DOJ urges US court to reject Ghislaine Maxwell appeal

The United States Department of Justice has urged the Supreme Court to reject an appeal from Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The British heiress is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida after she was convicted of recruiting and grooming underage girls that Epstein sexually abused.

Maxwell, 63, asked the Supreme Court in April to review the ruling of a federal appeals court that in September 2024 rejected her appeal of her conviction and sentence.

In a letter sent to the court, Maxwell's lawyers argued on Monday that she is judicially protected by a 2007 agreement signed between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida in a separate case.

In the agreement, the Attorney General's Office reportedly agreed not to prosecute Epstein's potential co-conspirators, but despite this, the US prosecuted Maxwell years later as an accomplice, according to her legal team.

US Solicitor General John Sauer argued in the DOJ letter that Maxwell's position is "incorrect, and petitioner does not show that it would succeed in any court of appeals."

The DOJ's request comes a month after the department, along with the FBI, concluded that there is no evidence that Epstein kept a list of clients to whom underage girls were trafficked.

The DOJ and the FBI have also reportedly reviewed several hours of video footage that confirms that no one entered the part of the Manhattan prison where the 66-year-old billionaire took his life while awaiting trial.

The department also said no "further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted" and that one of its "highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims."

One of Maxwell's lawyers, David Oscar Markus, said in statements reported by ABC News that he would be "surprised" if US President Donald Trump "knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal."

"He's the ultimate dealmaker and I'm sure he'd agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it (...) It's especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the government made and broke," he noted.

In 2021, Maxwell - who pleaded not guilty to all the criminal charges against her - was convicted by a jury in 2021 on five of six counts, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor, and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

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