The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator argued that she should have been shielded from prosecution under a plea agreement the late sex offender had reached with federal prosecutors in Florida, but the top court declined her case Monday at the start of its new term, reported CNN.
“We’re, of course, deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s case,” said her lawyer, David Oscar Markus. “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.”
The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had already ruled against Maxwell, finding that Epstein's plea agreement did not bind authorities in New York.
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for her role in Epstein's scheme to groom and sexually abuse underage girls.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges in Florida and was later indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019, but died in prison a month later while awaiting trial.
President Donald Trump has angered many of his own supporters for refusing to push for the release of evidence related to Epstein's case, but lawmakers are close to reaching the threshold necessary in a discharge petition to vote on ordering their release.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell over the summer and said she never witnessed Trump behave inappropriately during his years-long friendship with Epstein, and soon after that discussion she was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp.
