Ghislaine Maxwell has launched a dramatic new legal bid for freedom, claiming that "substantial new evidence" has emerged which proves her high-profile sex trafficking trial was constitutionally flawed.
Last-Minute Legal Challenge Before Deadline
The British socialite, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, filed a habeas corpus petition in a Manhattan federal court. This type of legal request asks a judge to review the legality of a person's detention, often as a last resort after other appeals are exhausted.
In her filing, Maxwell's legal team argues that information which could have led to her exoneration was withheld during her 2021 trial. They also claim that false evidence was presented to the jury. The petition states that "constitutional violations undermined the fairness of her proceeding" and that, with the full evidence now available, "no reasonable juror would have convicted her."
Timing Coincides with Epstein Files Release
The legal move comes at a highly significant moment. Maxwell filed her petition just two days before a court-ordered deadline of December 19, 2025, to release a vast trove of records related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
This release is mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law signed by former President Donald Trump after intense public pressure. The US Justice Department, compelled by this law, plans to make public 18 categories of investigative materials from the sprawling sex trafficking probe.
The expected documents include:
- Search warrants and financial records
- Interview notes with victims
- Data extracted from electronic devices
Maxwell's lawyers suggest the "substantial new evidence" cited in her freedom bid has emerged from related civil cases, government disclosures, and investigative reports that have surfaced since her conviction.
Background of the Case
Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire financier, was arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019. He was found dead in his New York jail cell a month later, with officials ruling his death a suicide.
Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and associate, was arrested a year later. In December 2021, she was convicted of grooming and trafficking young girls for Epstein's abuse. Recently, in July 2025, she was interviewed by the US Deputy Attorney General and subsequently transferred from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas.
Her latest legal manoeuvre sets the stage for a potential judicial review of her conviction, coinciding with one of the most significant document dumps in modern legal history.
