this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2026
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The Trump-Epstein Files™

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Ghislaine Maxwell seems to be all but guaranteed to have run out of legal avenues to challenge her conviction for her involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of girls and young women with perhaps her lingering hopes of freedom resting on a pardon from the Trump administration.

Paul Engelmayer, a Manhattan federal court judge, last week rejected Maxwell’s contention that her constitutional rights were violated at trial and sentencing for her crimes. “Maxwell’s claims are all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous,” Engelmayer wrote in his ruling on the former British socialite’s legal gambit.

Engelmayer also rejected Maxwell’s claim that new evidence, which she said came to light during Epstein Files Transparency Act disclosures, did not support her allegations of constitutional violations. “On the contrary, to the extent it is relevant, far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings,” he ruled.

Maxwell’s family said in a statement that Engelmayer’s ruling was “marked by a tone of sarcasm and disdain that, in our view, undermines the appearance of impartiality and invites scrutiny of the judge’s conduct”. They also said Maxwell “will continue to pursue every available legal avenue” for relief.

Legal veterans said, however, that Maxwell had virtually exhausted all her court-based routes. With Maxwell apparently running out of legal pathways, many have wondered whether Donald Trump will at some point deliver a Hail Mary – a presidential pardon.

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[–] Wispy2891@lemmy.world 15 points 17 hours ago

Did she try bribing the president for a pardon?

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 46 points 22 hours ago

There's always the old White House Glory Hole

[–] x00z@lemmy.world 12 points 18 hours ago

He has more "legal routes" to use, which might be a huge number.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 27 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

Oh he almost certainly will right at the end of the term

[–] skribe@piefed.social 3 points 14 hours ago

A pardon may not do her any good. I expect the UK have the necessary paperwork for her extradition waiting in a drawer.

[–] kibblebits@quokk.au 10 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

End of the term… you’re adorable.

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 12 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

He can meme about a third term all he wants but hes less than halfway through this one and has hemorrhaged support from the Supreme Court all the way to the rank-and-file GOP.

Dont buy into his trash talk.

[–] Sackett@thelemmy.club 3 points 4 hours ago

Honestly I think he's just too damn old. I was more worried about an indefinite trump presidency his first term. That being said, his followers might still push him to try.

[–] kibblebits@quokk.au 8 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

I may be more willing to accept that once I see how the midterms go.

[–] honesthenery@thelemmy.club 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

Dear reader,

Every dictator has / had a inner circle.

Duh dicktater is a representative of the capitalist class.

The capitalist class owns your daddy.

You are in bondage regurdless

if your imperialism is woke or not.

Best Wishes

Grump of the interweb

P.S.

The United States is a brutal imperialist empire. Fascists are the useful idiots of empire. Fascism is capitalism in crisis, which is also man-made via the capitalist class and imperialism is its highest form. All wars are a war on working class people and the puppet masters set the stage. When we reach the end of all things it will be fascist fighting fascist. On Gawd

[–] kibblebits@quokk.au 0 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Do you agree that state capitalism is just capitalism with extra authority, and that a country cannot call themselves a communist country while it also allows some of its citizens to possess massive amounts of money?

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

What on earth does the CCP have to do with this

[–] kibblebits@quokk.au -1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

Their answer changes how their initial comment should be interpreted. Also, I never said CCP ;)

[–] RaoulDuke25@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I definitely see him dying soon from his shitty health

[–] kibblebits@quokk.au 3 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

Do you? I think he’s gonna be 90 when his disgusting heart stops. Fuck he might get a robot heart. Goddamnit.

[–] RaoulDuke25@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

He's been looking shittier every day. Swollen ankles and hands. Republicans distancing themselves. They know.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 points 17 hours ago

Waiting on the BBO: Big Beautiful Obituary.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 1 points 17 hours ago

Like Dick Cheney. Good people needed hearts, why are you giving one to an old war profiteer like him?

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 4 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

You speak as if there will be an end to his term.

I'm fairly certain Americans won't vote again for many years to come.

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 10 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

My personal prediction is that Ghislaine Maxwell will be found all suicided in her cell before she's convinced the orange utan won't pardon her and she decides to spill the beans on him.

My second prediction is that there will be a gap in the video surveillance footage in her block that night.

[–] Geobloke@aussie.zone 4 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Why hasn't that happened already?

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 8 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

She's waiting for her pardon.

[–] davepleasebehave@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago

with a promise that he will do it on his last day.

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 3 points 14 hours ago

It's a little too close to the suicide of her pal Jeff to seem like a coincidence maybe?

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 16 points 23 hours ago

Maxwell’s family said in a statement that Engelmayer’s ruling was “marked by a tone of sarcasm and disdain that, in our view, undermines the appearance of impartiality and invites scrutiny of the judge’s conduct”.

They must not have read the absolute dog she filed pro se in spite of having a full team of attorneys to do it for her:

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612.869.0.pdf

You don't have to be an attorney to read these things: skip the citations and read the text, it's easy enough.

The "sarcasm and disdain" they're squealing about is nothing of the sort; if anything it is actually a kindness that neither the filing nor the appellant deserve. He lays out, point by point, exactly what bullshit she laid before the court, and yeah, I imagine it stung them to read him rebuke her points one after another after another.

But that doesn't change the fact that in this appeal she simply shat out line by line whatever she thought might stick, in a gish gallop of lies and distortions, nor that she did it DIY, appearing pro se despite having a very highly paid team of attorneys to do it for her, so that she could fill it with items that would never pass the smell test for a real attorney.

From a distance, the whole thing -- the appeal and resulting family dismay alike -- reads like a plea for political attention, and at the end of that rainbow a presidential pardon. Whether it gets that remains to be seen.

[–] Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 8 points 21 hours ago

Transferred to a country club prison and given special privileges, and it's still not easy enough for her. What a soft little bitch.

[–] honesthenery@thelemmy.club -1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

So at the end of the day they aka capo corpos tried to keep up with the ritualistic illusion of justice but they will not let one of their own go to a dungeon with those filthy plebs. Oh they have class awareness… “first they came for the low level corpo now pretty soon they gonna come for me.” They want chu to know your place. You will see. They gonna pardon this monster just watch. Rules for thee and not me. She chillin like a villain eatin sorbet ice cream.

tick tock tick tock oh look a squirrel 🐿️

Flood the zone they will never know

Time and space heals all wounds

These reationary fickle pickle plebs

just want their nibbles and nonsense.