Supreme Court Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s Appeal in Epstein Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal of her criminal conviction for getting teenage girls ready for sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell’s conviction on three counts and her 20-year prison sentence are still in effect because of the judgment, NBC News reported.

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said in court papers that an agreement Epstein made with Alex Acosta, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida at the time, not to prosecute him or any potential co-conspirators should apply to one of the three counts in her case, which was tried in New York.

“We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case,” Markus said in a statement. “But this fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done,” he added.

Maxwell’s appeal pertained to whether the provisions of a “nonprosecution agreement” solely apply in the district where it was made or if they also apply to federal prosecutors across the country.

The Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court to turn down Maxwell’s appeal.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in his brief that if the agreement were to apply outside of his district, the U.S. attorney would have been required to get authorization from his superiors. He said there was no proof that it happened.

In 2022, Maxwell was found guilty of three counts for helping Epstein find and groom his victims, some of whom were as young as 14 years old.

Prosecutors said she would make friends with the girls and then help them get to Epstein’s homes. She was sometimes there when the abuse happened.

The Epstein case and Maxwell’s role in it made headlines again this year when the Justice Department and the FBI said that, contrary to what some people who now work for President Donald Trump say, there was no “client list” for Epstein or proof that he was blackmailing famous men.

The authorities also revealed that there was no doubt Epstein murdered himself in 2019, which goes against conspiracy theories that say he was killed.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche then met with Maxwell for hours for an interview. Maxwell was then transferred from a prison in Florida to a lower, minimum-security prison camp in Texas. The Bureau of Prisons did not say why she was transferred.

The Justice Department later released audio and a transcript of Blanche’s interview with Maxwell.

Maxwell said she was “very central” to the “startup” of the Clinton Global Initiative, according to the Justice Department transcript.

In addition, Maxwell was welcomed—and even honored—at one of the Clinton Foundation’s most prestigious events as allegations piled up linking her to Epstein’s sex trafficking network, a bombshell CNN report revealed earlier this week.

In the interview, Maxwell outlined her role in helping establish the initiative, which, according to its website, brings together nonprofit leaders, business executives, government officials, activists, and heads of state for its annual meetings.

“You were part of the ramp up or the startup of the Clinton Global Initiative,” Blanche asked?

“I was,” Maxwell replied. “I would say very central to that, yes.” She went on to say that Epstein was “very enthusiastic” about her involvement.

“[Epstein] supported me to help them, but then I think he may have tried to use that to insert himself in some way, that would not have surprised me at all,” Maxwell added regarding her work with the Clinton Global Initiative. “And I know that he was annoying, in terms that I could catch him on the phone, and he wouldn’t always agree with what I wanted to do. And I was like, ‘It’s not your idea. I don’t really care what you think,’ but that didn’t go over so well.”

She also attended the 2013 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) conference as a guest of merit.

Maxwell said she had accompanied former President Bill Clinton to Davos at least once, but added that he never visited Epstein’s private island. She said she first met Clinton at a White House event and later became acquainted with him through former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.