Trump Allies Claim Ghislaine Maxwell is Innocent

Far-right media figures rally behind convicted trafficker as Trump toys with explosive 2025 pardon

In a stunning twist to the never-ending Epstein saga, leading pro-Trump voices are now suggesting Ghislaine Maxwell—convicted sex trafficker and former socialite—may be the real victim of a Biden-era “witch hunt.” Even more shocking: President Trump hasn’t ruled out granting her a pardon.

Greg Kelly, one of Trump’s most loyal media foot soldiers and a host on NewsMax, suggested this week that Maxwell may be innocent, dismissing the sex trafficking charges as a deep state fabrication.

“People are horrified when I say there’s a possibility that this individual just might be innocent,” Kelly told his audience. “But think about it. Who told us about her? The media and the Biden Justice Department. The two most dishonest institutions in the country.”

Maxwell, 63, was convicted in 2022 of grooming and trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in custody in 2019. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a minimum-security facility in Texas. But her name has re-entered headlines after a Department of Justice and FBI memo released last month concluded that Epstein died by suicide and kept no “client list”—infuriating the MAGA base.

Trump has yet to condemn Maxwell, and when pressed this week on whether he would consider a pardon, the president didn’t say no.

“I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” Trump said during a campaign stop in Michigan. “But nobody’s brought it to me. Right now, it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk about it.”

But behind closed doors, sources say Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has already met with Maxwell in prison. She reportedly named over 100 individuals tied to Epstein’s network during a lengthy sit-down.

Even so, conservative influencers—from FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino to former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka—have worked overtime to cast doubt on Maxwell’s guilt. Bongino labeled the FBI “the single most corrupt law enforcement institution” in America. Gorka, meanwhile, has claimed that “this whole Epstein mythology is a disinformation campaign.”

Maxwell’s history with Trump is well-documented. In the early 2000s, she and Epstein were regulars at Mar-a-Lago. A now-infamous photo shows the pair laughing alongside Trump and then-girlfriend Melania. Trump even once sent Epstein a birthday card featuring a nude caricature of a woman, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Though Trump’s Department of Justice initially brought charges against both Epstein and Maxwell, MAGA world has since twisted that fact into a narrative of betrayal by the so-called “deep state.”

Kash Patel, the controversial FBI Chief handpicked by Trump, has taken the line even further, saying, “Maxwell is in prison because of some charges, but that doesn’t mean she or President Trump were part of some secret ring.”

Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm.

“The fact that President Trump is even entertaining a pardon for someone convicted of trafficking teenage girls is both disturbing and telling,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). “This isn’t justice—it’s a signal to Trump’s wealthy and powerful friends that they’re above the law.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to X, formerly Twitter, calling the idea of a Maxwell pardon “grotesque political theater.”

“Trump pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell would be the ultimate insult to survivors of sex trafficking and proof that MAGA loyalty matters more than law or decency,” she wrote.

The Epstein conspiracy has long been a pillar of far-right internet culture, and Trump’s vague promises to “release all the files” only added fuel to the fire. But when the July DOJ memo debunked the idea of a hidden client list, Trump’s base went into full meltdown mode.

Attorney General Pam Bondi—once a favorite among conservatives—faced calls for resignation from hardcore MAGA influencers who accused her of “protecting elites.”

With 2026 midterms looming, and Trump doubling down on his “clean out the deep state” messaging, the Maxwell pardon trial balloon may not be the end of this narrative—it could be the beginning.

Whether this is another distraction from ongoing Trump investigations, or a genuine attempt to rewrite the history of Epstein’s crimes, one thing is clear: in MAGA America, up is down, and the traffickers are victims.

Maxwell’s victims, meanwhile, are left wondering if justice has an expiration date.