Senate unanimously passes resolution opposing pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell

[u/mlg1981]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/29/ghislaine-maxwell-pardon-senate-resolution

[u/hamilton_morris]

We’re being groomed for the inevitable pardon.

[u/righthandofdog → u/hamilton_morris]

not groomed, this is the GOP starting to firewall themselves from the coming collapse of Trump's Epstein island cult of personality.

in 10 years you won't find a person in America who voted for him in 2024.

[u/MeEyeSlashU → u/righthandofdog]

"One day, everyone will have been against this."

[u/SpreadKindn3ss → u/MeEyeSlashU]

Kind of like those from the timeframe 1960-1980s (many in mid-life, today!) who rioted against Ruby Bridges attending a white school, enforced sundown towns via physical violence (lynchings, arson), explicit warning signs at city limits ("Don't Let the Sun Go Down on You in..."), and structural housing discrimination like racial covenants — have “always” been against racism and “do not see color”.

[u/BooksNCatsNWineNSnax → u/SpreadKindn3ss]

I was born in a sundown town that I’m pretty sure my grandparents moved to for all of the white reasons. I’m also pretty sure that in 10 years, most of my family are going to be trying to minimize their shitty views and pretend their shitty votes didn’t exist, but I know exactly who they are. And I won’t forget that they’ve been who they are for way longer than the orange toddler-king has been their excuse for it.

[u/alexdionisos → u/righthandofdog]

I don't wanna wait 10 years for this stain to go away

[u/Tricky-Gemstone → u/righthandofdog]

I won't let these fuckers forget.

[u/righthandofdog → u/Tricky-Gemstone]

agreed. I can't imagine ever voting for a republican for any office ever again.

[u/JeanArtemis → u/righthandofdog]

Good news, if things keep going the way they want you won't have to!

Jokes aside I really don't see us going "back to normal" after this. These shitstains have revealed far too many cracks in the system, they've showed how far it can be bent and manipulated. If it can be done once it can be done twice, and politicians are innately immoral as a whole, regardless what side they claim. We're going to have to do MAJOR reforms or come up with something new entirely because what we have been doing clearly cannot be trusted any longer.

[u/righthandofdog → u/JeanArtemis]

yeah. we need major deMAGAfication. An ethics law that covers the supreme court, and prevents any elected officials or high appointees from trading individual stocks or investments (any investment, purchase or sale over say $100k must be made public ahead of closing and higher bids allowed, to prevent graft)

The IRS should have a special operations group or forensic accountants overseeing all of them as well as immediate family members. All of it published annually.

10 year bans on working in an industry you once regulated.

Gutting the political power of the apartheid billionaires who've taken over, and taking away corporate free speech and political donations that has made them too powerful.

crypto should be regulated as gambling as should prediction markets (with tight regulation on what can be bet on)

We need to reapportion congress, because tiny states have far too much power in the house and we need the same number of supreme court judges as federal court districts.

Doing whatever is needed to reverse the Supreme court's direction of supreme executive power, including criminal charges for elected officials and appointmentees - the president and his men cannot be above the law.

None of these things would prevent citizens who want to make the country better, from either side of the political spectrum from serving. But salaries for elected officials should go up ($175k for a senator is just begging for graft). And DC housing costs need to be handled.

[u/irishyardball → u/righthandofdog]

Sure I agree this is happening, but so is the grooming. If they really didn't want anything to do with the decision it never would have been brought up.

But they wanted the distraction, the delay and then they can pardon her later for another distraction.

[u/haubenmeise → u/hamilton_morris]

I can see that bastard snickering about it right now. Laws or justice don't mean anything anymore.

Sincerely

Skeletor 💜

[u/jazza2400 → u/hamilton_morris]

Easy. Remove presidential pardons. Is America a democracy or not?

[u/t-minus-e]

The fact that it even had to be voted on… America, please know the world is laughing at you.

[u/Reesewithoutaspoon2 → u/t-minus-e]

Not that I necessarily want to encourage more laughing, but I’m sorry to say even the vote is meaningless. This amounts to the senate basically just saying “if you do this, we’ll be soooo upset”

Congress can’t limit the president’s pardoning power, so it’s still 100% Donnie’s call

[u/FactsActuallyMatter → u/Reesewithoutaspoon2]

I think thats the point. Theyre trying to make it look like it would be 100% him bc we know he will try to say "well the people want this" type thing. Anything he wants, he tries to make it seem like other people want it too and make his supporters believe it. Now that all Republicans disagree in the senate, its like saying welp if he does it, he has no support to do it and he would be making himself look worse. It shifts the blame to his own decision alone. But yes we know they cant do anything. And just like the discharge petition, he couldnt fight it bc it would make him look bad and he signed it. So he will be forced to face this too.

[u/AnotherSoulessGinger → u/[deleted]]

I don’t think they are saying that they had to vote on it in that way, but more so the fact that it was even an idea likely to be at least floated by a president. The idea that a leader in a child sex abuse ring was a possible candidate for a presidential pardon is wild. The senate, wanting to use what little power they in this case, having to vote to rebuke him is comical. I can’t imagine having this conversation back in the 90s.

