US court rejects Maxwell bid to overturn verdict for aiding Epstein
A document released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files shows a 2002 passport application for Ghislaine Maxwell, New York, U.S., Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)


A U.S. judge rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to overturn her conviction and 20-year prison sentence for helping late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

In a decision made public Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said Maxwell's claims were all meritless and all or almost all were frivolous.

Maxwell, 64, who represented herself, challenged ⁠her ⁠December 2021 conviction and sentence in Manhattan federal court and sought a writ of habeas corpus declaring her punishment unlawful.

Prosecutors said her latest claims were baseless or filed ⁠too late.

Maxwell said many documents disclosed earlier this year through the Epstein ​Files Transparency Act show that ​her due process rights were violated because lawyers ⁠representing ‌Epstein's accusers ‌served as "De Facto ⁠Prosecutors and agents ‌of the government."

But the judge ​said this supposedly "new" ⁠evidence was largely irrelevant ⁠to Maxwell's case.