Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell seeks to block grand jury transcript release amid Supreme Court appeal

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, is opposing a renewed push by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to unseal grand jury transcripts in the high-profile sex trafficking case, arguing that doing so would violate her due process rights and undermine her pending appeal before the US Supreme Court.

Maxwell’s legal team urged the court to reject the government’s proposal to release the transcripts, emphasising that public interest alone does not justify breaching grand jury secrecy in an active criminal case.

“Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein, that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable and her due process rights remain,” Maxwell’s attorneys David O. Markus and Melissa Madrigal argued.

The Justice Department, under the Trump administration, had petitioned two federal judges in New York to allow the release of transcripts related to the grand juries that indicted both Epstein and Maxwell. The move, officials said, was prompted by increasing public demand for transparency in the high-profile sex-trafficking case.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for aiding Epstein in trafficking dozens of young women, many of them minors. Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial. The court gave Maxwell and Epstein’s estate until Tuesday to respond to the DOJ’s request.

Maxwell claims unawareness of content

Maxwell’s lawyers argued that unsealing the materials would “irreparably taint” any future proceedings, especially if her Supreme Court appeal is successful. They also revealed that Maxwell has never reviewed the grand jury materials in question and remains unaware of their content.

Adding further complexity to the case, Maxwell was recently visited in a low-security Florida prison by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. She was subpoenaed to testify before Congress regarding Epstein’s network, and has requested immunity in exchange for her testimony. She was later transferred to a minimum-security facility in Texas.

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have faced growing pressure to address public concerns over the Epstein case. While Trump has acknowledged knowing Epstein, he has said their relationship ended years before Epstein’s arrest and death.