The Trump administration has a fresh excuse for transferring Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to a comfier jail.
The White House has been accused of giving Maxwell, 63, preferential treatment after moving the convicted sex trafficker from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum-security federal prison camp close to her family in Bryan, Texas, on Friday.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons waived a policy designated to punish convicted sex offenders to permit the transfer, which came after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spent two days questioning Maxwell about Epstein’s high-profile connections.
A mugshot of British convicted sex trafficker and former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell taken at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Maxwell was transferred to a to a minimum-security prison camp close to her family in Bryan, Texas, on Friday. / FBOP
Pressed on Maxwell’s eyebrow-raising transfer, a senior administration official told the Daily Beast Monday that the move was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Any false assertion this individual was given preferential treatment is absurd,” the official said. “Prisoners are routinely moved in some instances due to death threats, and significant safety and danger concerns.”
The White House did not clarify whether Maxwell—who is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s child sex-trafficking operation—faced specific threats.
The Bureau of Prisons and Maxwell’s attorney did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
A source told the Daily Mail Sunday that Maxwell was “considered a snitch by other inmates at Tallahassee” after she spoke to Blanche and that there were “very real and very credible threats on her life.”
The Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, features a study, a game room, and arts and crafts classes. / Go Nakamura/REUTERS
Two of Epstein and Maxwell’s accusers condemned the transfer in a statement, as well as the family of Virginia Giuffre, another accuser who died by suicide.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas. This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes,” the statement said.
Maxwell’s new jail in Texas meets the Bureau of Prisons’ lowest security-level designation. The prison features a study, a game room, and arts and crafts classes. Inmates have access to technical courses and video calls with family.
The dorm-like facility also houses disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah.
Maxwell’s transfer brings her closer to her siblings, including Christine (right), who lives in Dallas, Texas, a three-hour drive from the prison. / Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images
Maxwell is asking the Supreme Court to overturn her 2021 conviction and has petitioned Congress to support her bid for clemency in exchange for testimony.
At the same time, she is reportedly seeking a pardon from Trump, who has stressed that he’s “allowed to do it” while claiming he hasn’t given much thought.
But Maxwell’s prosecutors and even Republican lawmakers have warned that her word is not to be trusted and have pushed back against a potential pardon.
“It’s ridiculous that he would consider shortening a sentence for somebody who aided and abetted sexual trafficking as she did,” a Republican senator who requested anonymity told The Hill. “She’s trafficking underage children. I can’t imagine anything she could say could nullify her heinous crimes.”
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