WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, leaving intact her 20-year prison sentence for aiding financier Jeffrey Epstein in the recruitment and sexual abuse of underage girls.
The justices issued no comment in denying Maxwell’s petition, one of dozens of appeals rejected as the court began its new term. The decision effectively ends Maxwell’s criminal appeal process, upholding her 2021 conviction on three counts of sex trafficking and conspiracy.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said in a statement that her legal team was “deeply disappointed” but vowed to continue pursuing “every avenue available to ensure that justice is done.”
At the heart of Maxwell’s appeal was a 2007 nonprosecution agreement negotiated between Epstein and federal prosecutors in Florida, led at the time by U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who later served as Labor Secretary under President Donald Trump. Maxwell’s lawyers argued that the agreement—which shielded Epstein and his alleged co-conspirators from federal charges—should have barred her prosecution in New York.
The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal, noting that internal policies would have required approval from higher authorities for such an agreement to apply outside the Southern District of Florida. “There is no evidence that occurred,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the government’s brief.
Maxwell, 63, was convicted for her role in facilitating Epstein’s years-long scheme to groom and exploit teenage girls, some as young as 14. Prosecutors said she befriended victims, arranged travel, and sometimes participated in the abuse.
Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The Justice Department later reaffirmed that conclusion, rejecting widespread conspiracy theories that he was murdered or maintained a secret “client list.”
The Supreme Court’s decision could clear the way for Congressional committees to move forward with plans to question Maxwell. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a senior member of the House Oversight Committee, said Maxwell “must now answer our questions truthfully.”
In a statement, the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers who later died by suicide, praised the court’s decision:
“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 next legal recourse may lie in seeking a presidential pardon—an option her lawyer has hinted at, and one that former President Trump has publicly acknowledged but not endorsed.
Earlier this year, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal attorney for Trump, conducted a lengthy interview with Maxwell at a Florida courthouse. Shortly afterward, she was transferred from a high-security prison to a minimum-security facility in Texas, fueling speculation about her cooperation with federal authorities.
In that interview, later made public by the Justice Department, Maxwell praised Trump as “an extraordinary man” and denied ever witnessing misconduct involving him or others in Epstein’s social circle.
Meanwhile, House Democrats are pressing for legislation that would compel the Justice Department to release all remaining files related to Epstein and Maxwell. The measure has been delayed amid the ongoing federal government shutdown and internal disputes within the Republican-led House.
“What are Republicans so afraid of?” asked Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) last week. “One more vote for accountability?”
Maxwell is scheduled for release in 2040. Her conviction remains one of the highest-profile prosecutions in the aftermath of the Epstein scandal, a case that continues to raise questions about the intersections of power, privilege, and justice in the United States.
