Supreme Court rejects Ghislaine Maxwell appeal in Epstein-linked case

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
Today 18:13

The US Supreme Court has rejected hearing Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal as she seeks to invoke a 2008 plea deal related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case.

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Ghislaine Maxwell and now-dead Jeffrey Epstein in an undated photo (Social media)

The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to court documents released on Monday.

Maxwell had submitted a plea for the Supreme Court to review her case, aiming to overturn her conviction related to her involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. The court’s decision not to hear the case effectively upholds her 20-year prison sentence.

Ghislaine Maxwell seeks SCOTUS reversal of sex-trafficking conviction

Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking network, has formally appealed to the US Supreme Court, seeking to overturn her 2021 conviction. Her legal team argues that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement involving Epstein should have legally protected her from federal charges, an assertion that has resurfaced alongside a recent closed-door meeting between Maxwell and senior Justice Department officials in Florida.

According to attorney David Oscar Markus, who filed the petition, the government is violating a binding deal once made "on behalf of the United States." The petition contends that the Department of Justice, under political and public pressure, is attempting to sidestep a contractual obligation in order to scapegoat Maxwell for Epstein's crimes.

"This case presents a straightforward and important question about the government's obligation to honor its promises in plea and non-prosecution agreements," Markus argued in the filing. "Rather than grapple with the core principles of plea agreements, the government tries to distract by reciting a lurid and irrelevant account of Jeffrey Epstein's misconduct. But this case is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did."

The Epstein-Maxwell case

Epstein, arrested in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges, was accused of exploiting dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005. He allegedly paid the victims in cash and coerced some into recruiting others, some as young as 14 years old. After being denied bail, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell weeks later in what was officially ruled a suicide.

Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and convicted two years later on charges including conspiracy to entice minors to travel for illegal sex acts and transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Despite FBI claims this month that no "client list" or blackmail operation existed, public suspicion has persisted, fueled in part by Elon Musk's recent claims that Epstein files remain sealed because they implicate Trump.

As the legal and political fallout continues, Maxwell's case remains a lightning rod for debates about elite impunity, government accountability, and the enduring questions left unanswered in the Epstein scandal.