Ghislaine Maxwell Wants Her Conviction Thrown Out

She repeats old arguments with new legal team, funded by divorce settlement
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2023 8:29 AM CST
Ghislaine Maxwell Makes Her Case for Appeal
In this courtroom sketch, Ghislaine Maxwell, right, is seated beside her attorney, Christian Everdell, as they watch the prosecutor speak during her sentencing, Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in New York.   (AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams)

Ghislaine Maxwell has launched the appeal of her conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein traffic and sexually abuse underage girls thanks to a $10 million settlement in her divorce from tech entrepreneur Scott Borgerson, per Fox News. In a plea to a US appeals court, the British socialite echoes arguments "made unsuccessfully before, during and after her trial," per Reuters. But this time, she has new lawyers backing her up. Following a financial dispute with her former legal team, she's represented by a new crew led by Arthur Aidala, who is also behind Harvey Weinstein's appeal of his 2020 sex crimes conviction. Aidala tells Fox that his fee from Maxwell is "much less than $10 million."

The appeal accuses a jury member of bias and continues the argument that Maxwell became a scapegoat following Epstein's 2019 suicide shortly after he was charged with sex trafficking. "The government prosecuted Ms. Maxwell as a proxy for Jeffrey Epstein" to satisfy "public outrage," reads Tuesday's filing with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. It also claims Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in southern Florida shielded "potential co-conspirators" from future prosecution; the five-year statute of limitations had passed when Maxwell was charged; the judge who oversaw Maxwell's trial made crucial errors; and "inhumane" jail conditions left Maxwell malnourished and sleep-deprived, putting her at a disadvantage at trial.

"She was so disoriented and diminished that she was unable meaningfully to assist in her own defense, much less to testify," Aidala tells Page Six. The attorney previously told the outlet that Maxwell's constitutional rights were violated through "lack of access to her lawyers." Maxwell's legal team is pushing for a new trial or for the case to be dismissed. Though former US District Judge Alison Nathan previously denied Maxwell's request for a new trial, her lawyers say this was the wrong decision, per CNN. They also claim the 20-year sentence Nathan imposed was too harsh. A hearing on the appeal could come as soon as July, per Fox. Without intervention, Maxwell will be eligible for release from prison in 2037. (More Ghislaine Maxwell stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X