Latest news with #Bureau of Prisons
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ghislaine Maxwell's Texas ‘Club Fed' prison ups security after taking in the Epstein sex trafficker
Ghislanine Maxwell's Texas prison, dubbed 'Club Fed,' has reportedly upped security after taking in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficker. Maxwell, a disgraced British socialite who was a close associate of Epstein's for years, is serving a 20-year sentence for her part in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls with the wealthy financier. Epstein, who had pleaded guilty to state sex offenses in 2008, died in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was recently moved from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum security prison in southeast Texas called Federal Prison Camp Bryan. FPC Bryan has increased security measures in response to Maxwell's transfer, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing a senior law enforcement official. Two prison employees told the outlet members of the federal Bureau of Prisons' Special Operations Response Team have been positioned outside FPC Bryan's front entrance since the weekend. The special ops crew is there to check people's IDs and wave them through, the employees reportedly said. It's unclear if Maxwell has received any direct threats since her move. The Independent has reached out to the Bureau of Prisons to confirm the reporting, and Maxwell's lawyer, David Oskar Markus, to ask about her security at the new prison. Epstein and Maxwell's names have once again made headlines after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo in early July stating there was no so-called client list of powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein's crimes; Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide, and 'no further disclosure [of information regarding Epstein] would be appropriate or warranted.' The memo sparked backlash, notably from Trump's own base, as it left many unanswered questions and concerns the government may be covering up materials that would be of interest to the public. Amid the Epstein files drama, Trump enlisted the Justice Department to ask the courts for grand jury testimonies in the cases against Epstein and Maxwell and to interview the disgraced socialite. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell in Florida last month for two days, during which, according to Markus, 'She was asked about maybe about 100 different people. She answered questions about everybody and she didn't hold anything back.' Maxwell's transfer to FPC Bryan came shortly after she met with the Justice Department. Experts said she got 'special preference' with the move. 'Someone gave special preference to Maxwell that, to my knowledge, no other inmate currently in the Federal Bureau of Prisons has received,' Robert Hood, a former warden of the Florence 'supermax' prison in Colorado, told the Washington Post in an article published Tuesday. When asked if he'd personally approved the transfer, Trump said Tuesday, 'I didn't know about it at all. I read about it just like you did.'
Daily Telegraph
7 days ago
- Daily Telegraph
‘Disgusted': Uproar in Epstein ex's new jail
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Fellow prisoners in Ghislaine Maxwell's new jail are 'disgusted' that the notorious sex trafficker was quietly transferred to a cushy US prison camp known as 'Club Fed' last week. The convicted child sex pest was moved from a lockup in Florida to the minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, east of Austin, as she tries to hash out a deal with the feds to spill secrets about her late pedophile ex, Jeffrey Epstein, reports The New Yok Post. 'Every inmate I've heard from is upset she's here,' Julie Howell, who's serving a 12-month stint for theft, told the UK's Telegraph newspaper. 'This facility is supposed to house nonviolent offenders,' she added. 'Human trafficking is a violent crime. 'We have heard there are threats against her life and many of us are worried about our own safety because she's here.' The federal Bureau of Prisons hasn't given a reason why Maxwell was relocated. Get all the latest news happening around the world as it happens — download the app direct to your phone. Jeffrey Epsetin and Ghislaine Maxwell. (Photo by Handout / US District Court for the Southern District of New York / AFP). Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, confirmed the move but declined to discuss the reasons behind it. The transfer comes as Maxwell's criminal case continues to generate renewed public attention — and just days after she met with Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche in an attempt to get immunity and a deal to divulge what she knows about Epstein. The notorious madam is serving 20 years after she was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein groom and abuse underage girls. Until her transfer to the Texas prison camp, Maxwell had been holed up at the low-security prison in Tallahassee. Her new prison currently houses well-known white-collar criminals, including Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced Theranos fraudster convicted of ripping off investors, as well as Jen Shah of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Ghislaine Maxwell pictured in prison. Minimum-security federal prison camps are known for housing criminals that the Bureau of Prisons considers to be the lowest security risk. 'It's one of the best prisons for anyone to go to,' Josh Lepird, regional vice president for the prison officers' union that includes Maxwell's new camp, told the Houston Chronicle. 'When you hear people say 'Club Fed,' they're talking about places like FPC Bryan.' Mr Lepird added that inmates usually end up at prison camps when they have just a few years left on their sentences. 'But if someone is a co-operating witness, they can request a lower security level,' he said. Maxwell's stint is slated to be up until 2037. Federal Prison Camp, Bryan. (Meredith Seaver/College Station Eagle via AP) Theranos' founder Elizabeth Holmes (L) arrives at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) Her case has been the subject of heightened public scrutiny ever since outcry erupted over the Justice Department's revelation last month that it wouldn't be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Maxwell's transfer comes roughly a week after Mr Blanche — President Trump's former defence lawyer — huddled with the disgraced British socialite and her lawyer at the US Attorney's Office in Tallahassee. President Trump, for his part, said no one had asked him about granting Maxwell clemency – as speculation swirled a deal was in the works. 'I'm allowed to do it but nobody's asked me to do it,' he told Newsmax in an interview broadcast Friday. 'I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I've given pardons to people before, but nobody's even asked me to do it.' This story was published in The New Yok Post and is reproduced with permission. Originally published as 'Disgusted': Uproar in Epstein ex's new jail
