New york: Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court challenging her 2021 conviction for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. She argues that a federal immunity agreement should have shielded her from prosecution.
According to Anadolu Agency, Maxwell's legal team contends that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida should have prevented charges against her in New York. Her lawyers claim the agreement's co-conspirator clause protected associates without any geographic limitations.
Maxwell's team asserts that her case presents a legal dilemma known as a "circuit split," where different federal appellate courts have conflicting rules on the same issue. Her appeal states, "For decades now, the same federal promise has yielded opposite results in different jurisdictions, undermining the uniformity of federal law and the integrity of plea bargains nationwide."
The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals had previously dismissed Maxwell's argument, stating that the protection was confined to Florida's Southern District.
The US Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject Maxwell's appeal, arguing her interpretation of the agreement is incorrect. Maxwell remains incarcerated while assisting the Justice Department through recent interviews. US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell regarding the ongoing Epstein investigation.
Maxwell, 63, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring to sexually abuse minors.
The department's recent public determination that Epstein was not murdered in his jail cell in 2019, and its assertion that he had no "client list," has caused significant tension with Trump's MAGA base.
Epstein, who mingled with the wealthy and powerful, including prominent politicians, for decades, pled guilty in 2008 to felony solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.
Trump's MAGA allies have long demanded the release of the government's Epstein records, speculating that the files implicate high-profile individuals. The Wall Street Journal reported that the department possesses a substantial amount of documents related to Epstein.