The Department of Justice on Monday called on the Supreme Court to reject Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal to overturn her conviction for sex trafficking minors to Jeffrey Epstein, along with charges of sexually abusing some of the victims herself. 

The department filed a brief opposing the argument from Maxwell’s legal team that she should have been shielded from prosecution due to a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between Mr. Epstein and a federal prosecutor in Florida. Maxwell’s attorneys maintain that the agreement, which stipulated that “the United States will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein,” should have prevented her case from proceeding. 

“It would be extremely strange if the NPA left Epstein himself open to federal prosecution in another district — as eventually occurred,” the Justice Department said, “while protecting his co-conspirators from prosecution anywhere.” 

The legal battle centers around the widely criticized agreement Epstein reached with federal prosecutors in Florida in 2007. That deal allowed him to plead guilty to a single charge of soliciting prostitution, despite allegations that he had sexually abused dozens of underage girls. The arrangement enabled Epstein to avoid more severe federal charges and instead serve a lenient sentence.

During Maxwell’s trial, however, the presiding judge ruled that the terms of Epstein’s deal were overly broad and could not be applied to Maxwell’s prosecution in New York. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision in September, determining that the Florida agreement did not bind prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. 

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, has argued that the Supreme Court should review the issue due to differing interpretations of such agreements in federal courts. “Despite the fact that the term ‘United States’ has a widely accepted meaning in perhaps every other context, when this term is used in a plea agreement, it means something different in New Jersey than it does across the river in New York City,” Mr. Markus wrote in an April filing.

The Justice Department, however, countered that no individual U.S. Attorney in a single district has the authority to restrict all other judicial districts without explicit consent. Furthermore, it questioned Maxwell’s legal standing to enforce an agreement made between Epstein and prosecutors.

Maxwell’s high-profile conviction and connection to Mr. Epstein have continued to attract scrutiny and controversy. Mr. Epstein, who was awaiting trial when he died by suicide in 2019, remains the center of numerous conspiracy theories and allegations surrounding his powerful network of associates. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee.

Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel previously vowed to release the Epstein files, but in a recent memo, the DOJ and FBI reversed course, stating, “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” The memo also said there is no “client list” and that Mr. Epstein did not blackmail anyone. 

President Trump has weighed in, urging his supporters on Truth Social to “not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein.” On the other hand, entrepreneur Elon Musk has highlighted the ongoing controversy on social media, suggesting there may still be undisclosed connections between Epstein and prominent figures, including Mr. Trump.