US judge rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's 'frivolous' bid to overturn conviction

A US federal judge has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell's bid to overturn her 2021 sex trafficking conviction and 20-year prison sentence, calling her claims "demonstrably meritless" and "frivolous" Source: AP News. Judge Paul Engelmayer's 67-page ruling denied Maxwell's habeas petition, which argued that newly released Epstein files and other evidence constituted a "complete miscarriage of justice" Source: The Guardian.

Key rulings

• Engelmayer wrote that "nearly all" of Maxwell's claims are "procedurally barred" and that the evidence at trial "conclusively established her guilt" Source: BBC.
• The judge found that documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act "incriminate" Maxwell rather than exonerate her Source: Al Jazeera.
• He also rejected claims of selective prosecution, noting Maxwell did not implicate others in her filing Source: The Guardian.

Context

Maxwell, 64, is the only person convicted in connection with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 Source: Euronews. Her petition also raised a 2007 non-prosecution agreement with Epstein, which she claimed protected her, but the judge noted she was not named in it Source: The Guardian. The Supreme Court declined to hear her earlier appeal in October Source: Al Jazeera.

What's next

Maxwell remains at a prison camp in Bryan, Texas, eligible for release in 2037 Source: Al Jazeera. Her attorney, David Markus, had said she would cooperate with a House Oversight Committee subpoena only if granted clemency by President Trump, who has said he would "take a look at" any petition Source: The Guardian.