A new Republican writer, Greg Sargent, wrote a column on Monday claiming that President Donald Trump is "humiliating" the MAGA movement through his statements regarding the scandal involving trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
In the United Kingdom on Monday, Trump once more asserted that the Epstein scandal is merely a fabrication, stating that if his name appeared in the documents, former President Joe Biden would have already made them public.
In the meantime, Sargent highlighted Trump's remarks from Friday prior to his departure for his golf course in Scotland.
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"I'm permitted to do so," Trump stated when questioned about whether he would grant a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted associate.
Former lawyer to Trump, Todd Blanche, went to a courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday and Friday to question Maxwell directly, although he stated it was part of his role as Deputy Attorney General.
Writing for The Bulwark, however, Philip Rotner, saidthat Blanche's action is questionable and appears to be driven by safeguarding Trump.
Rotner believes it is "plausible" that Blanche might attempt to persuade Maxwell to clear Trump's name in return for a pardon.
It's difficult to exaggerate how embarrassing this entire situation is for MAGA," stated Sargent. "After demanding the 'Epstein files' for years, they managed to get their allies into the Justice Department—and now they're taking further actions to conceal everything.
Meanwhile, Sargent observed, some in the MAGA world "are"telling themselvesThat Maxwell will ultimately disclose the entire truth." It is something that causes them to appear "more ridiculous.
I believe the subject of his conversation with her should be to determine if she has any information that shows involvement by anyone in Jeffrey Epstein's truly heinous actions toward young women," Rotner stated. "After all, these girls were trafficked. Epstein was charged with trafficking, and Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of it. They must have been trafficked to someone. It's reasonable to assume that Maxwell would have significant details about who these girls were taken to.
The exchange between Blanche and Maxwell appears to Rotner, he stated, as a "farce."
He is Trump's lawyer. He recently stated that he still maintains an attorney-client relationship with Donald Trump," Rotner remembered. "He was not only Trump's lawyer but also reports directly to Donald Trump now. And he is the one who is going to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell to uncover evidence that clearly involves Donald Trump—at least as a witness and possibly as a subject. Therefore, it all seems completely fake, and any pretense of an actual investigation, I believe, is just that.
And already, Rotner believes that Maxwell is beginning to use some of Trump's terminology regarding an "unfair" trial, and that there were broken commitments from the prosecutors. "They are constructing what I would describe as a semi-legal argument—that there was an issue with her conviction and that Trump can and should address it through a commutation or pardon, or something similar."
Sargent believes it is probable that MAGA would accept such an excuse if Trump grants Maxwell a pardon.
"Is there a situation where this could occur: Trump pardons Maxwell; Maxwell clears Trump; the 'Department of Justice' shuts everything down and they just stay quiet and weather it out," he said, referring to it as a bleak future.
Listen to the complete discussion here.
Recommended Links:
- Trump was called a 'lying scumbag' by a legislator who alleged he 'groped' Epstein's victims
- Analyst claims Melania is caught up in Trump's Epstein issues: 'She's deeply involved'
- Epstein thought Trump was the 'informant' who reported him to the FBI, according to a biographer