John 18:38

‘And when he had said this he went out again to the Judaisers, and says to them, “I find him guilty of no crime.”

Pilate went out and told the Jews that he found nothing against Jesus as far as Roman law was concerned. And that should have been the end of the matter. An innocent man acquitted. Thus from now on Pilate was also guilty. From now on it would not be a question of guilt or innocence, of right or wrong. It would be a matter of jealousies, of religious persecution, of men protecting their own positions at any cost, of a statesman acting against himself for the sake of his own position and to prevent problems that could be inconvenient. It would all be based on deceit and lies.

For Pilate knew that however in the right he was, truth could be twisted. He had done it himself to others. So he felt he must protect his back. The princes of this world were all facing their judgment, and he was one of them (John 16:11)

The other Gospels tell us that at this point Pilate tried to rid himself of the problem by sending Jesus to Herod. He was not convinced of the man's guilt, and possibly felt that Herod might better understand the nature of the problem, which was clearly connected with the Jewish religion. It was only when He was returned from Herod that Pilate tried the counsel of despair.