Trump live updates: President ducks question on pardon of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell after lawyer dubs him ‘ultimate dealmaker’

“A lot of people are asking me about pardons. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons,” Trump continued.

Those comments came after the president landed in Scotland for a golf vacation and trade talks. That followed him saying earlier Friday that he “hasn’t thought about” pardoning Maxwell, currently serving 20 years in jail for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking of minors.

“You’re making a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Glasgow’s Prestwick Airport. He said the media should be focused on other people with alleged links to Epstein, specifically singling out former President Bill Clinton, and adding: “Don’t talk about Trump.”

The president also said he “was never involved” in Republican House leadership adjourning for a lengthy vacation amid clamor for a vote to release documents in the Epstein case.

“I’m not focused on conspiracy theories that you are,” Trump said.

Maxwell was “asked about 100 different people” during her interview with the Department of Justice on Friday, her lawyer David Oscar Markus said Friday, outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida.

Ariana Baio has a full report here:

President Donald Trump, who has been known to amplify conspiracy theories, told a reporter he’s not focused on conspiracy theories as his administration faces backlash surrounding their handling of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

With the uproar over files relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case engulfing President Donald Trump and Congress, now it’s the turn of the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into the controversy and decide whether to hear a bid by Ghislaine Maxwell, co-conspirator of the late financier and convicted sex offender, to overturn her criminal conviction.

The justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up an appeal by the British socialite, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2021 by a jury in New York of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

Maxwell’s lawyers have told the Supreme Court that her conviction was invalid because a non-prosecution and plea agreement that federal prosecutors had made with Epstein in Florida in 2007 also shielded his associates and should have barred her criminal prosecution in New York. Her lawyers have a Monday deadline for filing their final written brief in their appeal to the court.

Some legal experts see merit in Maxwell’s claim, noting that it addresses an unsettled matter of U.S. law that has divided some of the nation’s regional federal appeals courts, commonly referred to as circuit courts.

Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there is a chance that the Supreme Court will take up the case, noting the disagreement among the appeals courts. Such a split among circuit courts can be a factor when the nation’s top judicial body considers whether or not to hear a case.

“The question of whether a plea agreement from one U.S. Attorney’s Office binds other federal prosecution as a whole is a serious issue that has split the circuits,” Epner said.

While uncommon, “there have been several cases presenting the issue over the years,” Epner added.

Trump’s Justice Department appeared to acknowledge the circuit split in a brief filed to the justices this month, but urged them to reject the appeal.

Any disparity among lower court rulings “is of limited importance,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the brief, “because the scope of a plea or similar agreement is under the control of the parties to the agreement.”

If the Supreme Court opts to grant Maxwell’s appeal, it will hear arguments during its new term, which begins in October, with a ruling expected by the end of next June.

With reporting from Reuters

The Trump administration has been embroiled in controversy surrounding its handling of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here are some headlines from the fallout this week:

The video clip, unearthed by left-leaning outlet MeidasTouch, shows Epstein responding to questions during a March 2010 deposition. The disgraced financier was questioned by an attorney of an alleged victim, Vice News previously reported.

Upon his arrival in Scotland, President Donald Trump denied ever being briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files that his Department of Justice has decided not to make public.

There’s one slight problem with that…

Attorney General Pam Bondi was left “blindsided and annoyed” by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s sudden crusade against former President Barack Obama, according to a new report.

Joe Sommerlad has the details.

Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday night, “I’m in Scotland now. Many meetings planned!!!”

The president embarked on a five-day golf trip to Scotland Friday as his administration is embroiled in controversy surrounding its handling of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Ghislaine Maxwell was granted a form of limited immunity to talk during her meetings with Department of Justice officials, according to reports.

The British socialite and former ex-girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, met with Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on multiple occasions this week.

The so-called proffer immunity is commonly granted to those that prosecutors are seeking cooperation from in a criminal case. Maxwell was tried, convicted and sentenced in 2022 for sex trafficking underage girls.

Such an agreement allowed Maxwell to answer questions from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche – which her attorneys claimed she did fully – sources close to the matter told ABC.

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