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Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved out of Florida federal prison
\nThe move, not announced by the Justice Department or Bureau of Prisons, comes as Maxwell seeks a pardon from President Donald Trump.
\nJosh MeyerUSA TODAY<\/p>\n
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Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has quietly been moved from a federal prison in Florida to a lower-security facility in Texas, a federal Bureau of Prisons official confirmed Aug, 1.
\nThe transfer comes as Maxwell\u2019s attorneys are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction while also seeking a pardon or commutation for her from President Donald Trump in exchange for her cooperation in the Epstein investigation and broader sex trafficking issues.
\nMaxwell spent two days last week talking to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche \u2013 Trump\u2019s former personal defense lawyer \u2013 at a courthouse near the Tallahassee prison where she was serving a 20-year prison sentence for Epstein-related sex trafficking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can confirm, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas,\u201d BOP Inmate Locator official Benjamin O’Cone said in an email to USA TODAY. The New York Sun newspaper first reported the transfer.
\nMaxwell attorney David Oscar Markus also confirmed to USA TODAY that, \u201cGhislaine was moved to Bryan Texas but we have no other comment\u201d as to why the transfer was made and who requested it.
\nDonald Murphy, a Bureau of Prisons spokesman, told USA TODAY that, “While we cannot speak specifically to the circumstances relating to any incarcerated individual’s designation or re-designation BOP institution, we can share that the BOP\u00a0designates individuals to institutions\u00a0based on several factors.”
\n“Those factors include the level of security and supervision the inmate requires, any medical or programming needs, separation, and security measures to ensure the individual’s protection, and other considerations, including proximity to an individual’s release residence,” Murphy added.\u00a0“The same criteria apply when making decisions for both initial designations and\u00a0re-designations for transfer to a new facility.”
\nThe move sparked concern from the family of one of Maxwell\u2019s most vocal accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, that the transfer is part of an undisclosed deal between the Justice Department and the Trump administration. In recent days, they have expressed worry that Trump and presidential-appointed leaders inside DOJ are trying to silence Maxwell without receiving any input from potentially hundreds of accusers who say she and Epstein sexually abused them and forced them to have sex with prominent men whom authorities have not been publicly identified.
\n\u201cThe family is scrambling right now to figure out what\u2019s going on,\u201d spokeswoman Dini von Mueffling\u00a0told USA TODAY. \u201cThey don\u2019t understand why this is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prison swap is the latest development in the growing controversy over Trump\u2019s relationship with Maxwell and Epstein, who died by suicide while in custody awaiting trial in 2019. On July 30, Giuffre\u2019s surviving siblings and their spouses issued a lengthy statement calling for Maxwell to remain in prison and urging the Trump administration to release all documents in the case that are in the Justice Department\u2019s possession.
\nGiuffre’s family especially demanded answers about why Trump\u00a0said in recent remarks that Epstein “stole” Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago spa more than 20 years ago. Trump and Epstein were\u00a0friends for more than a decade\u00a0in the 1990s and early 2000s.
\n\u201cIt was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been ‘stolen’ from Mar-a-Lago,\u201d the family said of Giuffre, who died by suicide in April.
\n\u201cIt makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell\u2019s criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey \u2018likes women on the younger side \u2026 no doubt about it,\u2019” the family’s statement added. “We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump made the comment July 30,\u00a0telling reporters Epstein “stole her” while Giuffre was working as a spa attendant, and that he subsequently banned Epstein from his Palm Beach residence and club after he tried to poach additional employees.
\n“I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people,” Trump said of Giuffre. “He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.”
\nGiuffre had long insisted that Maxwell \u2212 Epstein\u2019s longtime associate and former girlfriend \u2013 was the one who met her at the club and recruited her to serve as a masseuse for Epstein. That arrangement ultimately led to Epstein sexually abusing her and Maxwell trafficking Giuffre to have sex with other men, she said.
\nIn their lengthy statement, the Giuffre family rejected Trump’s characterization, saying she was “stolen” by Maxwell, not Epstein.
\n“We would like to clarify that it was convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working in 2000, several years before Epstein and President Trump had their falling out,” the family said.
\nIn a statement to USA TODAY, the White House said no leniency is being given or discussed, and Trump himself has said he’s not thinking about clemency for Maxwell at this time.
\nFPC Bryan is described as a \u201cminimum security federal prison camp\u201d in South Central Texas on its Bureau of Prisons website. It says it houses a total of 635 \u201cfemale offenders.\u201d \u00a0Maxwell had been incarcerated in recent years at FCI Tallahassee, which is described as a low security federal correctional institution housing a total of 1,191 male and female inmates.
\nMaxwell’s new prison ‘camp’ appears to offer better living conditions<\/p>\n
FPC Bryan is described as a \u201cminimum security federal prison camp\u201d in South Central Texas on its Bureau of Prisons website. It says it houses a total of 635 \u201cfemale offenders.\u201d \u00a0Maxwell had been incarcerated in recent years at FCI Tallahassee, which is described as a low security federal correctional institution housing a total of 1,191 male and female inmates.
\nMaxwell’s new prison “camp” appears to offer better conditions for inmates, according to Bureau of Prisons descriptions. Such minimum-security camps often lack perimeter fencing, have dormitory-style housing with bunk beds and communal areas and a lower staff-to-inmate ratio. Inmates are typically non-violent offenders who are allowed to participate in work assignments, recreational activities and vocational training.
\nAll told, that environment would give Maxwell more freedom of movement within the facility during designated times, according to the BOP descriptions. In contrast, BOP documents show, low-security prisons like FCI Tallahassee generally have fences, more regimented movement policies and more structured environments.
\n(This story has been updated with more information.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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