Latest news with #Supreme Court
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ghislaine Maxwell bids to have conviction overturned
is trying to get her federal sex trafficking conviction overturned. The disgraced socialite and Jeffrey Epstein associate appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday in a last-ditch plea to be cleared. Her lawyers argue she is covered by a 2007 plea deal Epstein reached with Florida prosecutors that absolves any of his accomplices. The filing comes after President Donald Trump 's Justice Department earlier this month wrote it opposed the Supreme Court taking up the appeal. 'Rather than grapple with the core principles of plea agreements, the government tries to distract by reciting a lurid and irrelevant account of Jeffrey Epstein's misconduct,' Maxwell's legal team wrote in the petition. 'But this case is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did,' wrote the husband-and-wife duo, David and Mona Markus. Maxwell met on Thursday and Friday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to answer questions about the highly controversial case that has sparked a civil war in MAGA world. David Oscar Markus said outside the courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida last week that his client answered every question the Blanche asked of her on over 100 Epstein contacts. He also appeared to be angling for a pardon from the president. In 2007, Epstein struck a deal that allowed him to plead guilty in Florida to solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors to engage in prostitution and only serve 13 months in jail. He also appeared to be angling for a pardon from the president. The agreement stipulated that Miami's U.S. Attorney's Office would 'not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein.' The deal names four individuals, none of whom were Maxwell. But the Marukses argue that the deal also included their client when it said 'any potential co-conspirators' are also immunized in the case. On December 29, 2021, Maxwell was convicted on five out of six charges related to her role in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Her convictions included sex trafficking conspiracy, enticing minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts and transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her crimes. Attorney General Pam Bondi seemed to quash the appeal earlier this month when the DOJ opposed the Supreme Court taking up the case. But Maxwell's legal team is still pushing forward with a formal request for the highest U.S. Court to take up the appeal. The 21-page document by Bondi's DOJ rejects Maxwell's argument that Epstein's non-prosecution agreement (NPA) when he was first investigated gave her immunity. The letter says the idea that this deal covered the entire U.S. government – including the Southern District of New York, which brought her to trial in 2021 - was 'incorrect.' In addition to the Supreme Court appeal, the lawyers are also angling for a presidential pardon for their client. Maxwell engaged in more than nine hours of interviews with Blanche last week. David Markus claimed that his client spoke with the deputy AG about '100 different people' related to Epstein's child sex trafficking ring. 'They asked about every possible thing you could imagine – everything,' he said. The attorney also said Maxwell is being used as the 'scapegoat' in the entire Epstein case and has been 'treated unfairly for the last five years.' Markus said that they had not put in a formal request with the White House for a pardon for Maxwell, but he didn't rule out taking that action in the future, saying 'things are happening so quickly.' 'The president said earlier he has the power to do so, we hope he exercises that power in the right way,' he said of a potential commutation. Trump refused to rule out invoking his presidential pardon powers for Maxwell when asked on Friday morning.' I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about,' he said.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ghislaine Maxwell makes pitch to Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court should hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal of her 2021 sex trafficking conviction because the government has an "obligation to honor" a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein that inoculated Maxwell from any criminal charges, her lawyers argued in a brief to the Supreme Court Monday. "Plea and non-prosecution agreements resolve nearly every federal case. They routinely include promises that extend to others—co-conspirators, family members, potential witnesses. If those promises mean different things in different parts of the country, then trust in our system collapses," the brief said. Federal prosecutors have argued that the non-prosecution agreement applied only in Florida and did not bind New York, where charges against him, and subsequently Maxwell, were brought. MORE: Ghislaine Maxwell received limited immunity during meetings with deputy attorney general: Sources Maxwell's attorneys argued the terms of the NPA Epstein signed were unqualified. "It is not geographically limited to the Southern District of Florida, it is not conditioned on the co-conspirators being known by the government at the time, it does not depend on what any particular government attorney may have had in his or her head about who might be a co-conspirator, and it contains no other caveat or exception. This should be the end of the discussion," the defense brief said. The Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject Maxwell's petition even as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche agreed to meet with Maxwell last week. Prosecutors have argued Maxwell cannot enforce the NPA because she was not a party to it. The defense disagreed. MORE: Video Meeting wraps between deputy AG and Ghislaine Maxwell "Petitioner's alleged status as Epstein's co-conspirator was the entire basis of her prosecution," the defense brief said. "No one is above the law—not even the Southern District of New York. Our government made a deal, and it must honor it. The United States cannot promise immunity with one hand in Florida and prosecute with the other in New York. President Trump built his legacy in part on the power of a deal—and surely he would agree that when the United States gives its word, it must stand by it. We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the President himself to recognize how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's crimes, especially when the government promised she would not be prosecuted," Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus said in a statement.