Ghislaine Maxwell has requested a judge to overturn her 20-year prison sentence, citing the emergence of “significant new evidence” that indicates her trial was affected by “constitutional violations.”
The former girlfriend and close associate of Jeffrey Epstein filed a habeas petition, claiming that critical information leading to her exoneration was withheld during her 2021 trial for sex trafficking. Maxwell asserted that false testimony was presented to the jury, resulting in what she described as a “complete miscarriage of justice.”
Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year jail term for trafficking underage girls, made her plea just before the impending release of sealed Epstein files. The filing in Manhattan federal court stated, “Since the conclusion of her trial, substantial new evidence has emerged from related civil actions, Government disclosures, investigative reports, and documents demonstrating constitutional violations that undermined the fairness of her proceeding.”
Despite the routine denial of such petitions, Maxwell’s request coincided with the scheduled public release of records in her case due to the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Donald Trump. The Justice Department, compelled by the new law, intends to release various investigative materials related to the sex trafficking probe, including search warrants, financial records, victim interview notes, and electronic device data.
Jeffrey Epstein, arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges, died by suicide in a federal jail in New York a month later. Maxwell, arrested a year after Epstein’s death, was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021.
Following a request from the Justice Department to release grand jury and pre-trial discovery materials, attorney David Markus, representing Maxwell, expressed concerns about potential prejudice if the documents were unsealed. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in Manhattan recently granted the Justice Department’s request to make these materials public.
Engelmayer emphasized that the released materials only implicate Epstein and Maxwell in having sexual contact with minors, with no mention of any other individuals involved.