News.com.au
04-08-2025
- News.com.au
‘Disgusted': Uproar in Epstein ex's new jail
Fellow prisoners in Ghislaine Maxwell's new jail are 'disgusted' that the notorious sex trafficker was quietly transferred to a cushy US prison camp known as 'Club Fed' last week. The convicted child sex pest was moved from a lockup in Florida to the minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, east of Austin, as she tries to hash out a deal with the feds to spill secrets about her late pedophile ex, Jeffrey Epstein, reports The New Yok Post. 'Every inmate I've heard from is upset she's here,' Julie Howell, who's serving a 12-month stint for theft, told the UK's Telegraph newspaper. 'This facility is supposed to house nonviolent offenders,' she added. 'Human trafficking is a violent crime. 'We have heard there are threats against her life and many of us are worried about our own safety because she's here.' The federal Bureau of Prisons hasn't given a reason why Maxwell was relocated. Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, confirmed the move but declined to discuss the reasons behind it. The transfer comes as Maxwell's criminal case continues to generate renewed public attention — and just days after she met with Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche in an attempt to get immunity and a deal to divulge what she knows about Epstein. The notorious madam is serving 20 years after she was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein groom and abuse underage girls. Until her transfer to the Texas prison camp, Maxwell had been holed up at the low-security prison in Tallahassee. Her new prison currently houses well-known white-collar criminals, including Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced Theranos fraudster convicted of ripping off investors, as well as Jen Shah of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Minimum-security federal prison camps are known for housing criminals that the Bureau of Prisons considers to be the lowest security risk. 'It's one of the best prisons for anyone to go to,' Josh Lepird, regional vice president for the prison officers' union that includes Maxwell's new camp, told the Houston Chroni cle. 'When you hear people say 'Club Fed,' they're talking about places like FPC Bryan.' Mr Lepird added that inmates usually end up at prison camps when they have just a few years left on their sentences. 'But if someone is a co-operating witness, they can request a lower security level,' he said. Maxwell's stint is slated to be up until 2037. Her case has been the subject of heightened public scrutiny ever since outcry erupted over the Justice Department's revelation last month that it wouldn't be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Maxwell's transfer comes roughly a week after Mr Blanche — President Trump's former defence lawyer — huddled with the disgraced British socialite and her lawyer at the US Attorney's Office in Tallahassee. President Trump, for his part, said no one had asked him about granting Maxwell clemency – as speculation swirled a deal was in the works. 'I'm allowed to do it but nobody's asked me to do it,' he told Newsmax in an interview broadcast Friday. 'I know nothing about it. I don't know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I've given pardons to people before, but nobody's even asked me to do it.'
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Epstein associate Maxwell quietly moved from Florida to Texas prison
Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was quietly transferred from a federal prison in Florida to a federal prison in Texas, according to a Bureau of Prisons official. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas,' BOP official Benjamin O'Cone confirmed Friday in an email to The Hill. The move to Texas comes as Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, and her legal team are appealing her case to the Supreme Court in hopes of having her conviction overturned. Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed Maxwell, asking for her testimony as the demand for President Trump's administration to release more documents related to Epstein's case continues. Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, said her client would only speak to the committee if granted immunity, something the panel rejected. Markus also asked for the questions directed to Maxwell to be submitted in advance and that any potential deposition be held after the nation's highest court weighs in on her petition. The Justice Department's (DOJ) No. 2 official, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, spoke with Maxwell in Florida last week for more than nine hours over the course of two days. The Trump administration has faced a backlash after an early-July joint memo from the DOJ and FBI said that Epstein, a convicted sex offender and disgraced financier, died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in jail and that he did not keep a 'client list.' The news of Maxwell's transfer was first reported by The New York Sun. Federal Prison Camp Bryan is a minimum-security jail for female inmates and will likely offer better conditions for Maxwell. The facility is located around 95 miles northwest of Houston and can hold up to 635 inmates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
01-08-2025
- The Guardian
Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to lower-security prison in Texas
Ghislaine Maxwell has been transferred from a federal prison in Florida where she was serving her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking as an associate of Jeffrey Epstein to a lower-security facility in Texas, the US Bureau of Prisons said on Friday. 'We can confirm, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas,' a spokesperson said. An attorney for Maxwell, David Oscar Markus, also confirmed the move but declined further comment. Maxwell's move from FCI Tallahassee, a low-security prison, to the federal prison camp in Bryan comes a week after she met with deputy US attorney general Todd Blanche twice in person, in Florida, after he said he wanted to speak with her about anyone else who may have been involved in Epstein's crimes of trafficking underage girls. More details to follow … Reuters contributed reporting
