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Mike Johnson, breaking with Trump, rips idea of Ghislaine Maxwell pardon. Cracks in the MAGA dam? [1]
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Date: 2025-07-27
Mike Johnson is not a profile in courage. With Trump, his backbone has been flexible. His position has been, “What he says.” However, the Epstein affair has shown some stiffening of the Speaker’s spine. Johnson has no issue with rewarding the rich while hurting the poor. He is fully invested in Trump’s tariff and immigration gyrations. And he did send Congress home early to delay a vote on the Epstein affair until September. Perhaps he’s hoping the whole thing will blow over.
However, when he appeared with Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press, he made it clear that, in his view, pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell would be an abomination. This is how that conversation went.
Welker got the ball rolling:
“This week President Trump didn’t rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. Of course, that’s one of the big questions looming over all of this. So let me put this to you, Mr. Speaker, would you support a pardon or a commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker?”
Reflexively, Johnson dodged. He answered that Trump was entitled to pardon whoever he wanted.
“Well, I mean, obviously that’s a decision of the president. He said he had not adequately considered that. I won’t get in front of him. That’s not my lane. My lane is to help direct and control the House of Representatives and to use every tool within our arsenal to get to the truth.”
Welker, who by American mainstream media standards does have a spine, kept at it.
“Are you open to a pardon or commutation? I mean, Mr. Speaker, the victims referred to Maxwell as Epstein’s right-hand woman. Here’s what one victim who testified under a pseudonym told the court as sentencing: ‘The many acts that were perpetrated on me by Epstein, including rape, strangulation and sexual assault were never consensual and would not have occurred had it not been for the cunning and premeditated role Ghislaine Maxwell played.’ Is that someone deserving of a pardon or commutation in any circumstance, Mr. Speaker?”
Johnson deviated from the usual Republican-in-the-headlights script. He didn’t repeat his previous answer. He didn’t disparage the interviewer. He answered the question asked.
“If you’re asking my opinion, I think 20 years was a pittance!” I think she should have a life sentence at least. I mean, think of all these unspeakable crimes, and as you noted earlier, probably 1,000 victims. I mean … it’s hard to put into words how evil this was, and that she orchestrated it and was a big part of it, at least under the criminal sanction, I think is an unforgivable thing. “So again, not my decision, but I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would.”
In addition, he referred to Chairman Comer and the House Oversight Committee’s vote to issue a subpoena to Maxwell for her testimony. Note: he didn’t mention that Democrats gave the measure its majority. But at least he owned the vote.
Lest the reader think I have been blinded by optimism that Johnson will remain firm in his opinion, I have little expectation that Mike will not revert to form and carry Trump’s water. However, the fact that Johnson showed any deviation from Trump’s orthodoxy tells me that he is making a political calculation.
For one, while Republicans are past masters of doublethink and impervious to hypocrisy, pedophilia is a unique issue. Not only did they make political hay with the idea of child sex-trafficking rings. They have slimed the medical treatment of transgender teens as ‘child abuse.’ MAGA and the manosphere have shown that they will not mindlessly follow Trump over the Epstein files.
The midterms loom. Johnson wants to stay Speaker. And I suspect that many of his members are telling him that the biggest threat to their reelection is not being primaried by Trump, but losing to a Democratic challenger. Trump’s grip on the GOP legislature may be iron, but it is not absolute. And Johnson wants to keep his options open.
I think that the Epstein affair is the best chance to eviscerate Trump politically. Johnson may be reaching the same conclusion. Especially if, when Congress reconvenes in September, the Epstein affair is still on the front burner.
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