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(WASHINGTON) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted co-conspirator of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Wednesday asked a federal court to vacate or correct her conviction and 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors and other offenses — a move that could complicate the release of the Epstein files as mandated by a new law.

Maxwell has exhausted all of her direct appeals, but filed a petition which contends “substantial new evidence has emerged” demonstrating she did not receive a fair trial, according to Maxwell’s filing in federal court in New York.

“This newly available evidence — derived from litigation against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, various financial institutions, and the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein, as well as from sworn depositions, released records, and other verified sources–shows that exculpatory information was withheld, false testimony presented, and material facts misrepresented to the jury and the Court,” Maxwell wrote in a habeas petition, which she filed “pro se” — without an attorney.

The petition alleges nine separate grounds — including juror misconduct and government suppression of evidence — for Maxwell’s contention that constitutional violations undermined the integrity of her 2021 trial. 

“In the light of the full evidentiary record, no reasonable juror would have convicted her. Accordingly, she seeks vacatur of her conviction, an evidentiary hearing, and such other relief as this Court deems appropriate and justice requires,” Maxwell wrote in the 50-page filing, which was submitted to the court in seven separately scanned sections. 

There are two gaps in the page numbers, which could be the result of an editing or filing error. After the documents first posted on the electronic case docket Wednesday afternoon, they were briefly taken down before appearing again. Maxwell’s handwritten signature appears at the end of the petition.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York declined to comment on Maxwell’s court filing.

Maxwell, 63, was convicted in 2021 — after a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court — of five felonies, including conspiracy, transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and sex trafficking of a minor.  A higher court rejected her post-trial appeals, and the Supreme Court declined to take up her case.

Many of the issues raised in Maxwell’s petition were addressed either at her trial or by the appellate court. She contends, however, that information and evidence previously unavailable to her and her attorneys has since emerged that should render her conviction “invalid, unsafe, and infirm.”

To prevail in a habeas petition, Maxwell would need to show that serious constitutional violations occurred during her trial or sentencing, or that significant new evidence has emerged demonstrating her innocence. A successful habeas petition could result in a new trial or a reduction of her sentence.

Maxwell’s last-ditch effort for relief from the courts comes as the Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to publicly disclose its investigative files on Epstein and Maxwell in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last month.    

Maxwell’s newly filed petition presents a possible wrinkle in the long-running controversy. The Epstein Files Transparency Act contains exemptions permitting Attorney General Pam Bondi to withhold certain records if their publication could jeopardize active criminal investigations or prosecutions.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer granted a DOJ motion to lift restrictions  on grand jury transcripts and other nonpublic records from the case, citing the requirement of the newly passed legislation. An attorney for Maxwell had argued that public disclosure of those materials would impact her ability to get a fair retrial if she were to succeed in her bid for a new trial.

“Releasing the grand jury materials from her case, which contain untested and unproven allegations, would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial should Ms. Maxwell’s habeas petition succeed,” the lawyers wrote.

Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019.

Maxwell’s habeas submission cites to than 140 exhibits, including post-trial news articles and excerpts from podcasts, books and documentaries about the case in support of her claims of juror misconduct, suppression of evidence and allegedly improper coordination between prosecutors and attorneys for alleged victims. As of Wednesday afternoon, the exhibits had not yet been posted on the electronic docket of the case.

Maxwell devotes a substantial portion of her petition to a claim that the government failed to disclose to her defense team the prior state grand jury testimony of a former Palm Beach police officer who participated in a search of Epstein’s Florida home in 2005.

Retired officer Gregory Parkinson was on the stand for one of the Maxwell trial’s more dramatic moments, when prosecutors carried into the courtroom a green massage table that Parkinson testified was the same one he removed from a bathroom in Epstein’s seaside home following the execution of a search warrant.  

Prosecutors said a manufacturer’s label indicating the table was made in California constituted proof of an interstate nexus to the sex-trafficking of a minor — the witness identified at trial as “Carolyn” — which was a critical element of the two most serious charges against Maxwell.

“So when Carolyn … was abused on a massage table that was manufactured in California, that proves that there was at least a minimal effect on interstate commerce, which is all that’s required for this count,” prosecutor Allison Moe said during closing arguments.

But Maxwell contends in her habeas petition that her lack of access to the state grand jury transcripts during her trial deprived her attorneys of the ability to cross-examine the retired officer about his previous sworn testimony. What Parkinson said in 2006, Maxwell argues, “conflicted with his trial testimony” about where the massage table was found and “undermined” the government’s assertions about a critical piece of evidence.

Parkinson’s testimony before the state grand jury in 2006 was made public in 2024 as a result of a lawsuit by the Palm Beach Post and a new state law specifically crafted to allow for the disclosure of the transcripts. 

Earlier this year, Maxwell was transferred  from a low-security  prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp for women in Texas. That switch occurred less than two weeks after an unusual meeting in July between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as personal counsel to President Trump.

