Ghislaine Maxwell’s cushy prison transfer roils federal prison staffers: ‘This makes me sick’
Current and former federal prison workers are reportedly furious that Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was recently transferred to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas referred to as “Club Fed” for its relatively relaxed conditions.
Following Maxwell’s transfer to the Bryan Federal Prison Camp, which was disclosed by federal officials on Friday, Bureau of Prisons workers sounded off in a private Facebook group for vetted agency employees and retirees, NBC News reports.
“As a retired BOP employee, this makes me sick,” one person wrote in the group of Maxwell, who is expected to continue serving her 20-year sentence for conspiring to sexually abuse minors alongside Epstein.
“Since when are sex offenders allowed at the camp?” another wrote. “I don’t care who she snitched on, she’s a damn human trafficker.”
The facility, an all-female prison featuring minimal fencing, a sports field, and a program where inmates work to train service animals, does not typically house sex offenders unless federal officials sign a waiver.
A prisoner at Bryan had a similar reaction, telling The Telegraph that “every inmate I’ve heard from is upset she’s here.”
“This facility is supposed to house non-violent offenders,” Julie Howell, 44, who is serving a one-year sentence for theft, said. “Human trafficking is a violent crime.”
Maxwell, a former British socialite and ex-girlfriend of Epstein’s, has come to play a central role in the Epstein drama that’s been swirling around the White House this summer.
Epstein died in jail in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The Trump administration initially signaled it would release more of the Epstein files, but by July the Department of Justice and FBI announced they would not release any more documents, reportedly after redacting Trump’s name from the files. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
In the ensuing backlash, many have pushed for further information about the Epstein saga from Maxwell, his longtime associate.
In a highly unusual move, Maxwell sat for hours of interviews with the deputy attorney general last month about Epstein, where her lawyer said she was “asked about 100 different people.”
Maxwell was reportedly moved after being “bombarded” with threats from fellow inmates at a federal facility in Tallahassee, Florida, where she had been imprisoned.
The House of Representatives has also subpoenaed Maxwell, setting a deposition date of August 11.
Maxwell’s attorney has said she may invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to testify unless certain conditions are met, including granting her some form of immunity and interviewing her outside of prison.
“Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity. Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony,” her attorney wrote to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.
“Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing — and eager — to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C.,” he added. “She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.”
Trump has insisted he could pardon Maxwell if he wanted to, but has not committed to a decision either way.
“Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody’s approached me with it,” Trump said in late July. “Nobody’s asked me about it.”
The continued Epstein drama has sometimes put Maxwell and the Trump administration at odds.
Maxwell is seeking to appeal her conviction at the Supreme Court, which the Justice Department opposes.
The government has gone to court to unseal grand jury transcripts in her and Epstein’s cases, which Maxwell opposes.
“Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is not,” Maxwell’s attorneys wrote in a Tuesday filing. The public interest in the Epstein case “cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive, her legal options are viable, and her due process rights remain.”
The administration is also reportedly considering releasing audio and transcripts of her DOJ interviews.
