Sex Trafficker Ghislane Maxwell Moved to Minimum Security Prison a Week After Meeting With Trump DOJ

Ghislane Maxwell, the British socialite who is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, has been quietly transferred to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas. Maxwell’s transfer from a federal facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to Federal Prison Camp Bryan comes just one week after she met with Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche amid ongoing controversy over the Trump Administration’s handling of the so-called “Epstein files“. The Trump administration has faced sharp criticism from the public, and many of the president’s own supporters, following the release of a July memo from the DOJ denying the existence of a “client list”, ruling Epstein’s death a suicide, and closing the case. That announcement contradicted numerous statements made by key figures in Trump’s inner circle, including U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, before they joined Trump’s administration. When asked by reporters about the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell last week, Trump said: “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.” Read more: Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? The Epstein Associate the Justice Department Is Interviewing The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a Friday statement to TIME that Maxwell has now been moved to the federal prison camp in Bryan, though they did not state the reason for her move. David O. Markus, Maxwell’s attorney, has not publicly commented on the transfer. The Bryan facility houses 635 female inmates and is known for holding incarcerated people who are serving non-violent offenses and white-collar crimes, according to the BBC. Other prominent figures have been housed at FPC Bryan include Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Star Jen Shah, who was convicted of wire fraud, and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was found guilty of defrauding investors. Renewed interest in Maxwell comes as her attorneys seek an appeal for her conviction, which was filed to the Supreme Court in April. The Justice Department in July asked the Court to reject her appeal, before its recent interviews with Maxwell. House Oversight Chair James Comer has also subpoenaed Maxwell to testify, but her public testimony seems unlikely as Congress refused to grant her immunity, which her attorneys listed as part of her demands for testifying.