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(BOSTON) — Nearly two days after a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor was shot and killed at his home in upscale Brookline, Massachusetts, investigators have no obvious suspects and no working theory of the case, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation. 

Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was found at his house on Monday night. He was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on Tuesday, the Norfolk District Attorney’s office said.

Authorities have investigated whether his death could be connected to this weekend’s Brown University shooting, and a senior law enforcement official briefed on both cases told ABC News there is nothing to suggest they’re connected.

Sources said investigators are trying to move quickly, aware the suburban community of Brookline — in which violent crime is rare — is shaken, sources said.

Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster said the department will have a police presence in the neighborhood as the investigation continues.

“The Brookline Police Department remains committed to pursuing justice and ensuring the safety of our community,” Paster added.

The university said Loureiro was a “faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.”

Loureiro, a native of Portugal, wanted to be a scientist since childhood, according to MIT.

The accomplished scientist joined the MIT faculty in 2016 and “quickly became known as an imaginative scholar, gifted administrator and enthusiastic mentor,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement.

“In the face of this shocking loss, our hearts go out to his wife and their family and to his many devoted students, friends and colleagues,” she said.

“This shocking loss for our community comes in a period of disturbing violence in many other places. It’s entirely natural to feel the need for comfort and support,” Kornbluth continued. “… In time, the many communities Nuno belonged to will create opportunities to mourn his loss and celebrate his life.”

U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John J. Arrigo said in a statement, “I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Nuno Loureiro, who led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. We honor his life, his leadership in science, and his enduring contributions.”

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(MASSACHUSETTS) — Two Massachusetts men trafficked nearly $7 million worth of benefits intended for people who cannot afford food, federal prosecutors in Boston said Wednesday.

Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan, and Saul Alisme, 21, of Hyde Park, were arrested Wednesday morning and charged with one count of food stamp fraud in a scheme that U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said “turned a program to feed families into a multimillion dollar criminal enterprise.”

Assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, became a focal point during the most recent government shutdown. According to federal prosecutors, the defendants operated small retail stores that, despite their limited size, inventory and food offerings, exhibited extraordinarily high SNAP redemption volumes far in excess of what could reasonably be supported by legitimate sales.

One store’s monthly SNAP redemptions exceeded $100,000 and, at times, even $500,000, prosecutors said. By comparison, a full-service supermarket in Boston typically redeems $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits.

Investigators went undercover, discovering that the defendants had personally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. Both stores were also allegedly observed selling liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits.

“This is taxpayer money meant to keep people from going hungry. These defendants decided to take it for themselves,” Foley said.

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(SUNRISE, Fla.) — A Florida man is charged with a felony after allegedly towing a car with a 4-year-old girl inside Sunday, who then fell out of the vehicle and onto the road.

The tow truck driver, Sergio Suarez, 34, can be seen in a video driving away from the Bistro Creole restaurant in Sunrise, Florida, where the vehicle had been parked, as the girl’s father runs after him and tells him to stop.

According to the arrest report, the father told responding officers that he was inside the restaurant when the tow truck began towing his car. He said he ran outside and banged on the tow truck window to alert the driver that his daughter was inside the car but the driver ignored him and drove off, the arrest report said.

The father chased after the tow truck as it drove away, and “observed his daughter fall out of the vehicle onto the roadway,” according to the arrest report, which says the father ran into traffic to retrieve her and carried her to safety. The girl suffered “superficial injuries” to her arms and right calf and was taken to a hospital for treatment, the arrest report said.

Suarez returned to the restaurant with the towed vehicle after the responding officer called the towing company, according to the arrest report. Once Suarez arrived to drop off the car, he was arrested and taken into custody.

According to the arrest report, Suarez told the responding officer that he hadn’t checked the vehicle for occupants before he towed it, and that he kept driving after the father banged on his window “because he feared the male might become aggressive.”

Suarez further claimed that “he received multiple phone calls” from his towing company, All-Ways Towing, telling him that there was a girl in the vehicle he was towing, but when he stopped the truck and checked the vehicle he found no one inside, the arrest report said.

Suarez’s alleged actions “constituted culpable negligence and demonstrated a reckless disregard for the safety of a minor, directly resulting in injury to the child,” according to the arrest report.

Suarez is charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, which is a third-degree felony in Florida, and was released on $10,000 bond, according to court records.

According to ABC affiliate station WSVN in Miami, Suarez’s attorney said in court Monday that Suarez checked the vehicle three times before he towed it, but the judge noted that the video of the incident showed otherwise and that Suarez “admitted that he didn’t look at the vehicle.”

All-Ways Towing declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Jake and Romy Reiner, the children of renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner, are speaking out for the first time after their brother, Nick Reiner, was arrested for allegedly killing their parents.

