Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has asked a federal court to vacate or modify her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
According to a New York court filing, Maxwell claimed that “substantial new evidence” emerged from the civil case, investigative reports and other documents that she did not receive a fair trial.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and made several attempts to have his sentence reduced, but failed.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department faces a Dec. 19 deadline to release documents related to the federal investigation into Epstein.
Maxwell filed the petition in person Wednesday without an attorney.
The BBC has contacted the Southern District of New York, where Maxwell filed the request, for comment.
Maxwell was convicted of luring underage girls for abuse by her ex-boyfriend, disgraced financier Epstein. Epstein died in prison in 2019.
In new court filings, Maxwell argued that several new pieces of evidence meant “no reasonable juror would have found her guilty.” In one example she cited, a juror allegedly concealed a history of sexual abuse during the jury selection process, potentially harming their ability to remain impartial during the trial.
Federal judges in New York and Florida recently cleared the way for the public release of grand jury materials related to the Maxwell and Epstein investigations so that the Justice Department can meet deadlines imposed by Congress in the Epstein Transparency Act passed last month.
Maxwell was transferred from a Florida prison to a new minimum-security facility in Texas in August after she was interviewed by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Branch about her ties to Epstein.
She appealed several times but lost. In October, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear Maxwell’s appeal.