The days of Donald Trump’s presidency were riddled with controversy. He became the first president to face an impeachment trial twice. He encouraged the insurrection on Jan. 6th and his former associations in the business world began to haunt him. Despite downplaying his ties to Epstein in recent years, it seems that he did fear being ousted by Ghislaine Maxwell in court.
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According to journalist Michael Wolff’s upcoming book Landslide: The Final Days Of The Trump Presidency, the former president took a “sudden interest” in Maxwell’s case out of fear that he would be ousted. “One ‘oh, s***’ moment involved his [Trump’s] sudden interest in Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein now facing years in prison over allegations of her role in the Epstein sex-abuse scandal. Trump had tried hard to downplay his own long relationship with Epstein,” an excerpt from the book published to The Times reads.
“Has she said anything about me?’ [Trump] openly wondered. ‘Is she going to talk? Will she roll on anybody?'” The extract continues. “But pardon talk almost immediately segued to the question of if he should pardon himself: ‘They say I can. Unlimited pardon power.'”
Trump sparked controversy after he previously offered well-wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell when she was arrested. “I don’t know. I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly. I have met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is,” he said at a 2020 press conference.