A new book claims that former President Donald Trump considered pardoning British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell after her arrest on charges of sex trafficking, People magazine reports.
In his forthcoming Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency, Michael Wolff claims that Trump was afraid Maxwell would link him to her longtime friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein was awaiting a trial on sex trafficking charges when he died in prison in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide. Prosecutors have alleged that Maxwell procured underage girls for Epstein.
“One ‘oh, shit’ moment involved [Trump's] sudden interest in Ghislaine Maxwell,” Wolff writes in the book. “Trump had tried hard to downplay his own long relationship with Epstein. ‘Has she said anything about me?’ [Trump] openly wondered. ‘Is she going to talk? Will she roll on anybody?’”
Trump is one of many high-profile figures known to have been acquaintances with Epstein, along with former President Bill Clinton, attorney Alan Dershowitz, and director Woody Allen.
While Trump never pardoned Maxwell, he did issue pardons to other famous figures including former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, lawyer Scooter Libby, and commentator Dinesh D’Souza.
Wolff has written about the Trump presidency in two earlier, bestselling books: Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (2018) and Siege: Trump Under Fire (2019).
Landslide is scheduled for publication by Henry Holt and Company on July 27.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
