Ghislaine Maxwell plans to petition a judge for her release.
New Epstein Island photo shows room with dental chair and mask
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released previously unreleased photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate.
- Ghislaine Maxwell plans to petition a judge for her release, according to a new court filing.
- Maxwell plans to represent herself in the petition, which will be filed about two months after the Supreme Court rejects her appeal.
- Maxwell’s lawyers have warned that if Jeffrey Epstein’s petition is granted, unsealing case documents could preclude a fair retrial.
- Maxwell’s new court filing coincides with the release of new photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate and convicted accomplice of the late disgraced financier and accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, plans to petition a judge for his release.
In court papers filed with U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer on Wednesday, Dec. 3, Ms. Maxwell’s attorneys did not provide specific details about what legal basis she would assert in her habeas corpus request for release.
The court filing also states that Maxwell plans to enter the plea in “prosec.” This means she can seek early release on her own behalf without the help of a lawyer. The filing is in response to a Justice Department request to unseal the grand jury transcripts of Maxwell’s case.
Maxwell’s petition was also filed about two months after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected her appeal of her conviction and sentence. She was convicted in New York federal court in 2021 on five charges related to sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Mr. Maxwell is the only associate of Mr. Epstein to receive a prison sentence. Epstein died in custody while awaiting trial in 2019.
She was transferred from a federal prison in Florida and is currently being held at a minimum security women’s prison in Texas. The move came shortly after she was questioned about Epstein by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former defense attorney for President Donald Trump.
The new court filing warned that releasing documents related to Maxwell’s case “may contain unverified and unproven allegations.” The one-page document added that if Maxwell’s request for release is granted, the release of grand jury materials would “create unfair prejudice so severe as to preclude the possibility of a fair retrial.”
The court filing came on the same day that House Democrats on the Oversight Committee released previously unreleased photos and videos from a private Caribbean island once owned by Epstein. The Justice Department must release more records from its files by Dec. 19 under a law passed by Congress in November.
The House Oversight Committee did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Maxwell’s court filing.
Controversy over the Epstein file continues
The continuing controversy over Epstein’s criminal case file is plaguing President Trump. Epstein and Maxwell were friends of President Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump supported releasing the Epstein files. But after teasing “truckloads” of Epstein files in March, President Trump’s Justice Department issued a memo in July saying no further disclosure of the documents was necessary. This caused an unusual conflict within the Republican Party, leading to a movement to force a vote on the Epstein File Transparency Act.
President Trump had always claimed the issue was a hoax, but after the bill quickly passed the House and Senate and was signed by President Trump on November 19, he surprisingly reversed course and supported releasing the files.
