House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday said he thinks Ghislaine Maxwell should have been sentenced to life behind bars for the role she played in former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein's crimes against young women.
But the Louisiana Republican told NBC News's "Meet the Press" anchor Kristen Welker that a pardon or commutation for Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison, is in President Donald Trump's "lane," not his.
"I think 20 years was a pittance," Johnson said. "I think she should have a life sentence, at least. I mean, think of all these unspeakable crimes… probably 1,000 victims."
It is, he added, "hard to put into words how evil this was."
"She orchestrated it and was a big part of it, at least under the criminal sanction," said Johnson. "I think that is an unforgivable thing. So again, not my decision, but I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would."
Trump said last week he hasn't thought about pardoning Maxwell, but he also has not ruled it out.
And Johnson said Sunday that a pardon would be up to Trump, as that's "not my lane."
"My lane is to help direct and control the House of Representatives and use every tool within our arsenal to get to the truth," he said.
Johnson said, however, that he agrees with Trump that the Epstein files should be made public.
Maxwell was interviewed at length last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and her attorney insisted she answered all his questions honestly and truthfully, but Johnson said it's a "good question" about whether she can be trusted.
"I hope that she would want to come clean," he said. "We certainly are interested in knowing everything that she knows."
The House Oversight Committee, led by Chair James Comer, R-Ky., has issued a subpoena compelling Maxwell to testify under oath. The Department of Justice has agreed to assist with the logistics for her to speak from the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on Aug. 11.
Comer told Newsmax late last week that Maxwell, who is appealing her sentence, wants "something" in exchange for talking.
Johnson said Sunday he hopes Maxwell will tell the truth, but as a person who is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking, "her character is in some question."
"But if she wants to come clean now, that would be a great service to the country, and we'd like to know every single bit of information that she has," he said. "I certainly hope she's telling the truth."
However, he argued against a discharge petition from Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to force a vote on releasing the files.
A full release of the files would "require the DOJ and FBI to release information that they know is false, that is based on lies and rumors and was not even credible enough to be entered into the court proceedings, and that would be a dangerous thing."
The victims, he added, were minors who were "subjected to unspeakable crimes, abject evil," and should not have their names released, but that is not protected under the discharge petition.
He also said that the House was adjourned before a vote could be called to "end the chaos in the Rules Committee because the Democrats are trying to use this in a shameless manner for political purposes."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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