The president said he would consider whether to pardon both.
Two high-profile legal cases
Donald Trump responded to questions about two high-profile legal cases involving former friends of his: Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted as Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator in child sex trafficking, and Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy, sentenced to 50 months in prison on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
The president
The president said he would consider whether to pardon both.
A potential pardon
In a strange exchange on Monday with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, President Trump was asked about a potential pardon for Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
In the news
Trump oddly claimed he hadn’t heard her name «in so long», despite Maxwell being in the news for months.
Public controversy
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, formerly Trump’s personal lawyer, met with Maxwell two times in July at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tallahassee, meetings that led to her transfer to a minimum-security prison, a move that sparked public controversy. Trump then added that he would consider offering her a pardon.
In so long
Responding to the CNN journalist about a possible pardon for Maxwell, Trump said: «I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look,» adding: «I will speak to the DOJ.»
«Puff Daddy»
Trump then added that «Puff Daddy» had just asked him for a pardon as well. Sean Combs was recently sentenced to 50 months in prison.
A lot of people
Continuing on the subject of pardons, Trump said that many people had approached him for presidential clemency: «A lot of people have asked me for pardons,» he stated, adding about the rapper: «I call him Puff Daddy. He has asked me for a pardon.»
Diddy’s defense team
In August, one month before his sentencing, CNN reported that members of Diddy’s defense team had reached out to the president’s office to request a potential pardon.
The Epstein files
As people wait to see what Trump will do regarding a possible pardon for P. Diddy, the prospect of clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell is drawing even stronger reactions. Trump and his administration have already been accused of trying to bury the Epstein files, and his response, saying he would «take a look at it», has sparked anger among many, including both current and former allies.
Controversial figures
Even controversial figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Loomer have voiced their outrage.