Ghislaine Maxwell vows ‘fight isn’t over’ as Supreme Court rejects appeal

The former partner of Jeffrey Epstein was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 on sex trafficking charges.

A photograph of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that was shown to the court during the latter’s trial in 2021. Picture: AFP

Ghislaine Maxwell has said “the fight isn’t over” after the US Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal against a sex trafficking conviction.

The British former socialite, 63, was convicted in 2021 of five charges related to aiding Jeffrey Epstein in his abuse of under-age girls. The court receives 8000 petitions a year and hears only 200 of them. The US Justice Department had urged the court to reject her petition after announcing the Epstein case was “closed”.

Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison. She served four years in a Florida jail but was switched to a Texas prison camp after meeting Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of five charges related to aiding Jeffrey Epstein in his abuse of under-age girls. Picture: AFP

She had claimed she was covered by a non-prosecution agreement made in 2008 between Epstein and the US government. Her lawyer, David Markus, argued she should have similar protection but the nine judges rejected this with no explanation or dissent.

“This fight isn’t over. Serious legal and factual issues remain,” Mr Markus said. He indicated that Maxwell could seek a pardon from President Donald Trump.

The family of Virginia Giuffre, the prominent accuser of Epstein who died in April, said: “We are grateful to the Supreme Court for denying Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal to invalidate her conviction. We are committed to ensuring that convicted child sex trafficker Maxwell serves out the entirety of her 20-year sentence in prison, where she belongs.”

Maxwell’s lawyer said she could seek a pardon from President Trump. Picture: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

Maxwell’s brother, Ian, had told The Times that if her petition was denied his sister would launch a motion of habeas corpus in the Southern District of New York where she was prosecuted, which allows a prisoner to challenge their sentence on the basis of new evidence.

Maxwell is also set to testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Epstein’s crimes. She spent two days talking to Mr Blanche in July as the Trump administration scrambled to respond to calls for more transparency over what Epstein did and who else may have been involved.

The Times