Ghislaine Maxwell's Bid to Overturn Conviction Rejected by Judge as He Dismisses 'New Evidence' Claims in Epstein Case
Ghislaine Maxwell has been denied a request to overturn her conviction.
Aug. 25 2026, Published 11:14 a.m. ET
Ghislaine Maxwell's latest bid to overturn her 2021 conviction on s-x-trafficking charges has been shot down, RadarOnline.com can report.
Jeffrey Epstein's former lover is currently serving 20 years in prison and has been desperate to get out.
Ghislaine Maxwell's Request Has Been Denied
Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison for her role in Epstein's s-x trafficking ring.
Maxwell, who represented herself, challenged her conviction and sentence in Manhattan federal court, arguing her punishment was unlawful and her constitutional rights were violated.
However, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer denied her request, calling the claims raised by the 64-year-old were "meritless" and "frivolous."
"The vast majority are procedurally barred – either because Maxwell made and lost the same arguments on direct appeal, or because she could have made such arguments on appeal but elected not to do so," Engelmayer wrote in a 67-page decision.
Maxwell had asserted that the release of thousands of Epstein documents and photos warranted a reexamination of her own conviction. But the judge did not see it that way.
"The purported 'new' evidence to which Maxwell points, principally materials released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, is largely irrelevant to the charges against Maxwell and does not support her claims of error," the judge continued. "On the contrary, to the extent it is relevant, far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges."
A Federal Judge Scolds Ghislaine Maxwell's Appeal
Maxwell argued her conviction violated an agreement Epstein made in 2008.
Maxwell's legal team originally filed her petition last year, arguing that charges filed against her in 2020 violated an agreement Epstein made with federal prosecutors in 2008. In the court filing, Maxwell alleges 25 men reached undisclosed agreements, while four additional co-conspirators were known to investigators but were not charged.
She claimed the alleged concealment of these deals undermined the fairness of her trial and violated her constitutional rights. Judge Engelmayer strongly disagreed and scolded her in his decision.
"Maxwell's petition falls very far from the mark," Engelmayer wrote. "Nearly all its claims are procedurally barred; the overwhelming testimonial and documentary evidence adduced at trial conclusively established her guilt; and her petition's claims are demonstrably meritless, and generally based on speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods.
"There is no fact that Maxwell fairly puts in dispute that has any potential to disturb the outcome of her trial."
More Long-Buried Documents Could Soon Be Released
Maxwell's attempt to block the release of more secret files was also denied.
Epstein's former partner has been on a legal losing streak lately. Earlier this month, another judge denied her request to block the release of a trove of documents from when Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre sued Maxwell for defamation in 2015.
"Maxwell has lodged a veritable kitchen sink of objections to the government’s request to publish the sealed materials in compliance with the [Epstein Files Transparency] Act," Manhattan Federal Court Judge Loretta Preska noted in her ruling.
The judge wrote, "The court finds that all of Maxwell’s objections are meritless and that, in light of the Act, any remaining materials in the Government’s possession should become part of the public record, subject to any victim-protecting redactions authorized by the Act."
Senators Block a Presidential Pardon Possibility
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Senators also promised not to issue her a potential pardon, as she has been requesting for years.
That ruling came just days after the Senate unanimously agreed that Maxwell should not be granted a presidential pardon or clemency of any kind.
The non-binding resolution came as politicians debated confirming Todd Blanche, who interviewed Maxwell for two days last summer, as the permanent Attorney General.
The resolution was brought by Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who said it was to prevent Blanche from giving Maxwell a pardon in exchange for clearing President Trump's name.
"It's frankly horrifying that Trump would entertain the idea of clemency for even a second for a convicted s-x trafficker," Rosen said in a speech on the Senate floor.
Rosen received unanimous consent for her resolution, with no opposition on the floor from either side of the aisle.
