Trump says he hasn't considered pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, but 'I'm allowed to do it'

President Donald Trump said Friday that he "hasn't thought about" pardoning Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell but that he's "allowed to do it."

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he "hasn't thought about" pardoning Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell but that he's "allowed to do it."

"I haven't thought about it," Trump said when asked by reporters outside the White House if he had thought about a pardon or clemency for Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. "I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about."

Pressed again later, Trump said, "I don’t want to talk about that" before praising Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who met with Maxwell and her attorneys this week in a federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida. He later added that he "never went to his [Epstein's] island."

So far in his second term, Trump has granted 58 pardons and 12 commutations, including blanket clemency for the hundreds of people convicted or awaiting trial for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The president's comments before he left for a trip to Scotland come as the White House has been dealing with the Epstein saga for weeks now and can't seem shake it, despite Trump's attempts to change the subject.