House Speaker Mike Johnson made it clear he thinks Ghislaine Maxwell got off lightly and should be serving way more time. But when it comes to whether she should be pardoned, he says that decision belongs to President Trump.
“I won’t get in front of him. That’s not my lane,” Johnson said on NBC’s Meet the Press. Still, he added his personal 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, you know, this is, it’s hard to put into words how evil this was.”
At the same time, Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are teaming up from opposite sides of the aisle to push for transparency on everything related to Jeffrey Epstein. But they don’t exactly agree on what to do with Maxwell.
“No, I don’t,” Khanna said when asked if she should be pardoned or have her sentence reduced. He also said he was “concerned” about her meeting last week with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Look, I agree with Congressman Massie that she should testify, but she’s been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files.”
Massie took a more flexible stance. “Whatever they need to do to compel Maxwell’s testimony, as long as it’s truthful, I would be in favor of,” he said.
Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate, was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking charges. That same year, she was also accused of making false statements under oath. Her recent two-day interview with Blanche has added fuel to the growing demand for the Trump administration to release all unclassified Epstein files.
When Trump was asked Friday about the possibility of a pardon, he said, “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.” Still, he posted on Truth Social that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce all pertinent grand jury testimony, pending court approval. Bondi and Blanche then filed a motion asking a judge in Manhattan to unseal Epstein and Maxwell-related records.
In Florida, a separate effort by the Justice Department to release grand jury transcripts in another Epstein investigation was denied by a federal judge last week.
To force more transparency, Khanna and Massie are co-sponsoring a bill that would require the Trump administration to publish every unclassified Epstein-related record. Massie says the public is demanding action. “There’s enough public pressure right now that we can get 218 votes and force this to a vote on the floor.”
Support is growing. Nearly a dozen of Massie’s Republican colleagues are on board. So are prominent Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Still, not everyone is rushing to back it. Last week, Johnson sent lawmakers home a day early for summer recess. Massie says that was an attempt to avoid the Epstein vote. “Why is it painful for Mike Johnson to call a vote on this? The American people deserve this,” he said.
Johnson pushed back, blaming Democrats for trying to “hijack” the Rules Committee and turn it into an Epstein hearing. He insisted the early recess was to stop political chaos, not dodge the issue.
Justice Department officials have argued that releasing these records could harm victims. Johnson echoed those concerns, saying the bill from Massie and Khanna lacks protections. “Our concern is that the Massie and Khanna discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented,” he said.
Massie called that argument a smokescreen. “Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims’ names will be redacted and that no child pornography will be released,” he said. “We’re doing this for the victims.”
Massie has also found himself in the crosshairs of Trump allies for opposing a recent GOP policy package. A Trump-aligned super PAC has already spent over $1 million targeting him in his district.
Khanna stood up for Massie, saying, “The only person who suffered political pain in this whole thing is Congressman Thomas Massie for telling the truth.”
He also touched on the larger stakes for government trust. “You can’t do anything constructive with government if you don’t have trust in government,” Khanna said.
Massie warned Republicans that failing to act could come back to haunt them. “The voters will be apathetic if we don’t hold the rich and powerful accountable,” he said.
He believes they’ll have the votes when Congress returns. “We can get the signatures required to force this to the floor,” he said. If Johnson tries to stop it, “that becomes the vote for the American people.”