President Donald Trump on Friday said he is likely to make public all government records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in custody in 2019. Trump’s remarks follow a recent nine-hour interview between Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
“I think [Blanche] probably wanted to know, you know, just to get a feeling of it, because we’d like to release everything, but we don’t want people to get hurt that shouldn’t be hurt,” Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty.
Donald Trump Says He Wants To Release Everything Related To Epstein Files
“I want to release everything,” he continued. “I just don’t want people to get hurt.”
While noting that he had not personally spoken to Blanche about Maxwell or the interview, Trump emphasized the need to ensure that no one is unfairly implicated in any future document release.
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“Todd went in and I think he just wants to make sure that innocent people aren’t hurt,” Trump added. He also stated that he’s unaware if the government plans to release a transcript of the interview.
Donald Trump On Pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
The president reaffirmed that he has the authority to pardon Maxwell but claimed no request has been made. “I’m allowed to do it, but nobody’s asked me to do it,” Trump said. “I know nothing about it. I don’t know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it.”
Trump also addressed the possibility of granting a pardon to rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was found guilty earlier this month of two counts of prostitution but acquitted on more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
“Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half innocent,” Trump said of Combs’ legal outcome.
Donald Trump on Sean “Diddy” Combs
While acknowledging past camaraderie with the rapper, Trump admitted he is hesitant to offer clemency. “Probably – eh, you know, I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well, but when I ran for office he was very hostile,” he said.
“It’s hard, you know, like, we’re human beings, and we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right? But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements – so, I don’t know, it’s more difficult,” Trump explained. “It makes it more – I’m being honest – it makes it more difficult to do.”
Combs is scheduled to be sentenced in October and could face up to 20 years in prison.
According to Trump, there have been discussions with him about granting a pardon to Combs. However, when asked by Finnerty if he was “more likely a ‘no’ for Combs,” the president replied: “I would say so.”
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
