President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject an appeal from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
More than two years after Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail, Maxwell was found guilty in December 2021 of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, among other charges, related to her role in a scheme to abuse minor girls with the wealthy financier for a decade.
Maxwell, now 63, was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. Still, her lawyers have been trying to get her out of prison by appealing her case, arguing she was exempt from prosecution under a clause in Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement.
Years before Epstein died in jail while on federal charges related to the sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls, he was accused of almost identical allegations in a Florida case.
He was able to cut a deal in June 2008, where he pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. This deal allowed him to avoid a possible life sentence and he instead served 13 months in a work-release program.
There was a co-conspirator clause in the deal that stated if “Epstein successfully fulfills all of the terms and conditions of this agreement, the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to” four of the financier’s assistants, ABC News reported.
Maxwell was not included on the list of assistants, but her lawyers are now arguing the “plain language” of the deal shows she should not have been prosecuted in Manhattan.
“Despite the existence of a non-prosecution agreement promising in plain language that the United States would not prosecute any co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, the United States in fact prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein,” her lawyers wrote the Supreme Court in April.
Maxwell’s lawyers had already tried and failed to get lower courts to side with them.
The Justice Department argued in a new filing to the Supreme Court on Monday that Maxwell “was not a party to the relevant agreement,” and there is “no evidence that the parties to the NPA intended for the coconspirators clause to benefit” her.
“The government was not even aware of [Maxwell’s] role in Epstein’s scheme at that time,” the filing read.
The Justice Department also contended, citing its policy at the time the deal was made, a U.S. Attorney’s Office could only bind other districts in an NPA if it obtained approval of the districts or the department’s Criminal Division.
Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said in a statement circulated by multiple outlets Monday, “I’d be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal,” adding, “He’s the ultimate dealmaker.”
“I’m sure he’d agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it. 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 government made and broke,” Markus added.
Trump has been accused of being on Epstein’s client list by tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose relationship with the president turned sour after his short stint at the White House leading the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk did not provide any evidence to prove Trump was on any suspected list.
The president’s Justice Department and FBI made waves among his Make America Great Again base when they said earlier this month there was never any client list of high-profile names associated with Epstein. The feds also confirmed he died by suicide following years of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death.
Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer who has represented hundreds of clients who have claimed to be Epstein’s victims, told ABC News, “After two-plus decades of recruiting and abusing young girls trapped in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking enterprise, Ghislaine Maxwell has again attempted to escape accountability by trying to hide behind the non-prosecution agreement.
“Maxwell does not deserve any protection, and she should remain in prison for the horrific crimes she committed.”
