Could granting clemency to a convicted trafficker actually be the only way to expose the remaining hidden figures in this network?

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Probably not. Clemency is not the only realistic path to expose other people in Epstein and Maxwell’s orbit, and it carries major legal and moral costs. Maxwell has already been convicted, exhausted her appeals, and has said through counsel that she would talk only if granted clemency. But prosecutors and investigators have other tools that are far less drastic: proffer sessions, cooperation agreements short of release, sentence-related recommendations where legally available, immunity for other witnesses, grand jury subpoenas, compelled testimony in some settings, and continued use of document releases and civil discovery. Congress has also pressed the Justice Department to use immunity for witnesses in other parts of the Epstein inquiry, showing that cooperation can be sought without pardoning a principal offender. There is also a credibility problem. Survivors’ lawyers have argued Maxwell has little incentive to tell the full truth unless her claims are independently verified, and any testimony tied to clemency would be attacked as self-serving. Investigators would still need corroboration through records, flight logs, emails, financial trails, witness testimony and previously withheld files. The Senate’s unanimous symbolic resolution reflects a broader view that pardoning or commuting Maxwell’s sentence would undercut accountability for child sexual exploitation and retraumatize survivors. Even officials asked publicly about the issue have said they would not recommend c…

Senate Unanimously Urges Trump to Deny Maxwell Pardon as 20-Year Sex-Trafficking Sentence Looms

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Senate Unanimously Urges Trump to Deny Maxwell Pardon as 20-Year Sex-Trafficking Sentence Looms

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