Elon Musk has fuelled speculation that President Donald Trump may pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The X owner responded to a social media post about a potential pardon with a bullseye emoji.
The original post, shared on X, claimed without evidence that Maxwell would name a “bunch of Democrats” and “billionaires” as Epstein clients, reaffirm Trump’s claims of innocence, and earn a pardon from the president. Musk has previously alleged that Trump’s presence in the Epstein files is why the administration has not released more information about the case.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump remained noncommittal about a pardon. “Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody’s approached me with it,” he said. “It would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
Maxwell, a British socialite, is serving a 20-year federal sentence for conspiring to sexually abuse minors. Her lawyers are appealing to the Supreme Court and have directly asked Trump to intervene, arguing that a previous non-prosecution agreement with Epstein should have covered her.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, expressed hope that Trump “exercises that power in the right and just way.” Maxwell has also been subpoenaed to testify before Congress and has answered questions about “about 100 different people” with potential ties to Epstein.
