Maxwell’s lawyers called unsealing the materials “a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy” as she tries to appeal her conviction to the Supreme Court.
Key Facts
The Justice Department previously asked courts in Florida and New York to unseal grand jury materials due to “historical or public interest,” but Maxwell’s lawyers rejected this assertion, saying “intense public curiosity” around the case doesn’t amount to prosecutors’ claim of “historical” interest.
In a letter filed Tuesday, Maxwell’s lawyers said prosecutors in the Southern District of New York made her the “face of [Epstein’s] crimes” after his untimely death in 2019, and “the scapegoat and the only person the government could put on trial.”
Maxwell’s lawyers also claimed she has never had the opportunity to review all of the materials the grand jury collected in 2021, and that the law enforcement personnel who testified before the grand jury and many “complaining witnesses” remain alive—however the Justice Department previously confirmed in a filing that only an FBI agent and an NYPD detective testified before the grand jury.
