Overview
- Her amended habeas petition was unsealed Wednesday and asks a federal judge to order discovery and an evidentiary hearing based on records released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
- Maxwell says millions of pages made public by the Justice Department have expanded the evidentiary record and show withheld documents, gaps in witness testimony, and instances she says amount to constitutional error.
- She alleges lawyers for Epstein’s accusers acted as de facto prosecutors in ways that harmed her right to a fair trial and cites items such as a letter from a former federal prosecutor as supporting evidence.
- Federal prosecutors filed a nearly 100-page rebuttal calling Maxwell’s claims speculative, legally barred, and untimely, and they acknowledged some files were not previously provided while saying none would have changed the verdict.
- U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer will review the competing filings after denying Maxwell’s request to compel DOJ copies of the files; she is representing herself and, if habeas relief is denied, her practical options would likely be limited to seeking executive clemency or a pardon.