Speaker Johnson on Ghislaine Maxwell pardon: 'I think she should have a life sentence at least'

House Speaker Mike Johnson said regarding a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, "I think she should have a life sentence at least."

Johnson told NBC News on Sunday regarding Maxwell's prison sentence, "If you’re asking my opinion, I think 20 years was a pittance."

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking and other charges.

“Think of all these unspeakable crimes, and, as you noted earlier, probably 1,000 victims,” Johnson continued. “It’s hard to put into words how evil this was, and that she orchestrated it and was a big part of it, at least under the criminal sanction, I think is an unforgivable thing.”

“So again, not my decision, but I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would,” the House speaker said.

When first asked about a possible pardon for Maxwell, Johnson said, “Well, I mean, obviously that’s a decision of the president. He said he had not adequately considered that. I won’t get in front of him. That’s not my lane. My lane is to help direct and control the House of Representatives and to use every tool within our arsenal to get to the truth.”

Trump was asked last week about pardoning Maxwell, to which he responded, “It’s something I haven’t thought about it. I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”

“I certainly can’t talk about pardons,” he later added, as he left the White House for Scotland.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week met with Maxwell in Tallahassee, Fla., where she is serving her sentence. She was reportedly given "limited" immunity to answer questions from the Department of Justice about sex trafficking.

When asked if Maxwell can be trusted, Johnson said, “I hope so. I hope that she would want to come clean. We certainly are interested in knowing everything that she knows. And as you’ll note, in our House Republican majority, we’re working towards that.”

The House speaker noted that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has subpoenaed Maxwell to testify before his committee.

“I hope she’s telling the truth. She is convicted. She is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking, and so her character is in some question,” Johnson said. “But if she wants to come clean now, that would be a great service to the country, and we’d like to know every single bit of information that she has. I certainly hope she’s telling the truth.”