A judge has rejected Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to toss her sex trafficking conviction.
“Nearly all its claims are procedurally barred; the overwhelming testimonial and documentary evidence adduced at trial conclusively established her guilt; and her petition’s claims are demonstrably meritless, and generally based on speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods,” wrote Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. “There is no fact that Maxwell fairly puts in dispute that has any potential to disturb the outcome of her trial.”
“The Court certifies that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith; in forma pauperis status is thus denied for purposes of an appeal,” the judge concluded.
Last year, Maxwell argued in a petition filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Maxwell argued that “substantial new evidence has emerged from related civil actions, Government disclosures, investigative reports, and documents demonstrating constitutional violations that undermined the fairness of her proceedings.”
“This newly available evidence – derived from litigation against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, various financial institutions, and the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein, as well as from sworn depositions, released records, and other verified sources – shows that exculpatory information was withheld, false testimony presented, and material facts misrepresented to the jury and the Court,” the petition adds. “The cumulative effect of these constitutional violations constitutes a complete miscarriage of justice, rendering Petitioner’s conviction invalid, unsafe and infirm.”
Maxwell further claimed that with the “full evidentiary record, no reasonable juror would have convicted her.”
Maxwell’s petition came as the Supreme Court rejected her appeal in October. At the time, Maxwell claimed the “government tries to distract by reciting a lurid and irrelevant account of Jeffrey Epstein’s misconduct. But this case is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did.”
