The Mirror’s exclusive picture of Ghislaine Maxwell inside the jail has humiliated the Department of Justice and prison bosses, and also reignited a political firestorm at the heart of the White House
Humiliated US prison chiefs have launched an investigation after a million-dollar bid to keep Ghislaine Maxwell hidden collapsed.
The sex trafficker was pictured in the cushy Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas after being transferred under a cloak of secrecy. Sources told the Mirror that US Attorney General Pam Bondi had personally assured Donald Trump that Maxwell’s transfer would not embarrass him.
The President is under pressure over his friendship with Maxwell’s pal, paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But the emergence of the Mirror’s exclusive image from inside the sprawling minimum-security complex has blown those promises apart.
One insider said: “The President was told she would never come back to haunt him. He was assured by Pam Bondi that Maxwell would be buried in the system. It’s blown up in his face.”
READ MORE: Ghislaine Maxwell pictured for first time since sex trafficker was moved to cushy jailREAD MORE: Fergie called Jeffrey Epstein ‘supreme friend’ despite sex convictions
Bondi, one of Trump’s closest allies, is said to be “furious and embarrassed” after the breach.
Following our exclusive, California Senator Adam Schiff yesterday hit out at the transfer, directing his anger at FBI head Kash Patel. The leading Democrat spoke after the disgraced socialite, 63, was moved just a week after speaking favourably of Trump after she was quizzed by US government lawyers.
Schiff said: “Kash Patel wants you to believe the Bureau of Prisons’ decision to move Epstein’s co-conspirator to a minimum security prison after her interview was… a coincidence. His false testimony is an insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
Prison chiefs went to extraordinary lengths in order to conceal Maxwell. A million-dollar security operation was mounted, with dozens of officers drafted into Bryan equipped with semi-automatic rifles and tactical gear.
Jail bosses now face a grilling over how one of the world’s most infamous female inmates could be photographed.
A Department of Justice source told the Mirror: “This was supposed to be airtight. It makes us look incompetent, and it makes her look untouchable.”
During his campaign for the White House, Trump pledged to release government files on Epstein, who died in 2019. But he has not done so, leading to claims he is sweeping it under the carpet due to his own friendship with the billionaire predator.