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ghislaine Maxwell makes pitch to Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court should hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal of her 2021 sex trafficking conviction because the government has an "obligation to honor" a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein that inoculated Maxwell from any criminal charges, her lawyers argued in a brief to the Supreme Court Monday. "Plea and non-prosecution agreements resolve nearly every federal case. They routinely include promises that extend to others—co-conspirators, family members, potential witnesses. If those promises mean different things in different parts of the country, then trust in our system collapses," the brief said. Federal prosecutors have argued that the non-prosecution agreement applied only in Florida and did not bind New York, where charges against him, and subsequently Maxwell, were brought. MORE: Ghislaine Maxwell received limited immunity during meetings with deputy attorney general: Sources Maxwell's attorneys argued the terms of the NPA Epstein signed were unqualified. "It is not geographically limited to the Southern District of Florida, it is not conditioned on the co-conspirators being known by the government at the time, it does not depend on what any particular government attorney may have had in his or her head about who might be a co-conspirator, and it contains no other caveat or exception. This should be the end of the discussion," the defense brief said. The Justice Department has urged the Supreme Court to reject Maxwell's petition even as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche agreed to meet with Maxwell last week. Prosecutors have argued Maxwell cannot enforce the NPA because she was not a party to it. The defense disagreed. MORE: Video Meeting wraps between deputy AG and Ghislaine Maxwell "Petitioner's alleged status as Epstein's co-conspirator was the entire basis of her prosecution," the defense brief said. "No one is above the law—not even the Southern District of New York. Our government made a deal, and it must honor it. The United States cannot promise immunity with one hand in Florida and prosecute with the other in New York. President Trump built his legacy in part on the power of a deal—and surely he would agree that when the United States gives its word, it must stand by it. We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the President himself to recognize how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's crimes, especially when the government promised she would not be prosecuted," Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus said in a statement.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ghislaine Maxwell Petitions Supreme Court to Overturn Sex Trafficking Conviction
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime co-conspirator, is serving a 20-year prison sentenceNEED TO KNOW Ghislaine Maxwell is seeking to have her sex trafficking conviction overturned by the Supreme Court Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence following her 2021 conviction Maxwell is Jeffrey Epstein's longtime co-conspiratorGhislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime co-conspirator, is attempting to have her sex trafficking conviction overturned. Maxwell's attorneys wrote in a Supreme Court petition obtained by PEOPLE that she should have received immunity as part of Epstein's controversial deal with federal prosecutors that they claim shields her from prosecution. Epstein served just over a year in prison after pleading guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, following an agreement with the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida. As part of the deal, federal prosecutors dropped the charges against Epstein as long as he pleaded guilty to state charges. According to Maxwell's attorneys, 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." Maxwell's attorneys contend that Maxwell is covered by that agreement. "...This case is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did," the attorneys wrote. Related: DOJ Official to Meet with Ghislaine Maxwell as Congress Moves to Subpoena Her Amid Epstein Scandal Epstein was indicted in New York in 2019 on sex trafficking charges. He controversially died by suicide while in custody in Manhattan. In 2021, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and was later sentenced to 20 years in prison. Maxwell recently met with federal prosecutors following backlash over the Trump administration's handling of files related to the Epstein case. Epstein, the billionaire financier, has been linked to high-profile individuals like Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals previously denied Maxwell's petition to have her conviction overturned, leading to her bid for the Supreme Court to intervene. Read the original article on People
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Ghislaine Maxwell asks Supreme Court to overturn conviction citing Epstein immunity deal
The former girlfriend and convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her appeal of her 2021 sex trafficking conviction. On Monday, Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team submitted a filing asking the Supreme Court to hear her appeal, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. In the brief, Maxwell's attorneys argue the federal government "has an obligation to honor" a 2007 non-prosecution agreement made by Epstein that they say should also shield Maxwell from criminal charges. "Even more remarkably, the government advances an interpretation of its non-prosecution agreement that flips its plain meaning on its head," the brief said. "Promising 'not to prosecute' somehow meant preserving the right to prosecute. That is not contract interpretation; it is alchemy." Federal prosecutors have previously taken the stance that the agreement made by Epstein was only valid in Florida, with Maxwell's charges being brought in New York and therefore disqualifying her from benefiting from the deal. However, Maxwell's defense team asserted in the brief that the terms agreed upon did not include a restriction based on location. "It is not geographically limited to the Southern District of Florida, it is not conditioned on the co-conspirators being known by the government at the time, it does not depend on what any particular government attorney may have had in his or her head about who might be a co-conspirator, and it contains no other caveat or exception. This should be the end of the discussion," the brief said. Federal prosecutors have argued Maxwell could not use the conditions outlined in the agreement because she was not a named party within it – a stance that her legal team deems incorrect. "The government also suggests that Petitioner is not entitled to enforce the NPA because she was not a party to it and was not named in it," the brief said. "But as the court below recognized and as hornbook contract law dictates, Maxwell has standing to enforce the agreement as a third party beneficiary." The move is the first step in asking the Supreme Court to take up Maxwell's appeal in her longstanding bid to have her conviction overturned. "No one is above the law — not even the Southern District of New York," David Markus, Maxwell's attorney, said in a statement. "Our government made a deal, and it must honor it. The United States cannot promise immunity with one hand in Florida and prosecute with the other in New York. President Trump built his legacy in part on the power of a deal — and surely he would agree that when the United States gives its word, it must stand by it. We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the President himself to recognize how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's crimes, especially when the government promised she would not be prosecuted." The DOJ did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in federal prison after she was found guilty of working alongside Epstein to sexually abuse and exploit young girls.
