Ghislaine Maxwell cites new evidence in appeal
Ghislaine Maxwell argues in a new court filing that Jeffrey Epstein documents released this year contain evidence that her rights were violated before she was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping the late financier sexually abuse teenage girls.
Maxwell, 64, is appealing her December 2021 conviction and sentence in Manhattan federal court and is seeking a writ of habeas corpus declaring her sentence unlawful.
Prosecutors said the woman’s latest allegations were false or reported too late.
In her amended petition made public Wednesday, Maxwell said multiple documents released through the Epstein Files Transparency Act show that her due process rights were violated because attorneys representing Epstein’s accusers served as “De facto Prosecutors and agents of the government.”
The former British socialite and Epstein girlfriend also cited, among other things, a letter from a former federal prosecutor who said “I did everything I could” to help female lawyers in an attempt to undo Epstein’s controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida.
Maxwell repeatedly claimed, unsuccessfully, that Epstein’s deal protected her from criminal prosecution.
His habeas petition represents his broadest effort to overturn his conviction, the most significant successful investigation to emerge from the Epstein scandal. He used some of the millions of pages of documents released under the Epstein files law, which US President Donald Trump signed after its near-unanimous approval by Congress in November.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer will oversee Maxwell’s case and review her petition.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, whose office is in Manhattan, which is prosecuting Maxwell, said she filed many of her arguments too late and that those presented in a timely manner were speculative at best, failed to show that she misrepresented the record or the law or that her trial was unfair.
Spokespeople for some of the attorneys representing Epstein’s accusers had no comment.
Maxwell is representing herself in a bid to overturn her conviction on five charges of recruiting and training Epstein to abuse underage girls between 1994 and 2004.
An earlier appeal focused on the non-prosecution agreement that led to Epstein’s 2008 plea of guilty to prostitution charges in the state of Florida. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison; This punishment is now thought to be too light. The US Supreme Court rejected that appeal in October.
In his amended petition, Maxwell also objected to prosecutors’ claim that they “failed to keep track of witnesses and evidence.”
Among other things, he cited their failure to interview Leslie Wexner, the retail billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret who hired Epstein to manage his personal finances.
Wexner, 88, told Congress in February that he cut ties with Epstein in 2007 and had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. Maxwell said the newly released materials showed prosecutors were unable to conduct a “real investigation on their own,” which “led to false statements to the judge and jury, which led to an unsafe conviction.”
The petition also alleged other grounds for overturning Maxwell’s conviction, including gaps in witness testimony and the government’s suppression of evidence.
A federal judge delayed the release of Maxwell’s amended petition so prosecutors could make redactions to protect the anonymity of Epstein’s victims.
Epstein died at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, five weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
Maxwell is in a minimum security federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas. He was eligible for release in July 2037, when he turned 75.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Resolution Support Service 1800 211 028
Lifeline 13 11 14
Child Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
