SCOTUS denies Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal

(NBC, KYMA) - The Supreme Court rejected Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal to overturn her criminal conviction for recruiting recruiting and grooming teenage girls for sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein Monday.

The decision means Maxwell's conviction on three counts and her 20-year criminal sentence will remain in place.

Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus issued a statement writing, "We're, of course, deeply disappointed that the supreme court declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell's case. But this fight isn't over. Serious legal and factual issues remain, and we will continue to pursue every avenue available to ensure that justice is done."

When asked what Markus meant by "this fight isn't over" and whether he was hopeful for a pardon for Maxwell, he declined to comment.

The appeal argued that an agreement Epstein made with the then-U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta, not to prosecute him or potential co-conspirators should apply to one of the three counts in her case.

At issue in Maxwell's appeal was whether the terms of a so-called non-prosecution agreement Epstein made with former U.S. Attorney Acosta in Florida for him or any potential co-conspirators should apply only in the district where it was negotiated, or is it binding nationwide.

The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to reject Maxwell's appeal.

Maxwell was convicted in 2022 of three counts relating to her role in assisting Epstein in recruiting and grooming his victims, some of whom were as young as 14-years-old.

Following an assertion by the Trump Administration earlier this year that there was no Epstein "client list," which drew backlash from both ends of political spectrum, Maxwell sat down for an interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Maxwell was later transferred from a prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas. The Bureau of Prisons did not comment on why she was transferred.