Supreme Court Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell’s Appeal in Epstein Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to overturn her conviction for helping the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein recruit and groom underage girls for abuse.
The high court’s decision leaves intact Maxwell’s 20-year prison sentence and three felony convictions, according to NBC News.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, argued that a 2008 “nonprosecution agreement” Epstein secured with then–U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta in Florida should have protected Maxwell from at least one of the charges filed 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.”
At issue was whether the controversial nonprosecution deal—widely criticized for its leniency toward Epstein—applied only in Florida or extended to federal prosecutors nationwide.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the Justice Department, urged the Court to deny Maxwell’s appeal, arguing that if the Florida agreement were meant to cover other districts, Acosta would have needed authorization from higher officials—something for which there is no evidence.
Maxwell was convicted in 2022 for helping Epstein find and prepare his victims, some as young as 14, by befriending them and facilitating their access to Epstein’s homes—often while present during the assaults.
The Epstein saga resurfaced this year after the Justice Department and FBI dismissed persistent public speculation that Epstein maintained a “client list” of powerful figures or that he was murdered to protect them. Officials doubled down on the claim that Epstein’s 2019 death was a suicide, despite widespread skepticism.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche later interviewed Maxwell for several hours before her transfer from a Florida facility to a minimum-security prison in Texas. The Bureau of Prisons did not disclose the reason for the move.
According to a transcript released by the Justice Department, Maxwell revealed during the interview that she was “very central” to the founding of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a major arm of the Clinton Foundation.
“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 added that Epstein “supported” her involvement but suggested he might have tried to leverage her position for his own benefit.
Maxwell’s ties to the Clintons were further highlighted by a CNN report revealing she was welcomed—and even honored—at a Clinton Foundation event despite mounting allegations linking her to Epstein’s trafficking network.
Maxwell said she attended the 2013 CGI conference as a “guest of merit” and confirmed that she had accompanied former President Bill Clinton to the World Economic Forum in Davos. She maintained, however, that Clinton never visited Epstein’s private island.
She said she first met Clinton at a White House function during his presidency and later became better acquainted through former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.