1:00Ghislaine Maxwell attends VIP Evening of Conversation for Women’s Brain Health Initiative, October 18, 2016 in New York City. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
The High Court has decided not to hear the appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, who was challenging her legal proceedings and guilty verdict. She argued the government had infringed upon a deal not to prosecute that was previously arranged with Jeffrey Epstein before he passed away.
The High Court did not offer an explanation for its choice.
Maxwell — the convicted accomplice of sexual offender Epstein — was disputing her 2022 judgment on three charges and subsequent 20-year punishment. She claimed that national attorneys had acted against a prior agreement with Epstein, promising not to indict any supposed collaborators.
A security guard walks down the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, July 19, 2024.Kevin Mohatt/Reuters, Files
That 2007 agreement was created in Florida; Maxwell underwent prosecution in New York. The government asserts the agreement was only applicable to the judiciary area where it originated — not country-wide. Federal appellate tribunals have varied regarding the question of scope of application.
Maxwell is presently incarcerated, serving her sentence for supporting and engaging in Epstein’s exploitation of underage females, which encompassed a strategy to enroll young women and girls for massages of Epstein that became sexually oriented. Federal prosecutors in New York stated Maxwell aided Epstein in recruiting, preparing, and ultimately mistreating girls as young as 14.
Maxwell’s legal representative, David O. Markus, expressed his “disappointment” concerning the High Court’s ruling.
“Naturally, we’re greatly saddened that the Supreme Court refused to consider Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal matter,” Markus remarked in a public statement. “However, this conflict is not resolved. Substantial legal and factual concerns persist, and we will persistently examine every possible means to guarantee justice is served.”
Maxwell’s relatives released a statement on their site Monday, signifying that Maxwell plans to proceed with the fight to reverse her guilty verdict, despite her appeal being denied by the High Court. The family conveyed that Maxwell intends to submit a habeas appeal shortly in the Southern District of New York, where Maxwell was found guilty in 2021.
Ghislaine Maxwell attends VIP Evening of Conversation for Women’s Brain Health Initiative, October 18, 2016 in New York City.Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
When asked in the Oval Office on Monday about whether he would think about forgiveness for Maxwell, President Donald Trump commented that he was unfamiliar with the court’s determination and was not informed that she had appealed her conviction and penalization.
“I’m going to have to investigate. I have to consult DOJ,” Trump replied. “I was unaware they turned it down. I didn’t even realize she was requesting it, to be honest.”
Maxwell’s High Court request was narrowed to a distinct issue — her assertion that Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami in 2007 — which included an atypical stipulation concerning alleged accomplices — should have impeded her legal proceedings in New York more than a decade afterward.
Maxwell’s habeas request, according to the family, will be centered on their accusations of purported constitutional breaches during her legal proceedings and trial. Some of those claims had been previously introduced and rejected in Maxwell’s appeal to the Second Circuit.
Epstein was taken into custody in July 2019 and formally charged in a federal indictment with conspiracy and exploitation of children. He passed away while incarcerated approximately a month later as he awaited his trial. His death was classified as a suicide by hanging.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
