Supreme Court Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s Appeal
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the Jeffrey Epstein confidante who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
The court didn’t give a reason for the denial, which leaves intact a federal appeals court ruling that upheld Maxwell’s conviction.
Maxwell, 63 years old, has emerged as a key figure in the White House’s effort to quell the clamor for the release of information related to Epstein, who died in jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The Justice Department asked a judge to release materials from the grand jury investigations into her and Epstein, but those requests were denied.
A top department official this summer interviewed Maxwell , who had been serving her prison sentence in Florida. After the interview, she was transferred to a lower-security facility in Texas.
A lawyer for Maxwell said her team was disappointed the court wouldn’t take up the appeal. “But this fight isn’t over,” said her lawyer, David Markus. “Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done.”
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maxwell’s bid to the Supreme Court revolved around whether her case was covered by an agreement Epstein reached with prosecutors in Florida. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida state court in 2008 to two prostitution offenses. Under that deal, federal prosecutors agreed not to charge his potential co-conspirators.
Her lawyers argued the agreement extended to the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which charged Maxwell in 2020. “This case presents a straightforward and important question about the government’s obligation to honor its promises in plea and non-prosecution agreements,” they wrote in a court brief.
The Justice Department said the agreement applied only to the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District in Florida, which negotiated the deal.
Maxwell was a close associate of Epstein’s for decades. At her trial, four women provided graphic testimony about how the financier sexually abused them while they were teenagers. The women said that Maxwell befriended them, arranged meetings with Epstein and at times took part in the abuse. Her lawyers argued that Maxwell was a scapegoat for Epstein.
During the interview this summer, Maxwell told Justice Department official Todd Blanche that there was no secret list of Epstein’s clients nor a campaign to blackmail powerful people in his orbit. She said she never witnessed any wrongdoing by President Trump, who had socialized with the financier in the past.
“The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects,” Maxwell told Blanche, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Justice Department.
The Bureau of Prisons lists Maxwell’s release date as July 17, 2037.
The high court’s decision leaves Maxwell with little recourse beyond seeking clemency from the president. When previously asked about the possibility of pardoning Maxwell, Trump said, “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I haven’t thought about.”
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I'm getting a sneaky feeling that Trump will pardon the 'lass' via the infamous autopen.
I hope not but perhaps he will. But I think this should put to rest the idea that SCOTUS is joined at the hip with Trump.
SCOTUS's record so far tells a different story.
Based on opinion. I think a better way to look at it is to see (and time here is needed) how the rulings impact future presidents.
We are approaching the point where she will be "yesterday's news".
So now will the Orange haired Man pardon her to keep his secrets "secret".
Stay tuned