Twenty-nine Epstein associates were ‘shielded’ by US government, Maxwell claims

Seattle: Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed that 29 associates and friends of Jeffrey Epstein were shielded by the US government through “secret settlements”.

In a court filing petitioning for her release from prison, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend alleged four named “co-conspirators” and 25 other men avoided being charged because of agreements with the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

She did not name the individuals and claimed such information was kept from her, and that her own legal defence suffered as a result when she went on trial.

In 2022, the ex-British socialite was imprisoned for 20 years for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.

“None of the four named co-conspirators or the 25 men with secret settlements were indicted,” the court filing says.

“None of these men have been prosecuted, and none has been revealed to the petitioner; she would have called them as witnesses had she known,” it adds.

The DoJ was contacted for comment.

Maxwell’s court filing, made on December 17, has the potential to create fresh headaches for US President Donald Trump, US Attorney-General Pam Bondi and the DoJ.

Maxwell is seeking a pardon or commutation, something Trump said he would “take a look at” as recently as October.

“You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look,” he told reporters while seated in the Oval Office.

When Trump was campaigning for re-election, sections of his MAGA base supported him so strongly in part because they believed he would release all the documents relating to Epstein, who died in his New York jail cell in 2019, while awaiting new charges of sex trafficking.

Epstein’s victims, MAGA Republicans and Democrats have been critical of the glacially slow pace of the files being released.

In November, Trump signed legislation by Congress into law mandating the release of what is likely to be hundreds of thousands of Epstein files.

Epstein associated with many high-profile individuals, including former US president Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Trump and former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers. Many flew on Epstein’s private jet to his own island.

All men deny any wrongdoing.

Lord Peter Mandelson was forced to resign as Britain’s ambassador to the US last September, after newly released emails showed he kept in touch with Epstein as late as 2016, long after he pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking minors in 2008.

In October, King Charles stripped Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles as more details emerged of the extent of his relationship with Epstein and Maxwell.

In 2022, Andrew paid millions of dollars in an out-of-court settlement to Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims who claimed the former duke had sex with her on three occasions. He has denied this and all other wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. She took her life in April last year.

In July, Maxwell spoke to US Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche and reportedly discussed 100 ex-associates of Epstein.

During the interview, Maxwell said she had never witnessed Trump engaging in inappropriate behaviour.

The US president has always insisted there was no wrongdoing on his behalf, and that he kicked his one-time associate out of his Mar-a-Lago resort after learning he was a “creep”.

Soon after the interview with Blanche, Maxwell was moved to a minimum security prison in Texas.

Blanche later defended his decision and told NBC News: “At the time that I met Miss Maxwell, there was a tremendous amount of scrutiny and publicity toward her, and the institution she was in, she was suffering numerous … threats against her life.”

Neither Maxwell’s lawyers nor the DoJ responded to inquiries.

The Telegraph, London

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