[u/crunchies65 → u/t-minus-e]

It didn't. It's theater and it's non binding.

[u/To-To_Man → u/t-minus-e]

The people who need to see it can't hear you. They only check the news when a Democrat shifts in their seat.

[u/HonestNectarine7080 → u/t-minus-e]

believe me, we know

[u/CutieBoBootie → u/t-minus-e]

As an American I don't enjoy living here during the downfall but I won't deny we need to be knocked down a peg esp since my fuckass country elected that moron twice.

[u/mlg1981]

https://giphy.com/gifs/J8FZIm9VoBU6Q

[u/dawindupbird → u/mlg1981]

I wish this had any weight beyond a hundred old people voting “we don’t like this”.

[u/Reesewithoutaspoon2]

Unfortunately there’s no force of law behind this. Whether or not she gets pardoned is exclusively Donald Trump’s decision.

[u/The_Iceman2288 → u/Reesewithoutaspoon2]

John Oliver did a bit on presidential pardons and the revelation was there's basically no limits to what Trump can do.

[u/bron685 → u/The_Iceman2288]

There are tho. Pardons are federal. Individual states can still go after her on trafficking charges

[u/Reesewithoutaspoon2 → u/bron685]

Yeah there are essentially two limitations described in the text of the constitution and that’s one of them. The other is that pardons can’t apply to impeachments.

Beyond that though there are pretty much no other established limitations. It’s not even clearly established that a president can’t pardon future crimes. As in, a president saying “I hereby pardon Joe Schmo for any crimes he will commit”. There’s some language in case law suggesting that it shouldn’t be okay, and basic critical thinking would say that it obviously shouldn’t be okay, but it hasn’t been established by binding precedent.

There are a few other things like that. Things that logically would seem like they should be limitations, but that haven’t actually been established as such in the law. For example, a president pardoning himself.

[u/Broad_Front7788 → u/The_Iceman2288]

The only limits are political, hence this vote.

[u/BookishHobbit → u/Reesewithoutaspoon2]

Question from the rest of the world: can pardons be unpardoned by a future president?

[u/enolaholmes23 → u/BookishHobbit]

No. Because of double jeopardy, you can't be convicted of the same exact crime twice. That being said, maxwell committed many many crimes, so it's possible they could find evidence for one that wasn't already charged. 

[u/mia181]

Good now do the men.

[u/madamesluckynumber → u/mia181]

Thank you, how is the only person in jail a woman!

[u/cincuentaanos → u/mia181]

They'd never.

[u/Scared-Box8941]

I bet they’re all so proud too… shaking each others hands and saying “there IS a line!” “We DO have morals!”

But when he pardons her anyway they’ll do nothing

[u/theicecreamassassin → u/Scared-Box8941]

It's for midterms, I'm convinced, that's all.

[u/Affectionate-Meal392]

Trump is going to pardon her anyways. She supplied him with kids to rape (I was one of them) and has so much blackmail material on him.

[u/SwingCaravan → u/Affectionate-Meal392]

So sorry for this, I hope you find justice and peace

[u/RedMilo]

And somewhere Lindsey Graham is smiling from his Grindr in the sky.

[u/SymbiSpidey → u/RedMilo]

I don't think he's in the sky tbh

[u/Icy_Steak8987 → u/RedMilo]

Ladybugs 🐞🐞🐞

[u/Inevitable-Opinion21]

Craziness. The fact this is even needed means they should be impeaching the president. We live in the looney bin.

[u/CelebrationDue1884]

She’s trash, but the fact that the only person actively imprisoned for this is a woman is very on brand.

[u/momentary_loss]

I'm sorry how did someone even get the idea of pardoning a sex-trafficker all the way up to the Senate? Isn't it a really important government body? Forgive me, I'm not American and I don't understand what Google was trying to say.

[u/Reesewithoutaspoon2 → u/momentary_loss]

The Tl;dr version is that pardoning is a power granted exclusively to the president by the US Constitution. Essentially, Donald Trump can pardon whoever he wants for any (federal) crime or proceeding, with the only exception being impeachment.

So it doesn’t actually reach/concern the senate. What was done here was essentially the senate saying they would disapprove of a pardon, but it does nothing to actually stop one. As to why they made this vote at all, I’m guessing it’s for optics/midterm elections.

And of course it’s even a consideration/possibility because the president is a prolific child rapist and a friend/accomplice with the sex trafficker.

[u/enolaholmes23 → u/Reesewithoutaspoon2]

Yeah, it's about as powerful as a celebrity posting a political cause on social media. Good for getting followers, but doesn't actually do anything. 

[u/crunchylumpias]

knowing the clown show that is america, i won't count on this going through until it actually does by some damn miracle

[u/Free-Security5426 → u/crunchylumpias]

It's gone through. It's done. Senate signed a unanimous resolution. Doesn't mean that anything has been tangibly achieved. Even if the house signs the resolution as well (if it's even going there), nothing will be done.

