Supreme Court Rejects Epstein Co-Conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell's Bid to Overturn Sex Trafficking Conviction By Liam Quinn

The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking conviction after she claimed she should have been given immunity as part of Jeffrey Epstein’s controversial deal with federal prosecutors.

The justices denied Maxwell’s petition to the court without giving a reason in its list of orders published on Monday, Oct. 6.

Maxwell was the longtime co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019.

Maxwell’s attorneys had previously written in a Supreme Court petition obtained by PEOPLE that she should have been granted immunity after Epstein reached a deal with federal prosecutors. Her attorneys argued the agreement shielded her from prosecution.

Epstein served a little over a year in prison after a 2008 guilty plea to state prostitution charges, following the agreement with the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida.

The deal saw the government agree to drop federal charges against Epstein, so long as he pleaded guilty to state charges.

Maxwell’s attorneys wrote that the non-prosecution agreement stated that “the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein.”

The contention by Maxwell’s lawyers is that their client was covered in the agreement.

“This case is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did,” the attorneys wrote.

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Epstein’s controversial death in 2019 came after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges. He had been known for his ties to high-profile individuals like President Donald Trump and Prince Andrew.

Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021 and was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Following backlash over the Trump administration’s handling of files related to the Epstein case, Maxwell met with federal prosecutors in July.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals previously denied Maxwell’s petition, which led to her unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal.