House Staff Probe Maxwell's 20-Year Prison Term Transfer to Texas Camp as BOP Blocks Key Questions
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17
House Staff Probe Maxwell's 20-Year Prison Term Transfer to Texas Camp as BOP Blocks Key Questions
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17
Summary
House oversight and judiciary staff visited the Bryan, Texas, federal prison camp on Tuesday to examine why Ghislaine Maxwell was moved there and whether she received special treatment.
Democratic lawmakers Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin said prison staff gave an extensive tour, but Bureau of Prisons leadership shut down questioning or could not answer basic inquiries about Maxwell's treatment, alleged sexual assault at the facility and retaliation against whistleblowers.
Garcia said the warden told staff Maxwell is the only convicted sex offender among the camp's 600-plus women and could not explain why she was transferred there; staff also were not allowed to meet Maxwell.
Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence in Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking case, was moved last summer from a low-security Florida prison to the minimum-security Texas camp, a shift that drew backlash because sex offenders are generally not housed in such facilities.
The visit extends a months-long congressional inquiry fueled by whistleblower claims that Maxwell received perks including unsupervised laptop use, custom meals, bottled water and access to staff-only areas, allegations her lawyer denies.