Ghislaine Maxwell Makes New Plea to Get Out of Prison

Two months after getting shut down by the Supreme Court, Ghislaine Maxwell is trying again to get out of prison. In a court filing to US District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer on Wednesday, Maxwell's lawyers said she intends to file a habeas corpus petition for her release. The filing did not specify the legal grounds for her request, but it did make clear that Maxwell plans to represent herself, rather than be represented by an attorney, per USA Today.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on five sex trafficking charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison in Texas earlier this year after an interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, leading to accusations of preferential treatment, per CNN. The filing is a response to the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury transcripts from the case.

Maxwell's lawyers argue the transcripts might contain unproven allegations that "would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial" should Maxwell's release petition be granted. The request coincides with the release of new photos and videos by House Democrats from Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island. (Maxwell is also said to be preparing a commutation request for President Trump.)