Rosen's resolution on Ghislaine Maxwell pardon passes U.S. Senate 8%
By Mark Robison11%
7/30/2026, 1:31:26 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 16 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Pessimism Bias, and Indoctrination, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 10.5% saturation with 79 hits. Analysis detected 588 faulty-reasoning hits from 754 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 20% and a BS Rank of 8% (23,368 of 25,289 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 92.40% of the article peer group.
The U.S.
Senate unanimously approved a resolution put forward by Nevada Sen.
Jacky Rosen against a presidential pardon for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Ahead of a scheduled confirmation hearing for Todd Blanche to be U.S. attorney general, Rosen took to the Senate floor Wednesday, July 29, to talk about her resolution.
She said she was inspired by Blanche’s “complete and total mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell case,” as well as President Donald Trump’s saying he won't rule out a pardon for Maxwell.
A vote on Blanche’s nomination hearing Thursday was put on hold after two Republican senators expressed concern over his role in handling the settlement of an IRS lawsuit that would've given Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization immunity from future tax audits.
Rosen asked that her resolution be passed by unanimous consent.
No one objected, which means the overall Senate officially agrees with it.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi said Blanche was in charge of releasing Epstein files, whose handling faced criticism even within the Trump administration.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.
She was found guilty in 2021 of multiple felonies related to the sexual exploitation of minors in her role working with Epstein.
The billionaire financier was found dead in his cell in 2019; his death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
What Rosen’s Gislaine Maxwell resolution says
“Whereas President Donald Trump has publicly stated that he possesses the authority to grant a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell in this matter and has declined to categorically rule out exercising such authority,” Rosen’s resolution states.
“Be it resolved, that it is the sense of the Senate that … the President should not grant a pardon, commutation, or any other form of executive clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell.”
The resolution is nonbinding, meaning the president can ignore it.
What has President Trump said about pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell?
Blanche interviewed Maxwell last year and produced written testimony where she denied seeing Trump engage in improper conduct.
When asked about a potential pardon for Epstein’s associate, Trump said, “Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody's approached me with it.”
Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, spoke about Trump’s comments after Blanche spoke with Maxwell.
“The president this morning said he had the power to do so,” Markus said about a pardon.
“We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way.”
In addition to denying involvement with Epstein’s exploitation of women and girls, Trump has said he’s never been to Epstein’s Caribbean island where sex trafficking allegedly occurred.
“I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island," Trump has said.
“In one of my very good moments, I turned it down.
I didn't want to go to his island.”
Rosen’s comments on the Senate floor about possible Maxwell pardon
Rosen had put forward the Maxwell resolution earlier this year but hadn’t requested a vote on it.
In Wednesday’s hearing, she claimed Maxwell may have given testimony supporting Trump in exchange for his help with her conviction.
She noted that when the DOJ released Epstein case files, the identities of some perpetrators were redacted.
“As the White House and Justice Department tried to manage the fallout from their mishandling of this case, Todd Blanche was reportedly in the Situation Room with senior Trump Administration officials working on a public relations strategy on behalf of the president,” she said.
“Todd Blanche apparently offered himself up to interview Ghislaine Maxwell and strangely raised the possibility that Maxwell’s lawyer, quote: ‘might expect something in return for her candor.’”
The White House counsel then laid out the possibility that Maxwell may be pardoned or have her sentence reduced, Rosen said.
“That’s why it was odd when Todd Blanche, in a highly unusual step, personally interviewed Maxwell, and days later, she was magically transferred to a minimum-security prison,” Rosen said on the Senate floor.
“Magic act.”
She said it’s horrifying that Trump would entertain the idea of clemency.
“That alone should be enough for the Senate to speak up with one voice and affirm that there should be absolutely no pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell,” Rosen said.
“Not now, not ever.”
USA Today Network contributed to this story.
Mark Robison is the politics & government reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal.
Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.
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