Ghislaine Maxwell files Supreme Court brief appealing Epstein conviction

Ghislaine Maxwell pressed ahead with an appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking to overturn her conviction on the grounds that she was unlawfully prosecuted for sex trafficking minors with Jeffrey Epstein.Why it matters: The filing by Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022, comes just three days after she met with a top Justice Department official tapped to re-examine the Epstein case.The Trump administration has faced weeks of bipartisan backlash after reneging on promises to release all files related to the now-deceased sex trafficker.MAGA activists have suggested that Maxwell, a British former socialite, could be the key to exposing new information about the alleged elite pedophile ring at the heart of Epstein conspiracy theories.Zoom in: Maxwell's appeal revolves around a highly controversial 2007 plea agreement Epstein negotiated with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida."The United States," the plea agreement stated, "agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to" four other suspects.Maxwell was not listed as one of those suspects — but her lawyers argue she didn't need to be.Between the lines: Maxwell's attorneys, the husband-wife team of Mona and David Oscar Markus contends that a plain reading of the deal protects unnamed co-conspirators as well, since it explicitly says it's "not limited to" those listed.Markus also argues that language in the deal — promising immunity from "the United States" — means Maxwell couldn't be prosecuted for Epstein-related crimes anywhere in the country."The government's argument, across the board, is essentially an appeal to what it wishes the agreement had said, rather than what it actually says," Mona Markus wrote in the petition.The other side: The Justice Department says former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who negotiated the deal, didn't have authority to bind other federal districts — including the Southern District of New York, where Maxwell was ultimately tried and convicted.The intrigue: Federal appeals courts have split over the key question of whether a plea deal struck by one U.S. Attorney's Office applies to the entire Justice Department.The Justice Department acknowledged that divide in its own brief, but has urged the Supreme Court to reject Maxwell's appeal."The government was not even aware of [Maxwell's] role in Epstein's scheme at that time," DOJ argued, calling her "at most, an incidental third-party beneficiary of the agreement."Zoom out: The fact that Epstein's plea agreement is still reverberating 18 years later underscores just how unusual it was. The sweetheart deal has fueled conspiracy theories and criticisms about how the well-connected escape justice.The deal drew national attention during Trump's first term after he appointed Acosta to be his labor secretary. Acosta resigned under the scrutiny.In 2020, an internal Justice Department report from its Office of Professional Responsibility rapped Acosta for using "poor judgment" in essentially giving a wrist-slap to the pedophile.What to watch: Maxwell is appealing as much to the Supreme Court as she is to Trump, who said Friday he hasn't considered — but won't rule out — a pardon for his former Palm Beach associate.David Markus told reporters Friday that Maxwell "was asked maybe about 100 different people" in her two days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and that answered "every single question.""We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet," he said. "The president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way."Read the filing.

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Ghislaine Maxwell asks Supreme Court to overturn her Epstein sex-trafficking conviction