Family of Jeffrey Epstein Madam Ghislaine Maxwell Slams Judge in Blistering Statement After Court Defeat

Ghislaine Maxwell‘s family is blasting the federal judge who rejected her latest attempt to overturn her sex trafficking conviction, and they accused him of showing “sarcasm and disdain” in a scathing new statement exclusively obtained by the National Enquirer.

The family of Jeffrey Epstein‘s former girlfriend and longtime associate spoke out on Thursday, August 27 — two days after U.S. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer dismissed Maxwell’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

“It is with profound regret, though not surprise, that the Maxwell family notes the dismissal by the SDNY District Court’s Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of our sister Ghislaine’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus,” the statement read, going on to call the outcome “both disappointing and shocking.”

The family took particular issue with the tone of Engelmayer’s ruling claiming it “undermines the appearance of impartiality and invites scrutiny of the judge’s conduct.”

“These troubling issues, coupled with the refusal to permit factual development through a hearing, raise legitimate concerns about bias and other judicial failures in a case that has attracted extraordinary public and political attention,” the statement continued.

As the National Enquirer previously reported, Engelmayer rejected Maxwell’s bid to throw out her conviction and 20-year prison sentence earlier this week on August 25. In his ruling, the judge called her claims “demonstrably meritless” and said they were generally based on “speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods.”

Despite the legal setback, Maxwell’s family made it clear that the convicted sex trafficker, 64, has no plans to give up.

“Our sister is not going to let the matter rest,” they said. “The District Court’s ruling contains multiple, concrete errors that she intends to challenge fully.”

The family said that they have encouraged Maxwell to seek the “necessary relief,” including a “certificate of appealability” if required, so she can take her case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on five felony counts stemming from her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for the late Epstein to abuse. The disgraced financier died in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, but Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a minimum security federal prison camp in Texas.

Ghislaine’s brother Ian Maxwell exclusively opened up to the National Enquirer last year, noting that he believes the entire fiasco involving his sister is “a complete fix and stitch-up,” adding: “That her conscience was entirely clear is shown by the fact she never took the Fifth [to invoke the right to remain silent and not incriminate oneself] nor left the U.S. after Epstein died.”