NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has requested that a federal judge overturn her sex trafficking conviction and release her from a 20-year prison sentence. Maxwell claims that "substantial new evidence" has come to light that indicates constitutional violations during her trial, which she argues compromised the fairness of the proceedings.

In a petition submitted to the Manhattan federal court, Maxwell asserts that information which could have led to her exoneration during her 2021 trial was withheld from her defense team, and that false testimony was presented to the jury. She argues that the accumulated constitutional violations culminated in a "complete miscarriage of justice." The petition details the emergence of new evidence stemming from civil actions, government disclosures, investigative reports, and documentation that together challenge the fairness of her trial. According to the filing, "In the light of the full evidentiary record, no reasonable juror would have convicted her."

The filing arrives just two days prior to a scheduled public release of records related to her case, following the enactment of President Donald Trump's Epstein Files Transparency Act. This new law mandates that the Justice Department make Epstein-related records publicly available by December 19. The Justice Department has indicated its intention to release 18 categories of investigative materials from the extensive sex trafficking investigation, including search warrants, financial documents, victim interview notes, and data retrieved from electronic devices.

Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking. He was found dead in his jail cell a month later, a death subsequently ruled a suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite, was apprehended a year later and convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021. Following a meeting with the Justice Department’s second-in-command in July, Maxwell was relocated from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas.

In light of the new transparency law, the Justice Department requested that a New York federal judge allow the public release of grand jury and discovery materials collected prior to Maxwell's trial. However, Maxwell's attorney, David Markus, stated that while she does not oppose the unsealing of documents from her case, it may lead to "undue prejudice" that could obstruct the possibility of a fair retrial if her habeas petition is successful. Markus contended that the records contain unverified and unproven allegations.

Recently, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in Manhattan granted the Justice Department's request to publicly disclose the materials. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton indicated during a press conference that he would adhere to both the law and the court's orders concerning the release of the records.

Engelmayer noted that the documents being released do not implicate any individuals other than Epstein and Maxwell in having sexual contact with minors. The ongoing legal proceedings have sparked intense public interest, particularly given the implications they may have on the larger context of Epstein's sex trafficking operation.