What kind of deal is the Trump administration trying to make with Ghislaine Maxwell?

Trump’s former personal lawyer leading the interviews would seem to be a pretty good indication of where things are going:

The yellowjacket buzz of a plane circling above the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Fla., on Friday roused the perspiring platoon of reporters staking out a meeting between a top Justice Department official and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The plane’s banner read, “Trump and Bondi are protecting predators.”

The accusation summed up concerns on the ground as Todd Blanche, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s top deputy, concluded a second extraordinary day of interviews with Ms. Maxwell, once a fixer for the financier Jeffrey Epstein who is now imprisoned on charges of sex trafficking.

Her lawyer estimated that over the course of her interview, Ms. Maxwell answered questions about 100 people, though it was unclear whether they included victims, associates or others implicated in her sex-trafficking case.

Ms. Maxwell has made it clear she wants her 20-year sentence thrown out or reduced or a pardon. President Trump, asked whether he would consider pardoning her, said, “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about.” He made the remarks before he headed off to Scotland, wishing her well.

Pressed for details of the interview with Ms. Maxwell after he landed in Scotland, he added, “I don’t know anything about the conversation.” He continued, “Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons.”

Mr. Blanche has described his trip as a neutral fact-finding mission, saying he would share details of the discussion “at the appropriate time” — yet he has also declared that the federal criminal investigation into targets beyond Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Epstein remains closed. By that standard, new interviews would appear to serve a function beyond the purposes of traditional law enforcement, unless new evidence of criminality has been discovered, current and former officials said.

The department offered Ms. Maxwell conditional immunity to discuss the case, but the protection did not apply if she lied in her interviews, according to an official with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity to discuss details of the case publicly. In total, the interview lasted about eight to 10 hours.

The Blanche-Maxwell discussion has stoked concerns from critics of Mr. Trump, a onetime friend of Mr. Epstein’s, that he may grant Ms. Maxwell a reprieve.

Senator Charles Schumer, the Democratic leader, questioned whether Mr. Blanche had offered Ms. Maxwell “some kind of a corrupt deal so that she can exonerate Donald Trump.”

I will admit that there are many things about MAGA I don’t understand and don’t particularly understand, and Trump’s instincts about what can generate inexplicably positive press coverage are often good (granting that he’s playing in favorable conditions there.) But no matter how many Democrats she accuses or what unconvincing exonerations of Trump she offers, it’s hard for me to see pardoning or making a much more lenient plea bargain with Maxwell will work out for him politically.