Journalism of Courage
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of recruiting young girls into sex trafficking, is planning to file a plea and ask a judge to release her from jail, a new court filing has shown, CNN reported.
Maxwell’s lawyer said that she would soon file a habeas corpus petition in the court seeking her release from the jail where has been sentenced to serve 20 years, a letter to Judge Paul Engelmayer showed on Wednesday. Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said a one-time British socialite is planning to file “pro se”, which means she would represent herself in court and not use an attorney.
The development comes amid the US Justice Department’s request to release grand jury transcripts and modify a protective order in the criminal case involving Maxwell. Lawyer Markus informed the judge in response to the Justice Department’s request.
Markus said on the release of materials, Maxwell “does not take a position” but writes “releasing the grand jury materials from her case, which contain untested and unproven allegations, would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial should Ms. Maxwell’s habeas petition succeed,” CNN reported.
However, the court filing did not state on what grounds the deceased sex offender Epstein’s former girlfriend would argue for her release from prison. The US Supreme Court recently rejected her appeal against her conviction and sentence in the case. In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking minors.
Lawyer Markus has earlier refuted the reports which claimed that Maxwell was seeking a pardon. US President Donald Trump had said that he’d have to “take a look” at whether he would grant her one.
The Trump administration has faced severe criticism for not releasing records related to the investigation into Epstein and Maxwell’s case. But last month, President Trump signed a bill that was passed overwhelmingly by the Congress which directed the Justice Department to release the records within 30 days.
