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.
Both Democrats and Republicans unanimously approved the resolution.
“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.
Maxwell, the 64-year-old longtime associate of child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, was sentenced to 20 years in 2022 for a variety of crimes, including conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts; conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; and transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
A pardon might seem like a stretch considering her crimes, but her connection to President Donald Trump, a longtime friend of Epstein’s, has lawmakers concerned that he might give Maxwell one anyway.
Trump hasn’t helped quell this worry, since he wished her well after her arrest in 2020, and didn’t rule out a pardon when asked about it last July.
In addition, Blanche, formerly Trump’s personal lawyer and the current acting attorney general, transferred Maxwell from a federal prison to a minimum security facility after she reportedly discussed the president’s relationship to Epstein with him.
Blanche has previously said that he won’t recommend Maxwell be pardoned. However, Trump hasn’t said no, and Maxwell’s lawyer has and continues to seek clemency.
The Hill notes that despite the unanimous support of Rosen’s resolution, it is not binding. Trump and the White House have said in the past that no consideration has been given to a pardon of Maxwell.