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I remember when journalist Michael Wolff was on the Rupert Murdoch beat for Vanity Fair. He got some good scoops and he’s very plugged into that kind of world – conservative media, big business, fraud, Trumpism. He’s currently a contributor for a number of media outlets, and he’s written a few books about Donald Trump, including 2018’s Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House and 2019’s Siege: Trump Under Fire. His latest book is Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency. He’s already released some excerpts for publication, which is how we’re getting this gossip about how Donald Trump was pretty close to pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell and he was very concerned that Maxwell would name names.
Author Michael Wolff’s latest book Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency alleges that former President Donald Trump, fearing that Ghislaine Maxwell would link him to Jeffrey Epstein’s “sex-abuse scandal,” mulled pardoning the financier’s companion in the final weeks of his presidency. In excerpts from the book published Monday, Wolff, 67, alleges that Trump, 75, took “sudden interest” in Maxwell when discussing who to pardon near the end of his tenure. Maxwell, 59, the former companion of Epstein, is currently awaiting trial on multiple charges for her involvement with Epstein’s sex trafficking of minors.
An excerpt from Wolff’s book reads: “One ‘oh, s—’ moment involved [Trump’s] sudden interest in Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein now facing years in prison over allegations of her role in the Epstein sex-abuse scandal. 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?’” the excerpt continues.
Wolff further alleges that Trump ultimately didn’t issue a pardon to Maxwell, and was dissuaded from doing so when informed that the federal move could trigger individual states to pursue her prosecution.
While Maxwell was ultimately not pardoned, Trump did pardon a number of other close friends and associates, including retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former adviser Roger Stone, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s dad.
[From People]
Does anyone else remember the fact that the then-sitting Attorney General of the United States, William Barr, traveled to New York shortly after Maxwell’s arrest? Maxwell was moved from New Hampshire to a detention center in Brooklyn, and Barr was one of the first people to visit her. Around that same time, Trump made a point of wishing Maxwell well. Trump, Maxwell and Epstein were clearly social friends in New York and Palm Beach for decades, and of course Trump was tied to Epstein in a few different ways. Basically… yeah, I believe that Trump was probably nervous about what Maxwell could or would reveal. But I keep thinking back to the visit Barr made. What did he promise her? What happened there?
— Michael Wolff (@MichaelWolffNYC) July 6, 2021
— Michael Wolff (@MichaelWolffNYC) July 6, 2021
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