Ghislaine Maxwell's family insists she received unfair trial in Jeffrey Epstein case

Fox News

4 days ago

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988.
The family of Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate and the only convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, insisted she received an unfair trial this week, shortly after the Justice Department downplayed the contents of sealed files surrounding the years-long investigation into his activities.
"Our sister Ghislaine did not receive a fair trial," the Maxwell family said in a statement Tuesday.
Maxwell, 63, is appealing her 2020 conviction on sex trafficking charges while serving a 20-year federal prison sentence at FCI Tallahassee -- where she has been keeping in shape as she fights the case.
Her family says she could also take another legal step in search of her freedom -- filing a writ of habeas corpus in the Southern District of New York, which would be a challenge to the legality of her imprisonment.
"If necessary, in due course they will also file a writ of habeas corpus in the US District Court, SDNY," the statement reads. "This allows her to challenge her imprisonment on the basis of new evidence such as government misconduct that would have likely changed the trial's outcome."
Maxwell's appeal hinges on the argument that she should not have been prosecuted under the terms of a prior plea agreement the government reached with Epstein in an earlier trafficking conviction in Florida, for which he received a 13-month slap on the wrist.
WATCH: Journalist who spoke to Ghislaine Maxwell from prison: I didn't see any remorse
The 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Epstein and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida stated that "the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein."
Lower courts have rejected this argument, and she is now petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of the case.
"I'd be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal," said David Oscar Marcus, one of Maxwell's attorneys. "He's the ultimate dealmaker -- and I'm sure he'd agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it."
If her appeals fail, she's due for release in July 2037.
In the wake of the government's recent announcement that Epstein kept no incriminating client list, Maxwell's supporters are crying foul.
"With all the talk about who's being prosecuted and who isn't, it's especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the U.S. government made and broke," Marcus added.
Epstein died in 2019 a month after his arrest on additional federal sex trafficking charges. Authorities say his death was a suicide by hanging in his jail cell, but his family and other skeptics have rejected that finding.
Last year, a federal judge ordered thousands of pages of documents from a civil case brought by Epstein and Maxwell victim Virginia Giuffre unsealed. The documents linked dozens of prominent people in entertainment, business, politics and academia to Epstein – but not to his criminal activities.
The vast majority of those figures were not accused of wrongdoing, and the few who were had already been publicly linked to Epstein before the document dump.
Giuffre, Epstein's most outspoken accuser, died of suicide earlier this year in Australia.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo announcing a review of Epstein's case files had been completed. However, the document revealed barely any new information.
Authorities said that most of the unreleased files pertain to minors or victims who appear to be minors, and that more than 10,000 videos and images included "illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography" that would not be released.
The government published hours of surveillance video that authorities said support the conclusion that Epstein killed himself – but there's also a missing window due to a flaw in the system, raising new questions.