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(NewsNation) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked the Supreme Court to reject an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice and former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, according to several reports.
Maxwell, 63, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for helping Epstein sexually exploit and abuse underage girls. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell of an apparent suicide in 2019. He was awaiting trial for allegedly orchestrating a child sex trafficking ring along with Maxwell.
Ghislaine Maxwell petitioning Supreme Court
In April, she petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that the government’s non-prosecution agreement with Epstein also applies to her. The agreement in question refers to a 2007 plea deal Epstein made with federal prosecutors in Florida. As part of the arrangement, prosecutors agreed not to prosecute any of Epstein’s co-conspirators.
A federal appeals court in New York heard a similar argument from Maxwell’s attorneys last year but upheld her conviction.
The appeals court ruled that the 2007 deal applied only to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida and didn’t apply to prosecutors in New York, where Maxwell was tried.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend a benefit concert at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005, in New York City. (Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)Now, Maxwell’s attorneys want the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
In the DOJ’s brief to the high court, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that Maxwell’s claim is “incorrect” and unlikely to succeed in any appeals court," ABC News reported.
The co-conspirator clause stated that if "Epstein successfully fulfills all of the terms and conditions of this agreement, the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to" four of Epstein's assistants," ABC News reported. Maxwell wasn't among the four women named.
The DOJ argues that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida, led at the time by R. Alexander Acosta, lacked the authority to bind other federal districts unless those jurisdictions or the DOJ’s Criminal Division approved it.
Trump admin concluded Jeffrey Epstein did not have 'client list'
The DOJ's request comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday that the Trump administration had reviewed Epstein-related evidence and concluded Epstein died by suicide and he didn't leave behind a "client list."
Bondi suggested in February that the list was on her desk, although she later clarified that she was referring to the overall case file.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, criticized the DOJ’s position and invoked Trump’s reputation for dealmaking.
"I’d be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal," he said in a statement, according to Fox News. "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."
Alan Dershowitz, Epstein's former attorney who previously said he knows the names in the Epstein files, also doesn’t believe the government is hiding information about the investigation.
“There is no client list and never has been a client list,” Dershowitz told NewsNation. “A client list suggests that Jeffrey Epstein made a list of people to whom he trafficked women. What there is is a redacted FBI affidavit from accusers.
NewsNation's Andrew Dorn contributed to this report.
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