The woman at the center of the pedophile saga that has gripped the nation may be asking for a pardon from President Donald Trump very soon.Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney David Markus told reporters there had been no offer of pardon or clemency after a second day of interviews concluded with the Department of Justice.'I don't know exactly what's happening, but I certainly can't talk about pardons now.'Maxwell was convicted on charges of sex trafficking for her role in helping Jeffrey Epstein obtain victims in a sexual assault ring before the billionaire financier was found dead in a prison cell awaiting trial. She is serving a sentence of 20 years at a prison in Tallahassee, Florida.Markus said Tuesday that the meetings allowed Ghislaine to tell her side of the story since she had never testified in court.Markus did not comment on the content of the meetings and said only that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had brokered the meeting and asked a lot of questions. But he did imply that Maxwell may ask the administration for a pardon."We haven't spoken to the president, or anybody, about a pardon just yet," Markus told reporters. "And the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way."Earlier on Friday, Trump only affirmed that he had the power to give Maxwell clemency when asked by reporters in front of the White House, but said that he hadn't even thought about it."I can't talk about that now because, you know, it's a very sensitive interview going on," said Trump, who went on to compliment Blanche."He's over there now. I don't know exactly what's happening, but I certainly can't talk about pardons now," he added.RELATED: Trump denies report of letter and drawing sent to Epstein on his 50th birthday, threatens to sue WSJ Markus said after the first meeting with the DOJ that Maxwell had answered every question she was asked and did not cite her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He described the questioning as exhaustive.Epstein's death was ruled a suicide, but suspicious circumstances around his death have led to speculation that he was murdered in order to prevent his revealing which wealthy and powerful individuals may have participated in his illegal activities.The Trump administration faced a lot of anger from some supporters after FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino bluntly rejected conspiracy theories about the pedophile's suicide."You know a suicide when you see one, and that's what that was," Patel said at the time."He killed himself," Bongino added. "Again, I've seen the whole file. He killed himself."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York will have to pay up to settle an ethics complaint after she accepted free tickets and other gifts to attend the Met Gala.Ocasio-Cortez was ridiculed by many for famously wearing a dress with the message "Tax the Rich" to the famous gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2021. She later was hit with an ethics complaint when it was discovered that she had run afoul of rules governing gifts to members of Congress.'I'm just saying, you wear 'tax the rich' on your ass, and people are always saying the rich don't pay taxes.'On Friday, the panel dropped a 31-page report about the gala accusations. They found that although she tried to follow rules about gifts, Ocasio-Cortez failed by "impermissibly accepting a gift of free admission to the 2021 Met Gala for her partner and by failing to pay full fair market value for some of the items worn to the event."She and her boyfriend were given tickets to the event worth about $35,000 as guests of Vogue, as well as customized clothing and hair and makeup styling. Ocasio-Cortez worked with an attorney to pay for the gifts, but the panel said the payments were delayed and fell short of the value of the gifts.The congresswoman's chief of staff said she accepted the ruling."The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House," Mike Casca said. "She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she's done at each step in this process."RELATED: Campaign office for Ocasio-Cortez vandalized with far-left message Ocasio-Cortez was mocked widely for implying that the wealthy paid little in taxes."I'm all for ending income inequality, but let's not lie. The rich pay a lot of the taxes," Bill Maher said in a tirade at the time."I'm just saying, you wear 'tax the rich' on your ass, and people are always saying the rich don't pay taxes. They pay some taxes!" Maher argued later in his screed. "They pay a big part of the freight already. I'm not saying it shouldn't be more perhaps, but let's not lie."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President Donald Trump said the tariffs policies he implemented have raised so much money that he is considering sending out a tariff refund check to the American people. The president made the comments Friday in front of the White House after being asked by a reporter about the possibility of a rebate from the tens of billions of dollars garnered through his imposition of new tariff rates. 'We have so much money coming in from tariffs that a little rebate for people of a certain income level might be very nice.' "We're thinking about that actually," the president said. "We have so much money coming in, we're thinking about a little rebate, but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt. But we're thinking about a rebate."The government reported a massive increase in U.S. customs duties revenue in June of $27 billion, which amounts to 301% gain from the year previous. "We're thinking about a rebate because we have so much money coming in from tariffs that a little rebate for people of a certain income level might be very nice," Trump added. RELATED: Trump continues to bash Fed chair after inflation report; Powell calls for independent probe into renovation accusationsTrump says he is considering giving Americans a rebate with all of the tariff money coming into the country: "We have so much money coming in, we're thinking about a little rebate. A little rebate for people of a certain income level might very nice." pic.twitter.com/vqPDpEuACN— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 25, 2025 Critics of the president's restrictive trade policies say that tariffs "not only impose immense economic costs but also fail to achieve their primary policy aims and foster political dysfunction along the way." Others opposed the idea of a tariff rebate on the basis that the additional spending would be inflationary and that the funding would be better spent paying down the federal debt. NPR's Jack Corbett noted on X on Wednesday that people may send the U.S. Treasury donations via Venmo and Paypal "to help pay off the national debt."Some, like former Trump staffer Steve Cortes, were supportive of the rebate idea. "Great idea! Tariff revenue rebates for working class citizens, yes please," he responded. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The state of California suffered a legal defeat after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said its restrictions on ammunition purchases were unconstitutional.Two of the three judges on the court panel said California was violating the Second Amendment rights of residents by requiring a background check on ammunition purchases.'Today's decision is a slap in the face to the progress California has made in recent years to keep its communities safer.'"By subjecting Californians to background checks for all ammunition purchases, California's ammunition background check regime infringes on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms," Judge Sandra S. Ikuta wrote for the majority opinion.California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who supported the restrictions, posted an angry statement after losing in court."Strong gun laws save lives — and today's decision is a slap in the face to the progress California has made in recent years to keep its communities safer from gun violence," Newsom said."Californians voted to require background checks on ammunition, and their voices should matter,” he added.The decision is just the latest in seven years' worth of legal battles over the restrictions that were implemented in the wake of a horrific Islamic terror attack in San Bernardino in 2014.RELATED: Federal judge strikes down California ban on firearm magazines "This case has been a long hard fight against overreaching government gun control, but a firearm cannot be effective without the ammunition to make it operable," said California Rifle and Pistol Association President Chuck Michel. "The state of California continues to try to strip our rights, and we continue to prove their actions are unconstitutional."Two of the panel's judges were nominated by President George W. Bush, while the third was nominated by President Donald Trump.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!