Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker, is reportedly barred from training service dogs at the minimum-security prison camp she was transferred to last week.
Why It Matters
The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed on Friday that Maxwell had been transferred to the minimum security Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, but did not explain the circumstances.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was serving her sentence at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, until her transfer to the prison camp. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died behind bars in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Her case has been the subject of heightened scrutiny since an outcry over the Justice Department’s announcement last month that it would not be releasing any additional records from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation.
What To Know
Canine Companions, a nonprofit that trains and provides service dogs, runs training programs at the prison camp where Maxwell is located.
But Paige Mazzoni, the organization’s chief executive officer, told NBC News that inmates like Maxwell are not permitted to get involved.
“We do not allow anyone whose crime involves abuse toward minors or animals—including any crime of a sexual nature,” Mazzoni said.
“That’s a hard policy we have, so she will not be able to.”
Newsweek has contacted Canine Companions for further comment via a contact form on its website.
Maxwell’s transfer came days after she was interviewed over two days by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche amid pressure on President Donald Trump to release more information about the investigations of Maxwell and Epstein.
The Department of Justice is reportedly weighing whether to release a transcript of the interview. It would come at the direction of Trump, who has ordered the disclosure of “all credible evidence” in the Epstein case.
Maxwell is appealing to the Supreme Court to have her conviction overturned.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out granting Maxwell a pardon, saying he is “allowed” to do it.
What People Are Saying
Asked if he had approved Maxwell’s transfer, Trump told reporters on Tuesday: “I didn’t know about it at all, no. I read about it just like you did.”
The President said in an interview with Newsmax on Friday that no one has asked him about pardoning Maxwell. He said: “I’m allowed to do it but nobody’s asked me to do it.”
Blanche wrote on X on July 24: “Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow. The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.”
The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most well-known accusers, has urged Trump not to pardon Maxwell, saying in a statement: “The government and the President should never consider giving Ghislaine Maxwell any leniency. Ghislaine Maxwell is a monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life for the extraordinary violence and abuse she put not just our sister Virginia through, but many other survivors, who may number in the thousands.”
What’s Next
Maxwell had been scheduled to speak before the House Oversight Committee on August 11.
But Representative James Comer, the committee’s chair, said in a letter to Maxwell on Friday that the committee was willing to delay the deposition until after the resolution of Maxwell’s appeal to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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