Ghislaine Maxwell says newly released Epstein files could overturn conviction
In a newly unsealed petition, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime associate and girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell claims documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act exposed constitutional and legal violations, making her conviction “invalid, unsafe and infirm.”
Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for sex trafficking, is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Texas. She was convicted of aiding and participating in Epstein’s trafficking of underage girls.
What Maxwell is claiming
Now, she is claiming that the Epstein Files, which the Justice Department made public earlier this year, would have led to a different result at her trial had they been available. Specifically, she says, the files “expanded the evidentiary landscape” of her case.
“No reasonable juror would have convicted her had these documents been placed before the jury or had the material [been] made available for cross-examination and impeachment purposes,” Maxwell wrote in her filing, which had been sealed since its submission in April.
She claimed prosecutors failed to “follow witnesses and the evidence,” specifically citing their failure to interview Leslie Wexner, the billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret, who hired Epstein to manage his personal finances.
Maxwell said new Epstein files show prosecutors didn’t do “any real investigating of their own,” saying it led to “misrepresentations to judges and the jury resulting in an unsafe conviction.”
Prosecutors respond
Also unsealed this week was the prosecutors’ response to Maxwell’s petition, in which they called Maxwell’s claims speculative, factually erroneous and procedurally barred.
“The defendant seeks to sweep away the judgment of conviction representing the solemn verdict of a jury,” the response reads.
Prosecutors go on to say Maxwell is repeatedly making baseless claims of government misconduct, noting, “her victims deserve finality.”
“The supposedly new evidence the defendant cites … affords her no relief,” prosecutors wrote.
The government, however, also conceded that in some instances, Maxwell’s attorneys were not in possession of some files that have now been made public. It argued, though, that none of the occurrences constituted violations that would affect her verdict.
Maxwell’s repeated efforts to appeal
The documents unsealed this week are just one instance of Maxwell’s attempts to overturn her conviction. She has long argued that federal prosecutors used her as a scapegoat or “substitute” for Epstein, after he died by suicide while in federal custody.
Maxwell made plans to apply for clemency from President Donald Trump, exhausted all her appeal options and filed a habeas petition contending that “substantial new evidence” had emerged regarding her case.
She even claimed she has information that would clear Trump and former President Bill Clinton of any allegations, but would need to be granted clemency before sharing.
Her most recent petition asks courts to review the new evidence as a whole, rather than individually, saying it paints a new picture.
“The Court’s task… is not to evaluate each disclosure in isolation, but to consider the cumulative force of a record that is substantially different from the record available during trial, direct appeal, and prior collateral review,” Maxwell wrote.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
