House

Luna: Ghislaine Maxwell ‘not getting a pardon’

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/24/26 12:30 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/24/26 12:30 PM ET

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said Thursday that Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is “not getting a pardon” amid questions from some lawmakers against giving her freedom.

Luna, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, appeared on “Cuomo” on NewsNation, The Hill’s partner broadcaster, and assured that Maxwell will not receive a pardon.

“The votes aren’t there for that,” she told host Chris Cuomo. “But I will tell you who is involved and who hasn’t really come in to testify, is the co-conspirators who were given some of these plea deals, and they were women. There was one doctor that was being looked at as well.”

Luna said she does not think the “full files” connected to Epstein were released, suggesting that “from what I’d heard, there was destruction of evidence” and that Maxwell was banking on a lack of evidence to lead to her pardon.

The Florida Republican added that some women who “intentionally” trafficked victims “were getting paid and then they were given victim status because they were given plea deals by the former Department of Justice.”

“So I’ve suggested to the DOJ under former Attorney General Pam Bondi that they reopen this, consider hitting them with civil rights violations, and potentially outside of the statute of limitation,” Luna said. “But I’m not at the DOJ. I can only advocate for what I can up to a certain point.”

Cuomo asked Luna about having Bondi testify on the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files. Luna agreed that Bondi should testify, but she accused Democrats of furthering “a narrative that fits a reelection campaign going into the midterms.”

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told Politico on Wednesday that the panel is “split on” whether Maxwell should be granted a pardon. Though he would not say who backs pardoning Maxwell, “I think it looks bad.”

“Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell,” Comer added.

Arick Fudali, the attorney for 11 Epstein survivors, blasted the consideration of pardoning Maxwell as “offensive to her victims.”

“A pardon for Maxwell under any circumstances would be another example of the three tiers of justice in America right now: justice for the poor, justice for the rich and justice for friends of Donald Trump,” Fudali told NewsNation.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) on Wednesday blasted the DOJ for its “reported willingness to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell” based on remarks made by her attorney, David Oscar Markus. The lawyer has led the effort to advocate for his client’s freedom since last year, after he helped her get transferred to a lower security prison after she met with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in Tallahassee, Fla.

Maxwell later invoked her Fifth Amendment right when she appeared during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee deposition.

Krishnamoorthi, a member of the Oversight panel, also called on the DOJ to “fully resource” a new investigation into Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and pursue all credible leads.

“You must also publicly, and repeatedly, refuse to engage with Ghislaine Maxwell on any presidential pardons that would excuse her from serving out her full sentence,” he wrote. “Survivors deserve answers, and those responsible must be held accountable. This is not a question of politics—it is a matter of justice.”

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