The DOJ on Monday urged the Supreme Court to reject Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal of her sex-trafficking conviction, amid criticism over its handling of Epstein case files.
Maxwell, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in 2021 after being convicted on five counts. She claims her conviction should be overturned due to Epstein’s 2007 plea deal and expired statutes of limitations.
The Second Circuit denied Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal, but she urged the Supreme Court to review conflicting rulings on immunity from non-prosecutorial deals like Epstein’s 2007 agreement. Maxwell, serving her sentence in Tallahassee until 2037, made her plea as the DOJ faced backlash from Trump supporters after announcing no new information in Epstein’s case. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 before standing trial for sex trafficking.
Some Trump-era DOJ officials had pushed theories of a government cover-up in the Epstein case but have since backed off. According to the Daily Mail, Maxwell is open to testifying before Congress.
“I’d be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal,” Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus said, criticizing the DOJ. “He’s the ultimate dealmaker — and 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.”
New:
The DOJ opposes Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid for the Supreme Court to review her sex trafficking verdict. The brief finally hits the docket.
Read it here. https://t.co/NTSh2XP1mD pic.twitter.com/0rHxlUOlfg
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 14, 2025
