Former Attorney General Pam Bondi told House investigators that convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell should “die in prison” and should not receive a presidential pardon, according to remarks described after her appearance before the House Oversight Committee.
Bondi spent roughly four hours in a closed-door interview with lawmakers examining the Justice Department’s handling of matters related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Following the interview, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told reporters that Bondi expressed strong opposition to any effort to reduce Maxwell’s sentence.
According to Dhillon, Bondi stated that Maxwell should not receive a pardon and argued that women who help sex offenders obtain victims are particularly culpable.
“Females who collaborate with sex offenders are worse because they procure other victims for the sex offender,” Dhillon said Bondi told lawmakers.
Bondi also reportedly described Maxwell as “very evil” and maintained that she should remain incarcerated for the rest of her life.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 on multiple charges related to recruiting and trafficking underage girls for Epstein.
The House Oversight Committee has been reviewing questions surrounding the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein-related records and investigations.
Maxwell previously appeared before the committee in February through a virtual deposition from prison. During that appearance, she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer substantive questions.
Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, later argued that Maxwell would be willing to provide more extensive testimony if granted clemency.
Markus claimed Maxwell was prepared to discuss prominent individuals connected to Epstein and maintained that President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton had committed no wrongdoing.
“If this Committee and the American public truly want to hear the unfiltered truth about what happened, there is a straightforward path,” Markus said. “Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency.”
Trump has repeatedly declined to say definitively whether he would ever consider a pardon for Maxwell.
When questioned previously, Trump said he had not seriously considered the matter and would not rule anything in or out.
White House officials have consistently stated that clemency for Maxwell is not currently under consideration.
Maxwell’s legal options have narrowed significantly in recent years.
The Supreme Court of the U.S. rejected her appeal last year, leaving her conviction intact, per the New York Post.
She is currently serving her sentence at a federal prison camp in Texas after being transferred from a higher-security facility.
The renewed attention on Maxwell comes as congressional investigators continue reviewing records related to Epstein’s network and the government’s handling of the case.
Bondi’s remarks leave little doubt about her position: she believes Maxwell should remain behind bars for the remainder of her life and should receive neither a pardon nor a commutation of her sentence.
