Maxwell eyes petition for early prison release
Epstein associate plans to represent herself
By: Terry Collins
USA Today
..... Ghislaine Maxwell, the close associate and convicted accomplice of the late, disgraced finance and accused sex offender Jeffery Epstein, intends to file a petition asking a judge to release her from prison.
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In a court filing to U.S. district Court Judge Paul Engelmayor on December 3, [2025] Maxwell's attorneys did not provide specific details on the legal grounds she would argue in her habeas corpus petition seeking her prison release.
..... The court filing states
that Maxwell plans to file her petition "pro se," meaning she would represent herself and pursue her early release without the help of a lawyer.
..... The filing was in response to the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury transcripts form Maxwell's case.
..... The one-page filing warned hat releasing documents relate dot Maxwell's case may "contain untested and unproven allegations." The document added that the release of grand jury materials also "would create undue prejudice so severe that ti would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial" if Maxwell's petition for release is successful.
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Maxwell, the only associated of Epstein to face prison time, is currently in a minimum-security women's prison in Texas after being transferred form a federal prison in Florida. She was moved to the Texas facility shortly after she was interview about Epstein by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former defense attorney.
..... She as convinced in a New York federal court in 2021 on five counts related to sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In October, [2025] the U.S. Supreme court rejected the appeal of her conviction and sentence.
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On the same day as Maxwell's filing, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released never-before-seen photoed and videos from a private Caribbean island that Epstein once owned.
..... The House Oversight Committee did not immediately respond to USA Today's request for comment about Maxwell's court filing.
..... Epstein died in custody while awaiting trail in 2019.
..... Epstein and Maxwell were friends of Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s, and continuous controversy over Epstein's criminal case files has tormented Trump in recent months.
..... During his 2024 campaign for president, Trump supported releasing the Epstein files. but after teasing a "truckload" of files in March, [2025] Trump;s Justice Department released a memo in July [2025] that no further disclosure of the documents was necessary. the memo sparked unusual dissension within the Republican Party and a movement to force a vote on the"Epstein Files Transparency Act."
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While Trump constantly called the issue a hoax, he surprisingly reversed course and supported releasing the files as the bill swiftly pass through the House and the Senate, and was signed by Trump on November 19. [2025]
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Under that law, the Justice Department has until December 19 [2025] to release more records from its files.