A US federal judge has rejected a bid by Ghislaine Maxwell, a key accomplice of notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, to throw out her conviction on sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell, 64, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and is the only person convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein, who was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting his own trial.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Judge Paul Engelmayer said that Maxwell's claims that her constitutional rights at trial and sentencing were violated "are all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous."
"Maxwell’s petition falls very far from the mark," Engelmayer said. "There is no fact that Maxwell fairly puts in dispute that has any potential to disturb the outcome of her trial."
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of supplying underage girls to Epstein, whose ties to powerful business executives, politicians, celebrities and academics have fuelled years of scrutiny and conspiracy theories.
Israeli deep state
Under a new law passed last year, President Donald Trump's administration has released vast troves of investigative files relating to Epstein — drawing huge public attention to the case.
The US Justice Department released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law in November by Trump.
The materials include photographs, grand jury transcripts and investigative records, though many pages remain heavily redacted.
High-profile figures including Britain's former prince Andrew have been publicly disgraced for their associations with Epstein.
In February, Maxwell was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to discuss her relations with Epstein but refused to answer any questions.
Her lawyer stated she would only speak if Trump granted her clemency.
The US Supreme Court last October declined to hear an appeal by Maxwell of her sex trafficking conviction.
US Vice President JD Vance recently said that the Epstein "seemed to be connected" to elements of the "Israeli deep state" as well as the "highest levels of American intelligence."
Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a "sweetheart deal."
His victims have said that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite.