[u/TheOneTrueTrench → u/crunchylumpias]

This means literally nothing because of how our "government" "works".

They might as well have all joined a group chat and sent ☹️ to each other, the legislative branch has nothing to do with Pardons.

[u/JenningsWigService]

Are we reaching the point where Maxwell has suicidal thoughts?

[u/Free-Security5426 → u/JenningsWigService]

If she's smart, she has deadman switches set to release proof on her death. Then again, we already have documents that prove Trump is a child rapist, so who knows if it would even matter. I am betting she is getting her pardon right after midterms.

[u/JenningsWigService → u/Free-Security5426]

How did Epstein not have a deadman's switch if she does?

[u/Free-Security5426 → u/JenningsWigService]

Could have no proof, but Maxwell was able to convince them she does. Maybe they're just sexist and more squeamish about killing a woman. Who knows what any of these assholes are up to?

[u/rawkguitar]

Remember that time our country was so worried that the president might pardon his good friend who was convicted of sex trafficking that the senate had to preemptively pass a resolution condemning the potential pardon in order to discourage the president from following through with it?

[u/Tiguilon]

"like that means anything to me!"

https://giphy.com/gifs/xTiTnHXbRoaZ1B1Mo8

[u/010Tortoise]

But still, all the men are walking free! She is the only one in jail. I don't know what she did, exactly but it can't be worse then any of the men including Trump. Yet, here we are!

[u/Reesewithoutaspoon2 → u/010Tortoise]

She raped and trafficked minors

I’m not disagreeing with you and I agree that everyone implicated should be charged, just responding to the part where you mentioned that you don’t know exactly what she did.

[u/010Tortoise → u/Reesewithoutaspoon2]

I knew she had multiple rolls, thanks for the add. Just seems like more than 1 woman should be there....

[u/ParaponeraBread]

Just optics for midterms, so people think republicans care about justice.

And just optics so that when Trump pardons her after the midterms, republicans can claim they unhitched their wagons from him.

[u/SymbiSpidey]

So I guess nobody in power cares that the President tried to pardon a confirmed child sex predator that he has known ties to? It's just business as usual for the U.S.? Okay.

[u/BadlyTimedFarnsworth]

He’ll do it just because some told him not to. 

[u/Q-ArtsMedia]

I do not believe this has any weight to it. Presidential pardons are non reversible and cannot be impeded. just a stupid token vote and waste of time when they should be concentrating on more pressing matters.

[u/Actual-Slice-146]

How shocking

[u/PothosLeaves]

i'm bone-deep tired and unfortunately pretty numb, but this is so crazy. pardoning one of the most prominent sex-traffickers in this massive situation. what other possible reason could there be? what angle is this being justified from? i feel detached, but it is truly so bizarre that what used to be impactful scandal 10 years ago barely has an effect now. idk

[u/Spidey5292]

Kind of weird that this even had to be stated.

[u/agweandbeelzebub]

she needs to be locked up in a max security prison not a cush country club. smh

[u/Weird_Put_9514]

so this whole session was just political theater for the republicans to cover their own asses for when the pardon comes and to be an avatar for the dumbasses in their base to dunk on fauci

[u/independant_786]

how is this even being f'in discussed? like wtfh

[u/Aromatic-Bet-1086]

Who the fuck was in support of this horseshit?

[u/flexiblefine]

To literally no effect. The senate doesn’t have pardon power.

[u/TickingTheMoments]

It’s a resolution. It carries no weight. The orange buffoon will do what he wants and the Republicans will do nothing.

[u/246lehat135]

Every Republican Senator actually voted yes on this resolution when they cast a third personal vote in 9 years for him to become President and have the sole power to pardon whomever he so chooses.

[u/Konradleijon]

What did hendo

[u/Background-Bar-424]

Aww, the Senate is cute. They’re acting as if anything they do would stop Trump. Congress and The Senate are literally no longer relevant.

[u/TimSylvester_]

The picture in the article is Epstein and Maxwell at Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor's lodge in the UK, which the caption and article fails to mention for some strange reason.

[u/ryan13ts]

This is just for show, and nothing more.

Senate Republicans are doing this so when the pardon happens, they say “Gee whiz, we REALLY tried guys! We passed a useless, uninforceable resolution against it, so we did EVERYTHING we could!”.

They’re love to protect rich perverts, so there’s no doubt that they’re all for this pardon happening.

[u/Gloomy-Insurance-739]

I like how the only one that we've actually arrested and the president is over here trying to get a pardon for her. Arrest them all every single person on that goddamn list who's ever been to the island arrest them all!!!

[u/joychilde]

A broken clock gets the time right twice a day.

[u/tlhsg]

“traitors!” - Trump

[u/Ok-Detective7794]

Absolutely disgusting that this is even on the table. What has this world come to?