Texas – Three House Democrats from California, Maryland and North Carolina are pressing the Trump administration for answers over the circumstances surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer from low-security Florida prison to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas. The lawmakers are arguing that the Justice Department is legally obligated to disclose records tied to the move.
In a letter sent Monday to Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall, Reps. Deborah Ross of North Carolina, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Ro Khanna of California demanded an explanation for why Maxwell, the only person convicted in connection with Jeffrey Epstein’s s** trafficking operation, was relocated last year from a low-security prison in Florida to a minimum-security camp in Texas.
The lawmakers pointed to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the release of all government documents related to Maxwell.
According to the statute, there is no carveout for more recent developments. That means any records connected to Maxwell’s transfer, including internal communications, recommendations or justifications, must be made public, the lawmakers wrote. They specifically referenced her move to what they described as a lower-security facility where she has reportedly received “numerous unusual special privileges.”
The Bureau of Prisons, which operates under the Justice Department, has acknowledged that the transfer occurred. But it has not publicly explained the reasoning behind the decision.
The timing has fueled additional scrutiny. Maxwell’s relocation came just days after Deputy U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche conducted an uncommon interview with her. During that conversation, Maxwell said she had never witnessed Donald Trump engage in improper conduct while she, Trump and Epstein socialized together in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Ross said she has spoken with survivors connected to Epstein’s crimes and that they view the transfer as deeply troubling.
“I have now had two conversations with the survivors, and they do not feel like they have gotten justice, and Ghislaine Maxwell getting special treatment is re-traumatizing to them,” Ross told HuffPost.
The issue surfaced publicly during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month. Under questioning from Ross, Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that she had no role in Maxwell’s transfer and said she learned of it after it happened. Bondi also said that Maxwell had been moved to a facility with the same security level. That claim was inaccurate; Maxwell had been transferred from a low-security prison to a minimum-security camp.
Meanwhile, Maxwell is seeking clemency from Trump in the form of a pardon or commutation of her 20-year sentence. When she was charged in 2020, Trump said at the time, “I just wish her well.” He has not ruled out granting relief.
The dispute over her transfer comes as the Justice Department faces criticism over gaps in the so-called Epstein Library, created in January to comply with the transparency law. Significant materials have been withheld, including FBI forms documenting agents’ interviews with a woman who alleged in 2019 that Trump sexually abused her decades earlier. The accuser has reportedly faced unrelated fraud and theft charges.
To date, there appear to be no substantive records in the public archive explaining Maxwell’s prison transfer, aside from an August 2025 FBI news summary memo referencing media coverage of the move.
Ross said those documents should already be available.
“Zero public records explaining who in this admin approved her special treatment have been released. We will fight for answers and justice for survivors,” Ross wrote on Facebook.
