The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Ghislaine Maxwell’s petition to vacate her federal sex-trafficking conviction, leaving in place the judgment that has kept her in prison since 2022.
The onetime friend and associate of Jeffrey Epstein sought release on the theory that a 2007 non-prosecution agreement granted to Epstein should have shielded her from federal charges as well.
The Supreme Court has officially ended Ghislaine Maxwell’s fight for freedom.
No hearing, no dissent, no sympathy. Her 20-year sentence for trafficking minors for Jeffrey Epstein now stands.
The immunity excuse tied to Epstein’s old plea deal collapsed under scrutiny.
Yet… pic.twitter.com/JQIb0jt3Ot
— TheCommonVoice (@MaxRumbleX) October 6, 2025
Trump's Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Could It Mean For Your Money?
MORE NEWS: Stephen Miller Goes Off On Dem Rep Goldman’s Claim of ‘Extreme Right’ Arson on Judge’s Home
Maxwell has been incarcerated since a New York jury found her guilty of offenses tied to recruiting and grooming young girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.
This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year
Her latest appeal asked the justices to review lower-court rulings that found the Florida agreement did not extend to her case.
In a brief order, the Court denied review, closing that avenue and leaving Maxwell with one remaining path to clemency: a direct intervention by President Donald Trump.
The Court’s action keeps pressure on a matter that has drawn sustained political scrutiny.
According to officials, the White House spent months addressing questions about the president’s past association with Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Democrats used the renewed attention to call for the Trump administration to release all files related to the government’s investigation of Epstein.
That pressure campaign led to a visit to Maxwell—then held at a maximum-security prison in Florida—by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Over two days, Blanche sought additional information about Epstein’s network. The meetings produced a list of 100 names connected to the late financier.
Days later, Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security facility in Texas.
Federal prosecutors continued to oppose any bid for release.
They argued that the non-prosecution agreement was negotiated by the U.S. attorney of southern Florida and bound only that jurisdiction.
Maxwell, by contrast, was charged and convicted in the Southern District of New York.
Prosecutors also noted the long-criticized terms of the 2007 arrangement, which became known as a “sweetheart deal” after Epstein pleaded guilty to underage prostitution charges in exchange for federal prosecutors bringing no further charges against him.
Maxwell, who was closely associated with Epstein at the time, was not charged in federal court until after his second arrest in 2018.
In her filings, she told the courts that a person accused of a crime “should be able to rely on a promise that the United States will not prosecute again, without being subject to a gotcha” in another part of the country where prosecutors choose “to interpret that plain-language promise in some other way,” the NYT reported.
She further asserted that the 2007 agreement promising not to prosecute Epstein’s associates carried “no geographic limitation.”
MORE NEWS: Vandalizing a Church with ‘F**k Israel’ Graffiti is Now Protected Speech According to CAIR [WATCH]
Her brief added that the “default rule” should be “a promise made on behalf of the United States binds the entire United States unless it says so affirmatively.”
The government disputed those claims.
In a response filed on behalf of the United States, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that Maxwell’s reading of the agreement was “incorrect” and that she had not managed to “show that it would succeed in any court of appeals.”
With the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case, the lower-court rulings stand.
Maxwell remains in federal custody following her transfer to a minimum-security facility in Texas.
Any change to her status would now have to come through the executive branch, as her judicial appeals have been exhausted.
Prosecutors maintain that the Florida non-prosecution agreement never covered conduct charged by New York authorities, while Maxwell’s team has argued that federal promises should apply nationwide unless limited on their face.
Monday’s order delivers finality to the latest stage of Maxwell’s legal challenge and leaves the underlying conviction and sentence intact as federal authorities continue to manage the broader aftermath of the Epstein investigation.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.