Ghislaine Maxwell is ready to name and shame powerful men linked to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Image: -)
Ghislaine Maxwell is ready to name and shame 25 rich and powerful men who were involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s underage sex ring. She claims they have all reached secret financial settlements with their victims and their names have been redacted from the more than 3.5 million pages of evidence released by America’s Department of Justice.
Maxwell, 64, makes her bombshell accusations in fresh court papers filed on June 24 at federal court for the southern district of New York. District Judge Paul Engelmeyer could rule this month on whether the former British socialite – who became known as Epstein’s “fixer” – should be released from her 20 year prison sentence for child sex-trafficking and conspiracy.
In an amended habeas corpus petition, as well as claiming the jury that found her guilty was biased, Maxwell insists she was “scapegoated” while the 25 “high profile” men effectively avoided being unmasked or charged by paying huge settlements.
They “could equally be considered as being co-conspirators,” she claims in her petition to Judge Engelmeyer. “If the jury had heard of the new evidence of the plaintiffs’ lawyers and the government to conceal evidence, they would not have convicted (me).”
Whichever way the judge rules, US lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee investigating the Epstein case are already battling the Department of Justice to un-redact evidence containing more names of the late paedophile’s elite friends.
Republican representative Thomas Massie noted that the DoJ claimed to be only redacting victims’ names, but he added: “Simple data cross-referencing has showed that several heavily redacted individuals are, in fact, adult men born before 1970.”
Maxwell frustrated committee members earlier this year when she appeared via video link from her federal prison cell in Texas for a closed-door deposition hearing – and declined to answer every question by pleading the Fifth Amendment, which protects individuals from self-incrimination.
Chairman James Comer said: “It was very disturbing. We sincerely want to get to the truth for the American people and justice for the survivors.” He added that he also believes she “should not be granted any type of immunity or clemency in return for her testimony.”
Undated file photo issued by US Department of Justice of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein (Image: PA)
Should Maxwell fail in her latest bid for freedom, her legal team is expected to petition for a presidential pardon. Asked what his response might be if she were to ask for clemency, President Trump said late last year: “I can say this: I’d have to take a look at it. I will speak to the DoJ.”
Some US politicians believe she may have leverage by threatening to make public the names of the remaining 25 friends of Epstein if the DoJ remains adamant that it will not release them.
As well as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson, both of whom are now under police investigation after being stripped of their positions, a string of other leading world figures named as Epstein associates have also suffered life-changing consequences.
These include former Norwegian foreign minister Børge Brende, who was forced to resign as President of the World Economic Forum, billionaire heir Thomas Pritzger, who stepped down as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels and Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays, who was forced to step down from the bank in 2021.
More than two dozen other figures in counties ranging from the US and UK to Sweden, Slovakia and Dubai have also lost high-profile positions.
The former Duke of York, Mr Mandelson, Mr Brende, Mr Pritzger and Mr Staley have all strenuously denied any wrongdoing in their links to Epstein.