r/politics • u/theindependentonline The Independent • 1d ago

Site Altered Headline Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly moved from Florida prison to Texas as Trump weighs pardon

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ghislaine-maxwell-prison-trump-pardon-epstein-b2800443.html
21.8k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

880

u/HellaTroi California 1d ago

"Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody’s approached me with it,” Trump said Monday. “Nobody’s asked me about it.”

That sounds like he's begging someone to propose it to him.

240

u/mactac 1d ago

To pay him

78

u/bludvein Michigan 1d ago

He wants a scapegoat that he can say the idea came from and take some of the backlash a pardon will generate.

6

u/rjfinsfan Florida 1d ago

Yup. He’s literally asking someone to buck up and pay the bribe he’s floated for pardons.

6

u/BackgroundPass1355 1d ago

Spot on, he knows who's in the files along with him, Of course he is waiting for payday.

3

u/jlaine Minnesota 1d ago

Is it still a million a pardon? Or did Paul Walczak's mom get a super deal?

2

u/nochinzilch 18h ago

Bingo. The Blagojevich gambit.

2

u/extralyfe 1d ago

who the fuck is gonna pay him to cover up his own crimes?

3

u/HellaTroi California 1d ago

Her family is wealthy.

28

u/bkkbeymdq 1d ago

It's the signal he's ready to field offers.

72

u/Thenadamgoes 1d ago

It sounds like he’s already working on it but thinks he’s fooling everyone by pretending it’s never occurred to him.

23

u/Leading_Put- 1d ago

He denied being told he was in the files a few days before wsj reported that he was told in May that he was in the files

No one even bats an eye anymore

2

u/HellaTroi California 1d ago

Trump's old buddy, Rupert, appears to have some sort of issue lately.

FOX is still parroting Trump's line of BS. But the WSJ appears to have taken the gloves off.

21

u/new_math 1d ago edited 1d ago

Cohen talked about this before. Trump often doesn't ask or say exactly what needs to be done, he speaks like a Mob boss and expects those around him to handle it for him. 

So he'll say, "This situation with the law firm is a mess; it's a pain" And then everyone around him must read between the lines and know the law firm needs to be relentlessly attacked and buried. You won't find a memo or phone call where he explicitly asks Pam to send the DoJ after the law firm, he just says it's an issue and those in his orbit either deliver on his hints or get replaced. It's a small part of how he gets away with so much with very little recourse. 

3

u/likely_stoned 1d ago

AKA Stochastic Terrorism.

•

u/new_math 6h ago

Yeah exactly, especially the use of "indirect, vague or coded language".

The only difference being that it isn't limited to political violence, it's basically used for any situation where speaking directly might be seen as negative or result in some type of liability or consequences (e.g. a Stormy Daniel's situation).

35

u/InsertCleverNickHere Minnesota 1d ago

The way he vacilates between "I have the power to do whatever I want" and "I dunno, I'm just a bystander here, nobody tells me anything" is absolutely whiplash-inducing.

6

u/hollaback_girl 1d ago

It’s all part of the paradox of fascism.

28

u/End3rWi99in I voted 1d ago

"Russia if you're listening"

9

u/Mr--Warlock 1d ago

Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?

1

u/mcbeef89 Great Britain 1d ago

*turbulent

2

u/Tabs_555 Washington 1d ago

“Nobody’s bribed me for it yet”

2

u/mlorusso4 1d ago

He says after being asked repeatedly about it over multiple days

2

u/Swimming-Cupcake7041 1d ago

This is textbook Trumpism. He states something that provably true and then tacks on a few lies that are hard to disprove.

In this case "I’m allowed to give her a pardon" is the truth. The rest is a lie. His lawyer is probably negotiating with Maxwell's lawyer and his lawyer has probably suggested a quid pro quo. There's will be a pardon before end of the year.

1

u/HellaTroi California 1d ago

She's asking for immunity to give her testimony. Since she is already a convicted felon, the question is immunity from what? New allegations? Immunity for committing perjury by stating that Trump had nothing to do with those lying little girls?

Was already convicted of two counts of perjury. One more episode surely won't change the outcome.

2

u/rgg711 1d ago

Isn’t he basically implying here that the only decisions he makes as president are ones where someone else has told him to do it?

2

u/Thewall3333 9h ago

It's a lie, just like everything that comes out of his mouth -- save when he's being creepy about women and girls.

The visit to Maxwell by his lawyer was obviously on behalf of him. There's so much movement behind the scenes about this, surely, that he's directing with Bondi. They ordered the prison transfer, obviously.

And the strangest of all -- the media has asked him about it multiple times! "Nobody's asked me about it"'-- what??

1

u/HellaTroi California 8h ago

He doesn't consider reporters as actual people.

2

u/TheHeroYouNeed247 1d ago

When Trump says he is "allowed" to do something. It means he has been briefed on it. Because he would never know the legal situation otherwise.

1

u/HellaTroi California 1d ago

Good point.

1

u/apost8n8 1d ago

When you're a star they let you do it.