Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Jul 28, 2025 3:19 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Monday once again didn’t rule out a pardon for convicted sex trafficker [Ghislaine Maxwell](https://time.com/7305582/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-trump-doj/) when asked about it during a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for crimes committed with Jeffrey Epstein. She met last week [with Todd Blanche](https://time.com/7304408/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-files-bondi/), the No. 2 at the Justice Department and a former personal lawyer for Trump, at a U.S. attorney’s office in Tallahassee, Florida, to discuss the Epstein case. Maxwell has appealed her case to the Supreme Court, saying her conviction was invalid because of an earlier deal Epstein made with federal prosecutors. “Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody’s approached me with it,” Trump said on Monday during an hour-long exchange with reporters at the beginning of a bilateral meeting with Starmer at Trump’s resort in Turnberry. “But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it.” Trump gave a similar answer to reporters at the White House on Friday, saying: “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.” Voices within Trump’s MAGA base have [demanded](https://time.com/7303635/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter/) he release more files from the Department of Justice’s investigation of Epstein. Trump and Epstein [spent time together for years, mostly during the 1990s](https://time.com/7302268/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-timeline-relationship-2/). The calls for more disclosures have sparked a rare firestorm aimed at Trump from his own supporters. House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about a pardon for Maxwell on Sunday and also didn’t rule it out. He expressed some misgivings, saying, “we have to protect the innocent. And that's the only safeguard here that we've got to be diligent about.” Pardoning Maxwell is “a decision for the President,” Johnson said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “We are for maximum disclosure.” Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who is leading a bipartisan effort with Democrat Ro Khanna of California to press for the full release of the Epstein-related government files, said Sunday that Maxwell should testify before Congress. “If she has information that could help us, then I think she should testify. Let's get that out there,” Massie said, also speaking on Meet the Press. “And whatever they need to do to compel that testimony, as long as it's truthful, I would be in favor of.” Last week, the House Oversight Committee [voted](https://time.com/7305200/epstein-files-trump-house-subpoena/) to hold a congressional deposition for Maxwell. During the press conference at Turnberry on Monday, Trump said he never visited the private island where Epstein allegedly threw parties. “I never had the privilege of going to his island,” Trump said. “I did turn it down.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7305903/donald-trump-ghislane-maxwell-pardon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7305903/donald-trump-ghislane-maxwell-pardon/"},"headline":"Trump: Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon 'Inappropriate' to Talk About ‘Right Now’","datePublished":"2025-07-28T15:19:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T13:05:55.410Z","description":"\"I never had the privilege of going to his island,\" Trump said of Epstein's infamous hideaway.","url":"https://time.com/7305903/donald-trump-ghislane-maxwell-pardon/","keywords":["Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0792f81545727a36/6998c8ab9fbc7c2fddd9a4be/GettyImages-2226604922.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0792f81545727a36/6998c8ab9fbc7c2fddd9a4be/GettyImages-2226604922.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President Donald Trump Visits Scotland For Golfing Getaway","caption":"U.S. President Donald Trump Visits Scotland For Golfing Getaway","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7305903/donald-trump-ghislane-maxwell-pardon/","name":"Trump: Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon 'Inappropriate' to Talk About ‘Right Now’"}}]}] ```