Ghislaine Maxwell's latest attempt to overturn her sex trafficking conviction has been firmly rejected by a federal judge who dismissed her claims as baseless and frivolous. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled Tuesday (August 25) that Maxwell's petition seeking to set aside her conviction was "demonstrably meritless" and based on "speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods."

Maxwell, 64, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in December 2021 of recruiting and grooming underage girls for sexual abuse by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The British socialite represented herself in filing a habeas petition last December, claiming that new evidence would have resulted in her exoneration and that her constitutional rights were violated during her trial.

In his 67-page ruling, Engelmayer stated that Maxwell's "lengthy and rambling petition" failed to present any facts that could disturb the outcome of her trial. "Maxwell's petition falls very far from the mark," the judge wrote. "The overwhelming testimonial and documentary evidence adduced at trial conclusively established her guilt."

Maxwell had argued that the Department of Justice rushed to prosecute her as a scapegoat following Epstein's death in federal custody in August 2019. She claimed the government could have pursued other alleged Epstein associates but targeted only her "for expediency and purely political motives." Engelmayer rejected this assertion as "patently frivolous," writing that "far from being discriminatory or unjust, this was the epitome of a virtuous prosecution."

The judge also noted that Maxwell did not use her attorney to file the petition, which challenged her detention and sought her release from prison. He warned Maxwell against making further appeals, stating it "would not be taken in good faith" by the court.

Prosecutors established at trial that Maxwell facilitated Epstein's abuse by recruiting and grooming girls, some as young as 14, between 1994 and 2004. Epstein, a millionaire financier, was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges. Ordered detained until trial, he was found dead in his cell at a New York federal jail in August 2019, and the death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell was arrested a year later and was interviewed by the Justice Department's second-in-command in July 2025. She was soon afterward moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas. Maxwell appeared virtually before the U.S. House Oversight Committee in February this year but refused to answer questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

Maxwell has previously sought a pardon from President Donald Trump. When asked last October whether he would consider pardoning Maxwell, President Trump said he "wouldn't consider it or not consider it," adding that he didn't know anything about it. The U.S. Senate last month passed a resolution declaring its opposition to a presidential pardon for Maxwell.

Habeas petitions are often filed as a last resort to protect against unlawful confinement after appeals are exhausted, as happened following Maxwell's conviction and sentencing.

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