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US Supreme Court Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, effectively shutting down her last major legal avenue to overturn her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction. Maxwell, 63, is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison for conspiring with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls over a period of years.
In an order issued Monday, the high court declined to take up Ghislaine Maxwell’s argument that a non-prosecution agreement Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Florida more than a decade ago should have shielded her from criminal charges.
The Argument That Failed
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers had contended that Epstein’s 2007 plea deal — in which he pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor and registered as a sex offender — contained a clause protecting his “co-conspirators.” They argued this language immunized Maxwell from future federal prosecution.
But lower courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, disagreed. They held that the Florida agreement did not bind prosecutors in New York, where Maxwell was ultimately indicted and convicted. The Justice Department reiterated to the Supreme Court this summer that “only Epstein and the Florida USAO were parties” to the deal, not Maxwell.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s Foot Massage for Jeffrey Epstein
Maxwell’s Legal Options Narrow
Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, expressed disappointment at the ruling but vowed to keep fighting. “This fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done,” Markus said in a statement.
Though her Supreme Court appeal is over, Ghislaine Maxwell’s team has signaled it may pursue other post-conviction relief or even a presidential pardon. Donald Trump has said a pardon for Maxwell is “not on [his] radar,” but some of his allies continue to push for transparency around the Epstein case, which still draws intense public scrutiny.
Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein
The Broader Epstein Shadow
Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008, but in 2019 was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges before dying by suicide in prison. In recent months, the House Oversight Committee has released thousands of pages of Epstein-related records, intensifying political pressure on the Justice Department.
Ghislaine Maxwell, meanwhile, has been transferred to a minimum-security women’s prison in Bryan, Texas, where she reportedly works a prison job while serving out her sentence. With the Supreme Court’s rejection of her appeal, her conviction remains firmly in place — a stark reminder of how far the Epstein scandal continues to reach.
