BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — Convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney has accused Rep. Jamie Raskin (D) Md., of releasing emails to the media between the two which are protected under attorney-client privilege, in a statement calling it a "denial of justice."
"He must be aware that his conduct undermines the whole legal process. His action should be a matter for professional disciplinary action," said Maxwell attorney Leah Saffian.
She said employees at Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan have already been terminated for unauthorized access to the email system, which allows inmates to communicate with the outside world.
According to a CNN report, FPC employees in Bryan were fired after a whistleblower released information to Raskin alleging the correspondence between Maxwell and her attorney.
"Dressing the improper action up as ‘Whistleblower Information’ does not mitigate the fact that the mails were both illegally obtained and put to unconstitutional purpose. It is clear that no effort to fact check the credibility or veracity of the so called “whistleblower” was made by the Representative or his offices. For Rep. Raskin to seek to make political capital from such publication and from the content of personal emails between Ms Maxwell and a family member is both shocking and reprehensible."
Saffain said in a statement that Raskin, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, leaked email correspondence between Maxwell and her attorney from the Federal Bureau of Prisons' communication system. She claims this is a breach of the First, Sixth and 14th Amendment.
Saffian's statement also criticized Maxwell's treatment during her incarceration, citing two years in solitary confinement at Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn and conditions at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee, which she said the Department of Justice's inspector general found contained black mold and contaminated food.
But in a CNN report, the whistleblower provided information to Raskin about Maxwell's special treatment at the FPC Bryan facility. This includes meals being customized for and delivered to her, access to a service dog in training, getting escorted to the prison exercise area after hours by guards, and other privileges awarded by the warden.
Maxwell, the former associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted in December 2021 on federal charges of helping recruit and groom girls to be abused.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence. She was transferred from a facility in Florida to the FPC in Texas in August.
The Bryan community protested Maxwell's transfer to the local facility, saying it is a low-security facility and shouldn't house someone inmates like Maxwell.
Saffian said Maxwell is planning on filing a habeas petition with the Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York. Her attorney said the petition will include "material evidence not available at her trial" and will show government and juror misconduct that made the verdict "at the very least unsafe."
Saffian's statement comes as Maxwell continues to challenge her conviction through the appeals process.