“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,” Jake and Romy Reiner said in a statement released by a family spokesperson on Wednesday. “The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”

“We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life,” Jake and Romy Reiner said. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”

Nick Reiner, 32, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, for allegedly stabbing his parents to death on Sunday, according to prosecutors.

The Reiners’ daughter is the one who found her parents’ bodies in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, who met while Rob Reiner was directing “When Harry Met Sally…,” married in 1989 and share three children: Jake, Nick and Romy. Rob Reiner is also survived by daughter Tracy Reiner with his first wife, Penny Marshall.

ABC News’ Brooke Stangeland contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump posted to social media early on Wednesday regarding the ongoing search for a gunman who killed two students at Brown University last weekend, criticizing the university for having so few security cameras on campus.

“Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras?” the president wrote. “There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn’t get worse!!!”

Students Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed in the shooting, which occurred on Saturday afternoon. Nine other students were injured in the attack.

As the search for a person of interest in the shooting stretched into its fifth day on Wednesday, the Providence Police Department released images of an individual investigators said “was in proximity of the person of interest.” Police said only that they would like to speak to the individual.

During a news conference Tuesday night, Col. Oscar Perez, chief of the Providence Police Department, said the only videos investigators have released so far are from outside the building.

“That’s all we have. Not inside, just outside,” Perez said.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha added that investigators have found no security video of the gunman inside the school’s Barus & Holley engineering building, where the shooting unfolded in a lecture hall.

He said the shooting happened in an old section of the engineering complex.

“There was a major addition put onto that building within the last five years or so. That is a modern building attached to a much older one in the back,” Neronha explained. “The shooting occurs in the old part, towards the back, towards Hope Street. In that older part of the building, there are fewer, if any, cameras in that location. I imagine because it’s an older building.”

Neronha said there are cameras in the newer section of the complex, saying they captured “things like the chaos after the shooting.”

“But what they don’t show is this person of interest,” Neronha said. “So, that’s why we haven’t released those videos. What you do have are videos from a camera outside the Brown building and other cameras from around the neighborhood that the good men and women of law enforcement located and put together in this montage.”

Just after the shooting, which the FBI said occurred at 4:03 p.m. local time, a security video captured the individual emerging onto Hope Street from what investigators described as “lot 42” on the Brown campus, near the Barus & Holley building.

As the individual crossed Hope Street, a police cruiser with its emergency lights flashing was seen less than a block away from him, pulling up and stopping on Hope Street near the scene of the shooting.

Neronha said the Barus & Holley building is on the east edge of the campus, abutting a residential neighborhood.

“It’s not in the heartland of the campus, it’s not the green, and there are several greens. It’s not any of them,” Neronha said. “So, it’s right on the edge of the campus, and where the shooting took place is at the very edge of that building on the edge of the campus.”

Neronha added, “As those of you who know Providence know, you are very quickly into a residential neighborhood, which is why the video footage you are seeing of this person of interest’s movements pre-and post-shooting are in that neighborhood.”

In a statement released late Tuesday night, a Brown University spokesperson said there are more than 1,200 security cameras installed across the campus, specifically in high-traffic areas.

“Brown’s security cameras do not extend to every hallway, classroom, laboratory and office across the 250+ buildings on campus,” the spokesperson said. “For security reasons, it is not prudent to share where cameras are and are not relative to individual buildings and locations.”

The spokesperson added that access to most buildings on campus during the daytime “are open and accessible, while after hours, ID card swipes are required for entry.”

Brown has considerably increased security on campus since the shooting, and the school spokesperson said, “We will do a large-scale, systematic security review of the entire campus.”

On Wednesday, the Providence Police Department said investigators are trying to identify an individual they would like to speak to who “was in proximity of the person of interest.” The police department released three images of the person and asked for the public’s help.

In an update on the conditions of victims who are still being treated at Rhode Island Hospital, officials said one patient remains in critical but stable condition, six others are in stable condition and two victims have been discharged.

Police also released enhanced surveillance images and video of a person of interest and asked the public for help identifying the individual based on movement patterns, posture and body language.

Authorities said they believe the person of interest was in the area from around 10 a.m. on Saturday, hours before the attack. The individual may have been surveying the neighborhood in advance, investigators said.

“We believe that he was actually casing out the area,” Col. Perez said of the person of interest, adding, “We strongly believe that he is a suspect in the incident.”

Police said the gunman fled the campus after the shooting. A person of interest was detained and then released by police on Sunday. No charges have been filed and police have not commented on a possible motive.

The FBI described the person of interest as “a male, approximately 5’8″ with a stocky build.”

Police said reviewing the large volume of video data is time-consuming and that public assistance could help identify key moments.

Officials reported they have received hundreds of tips so far, with nearly 200 considered actionable and still under investigation.

Authorities reiterated that there is no credible or specific ongoing threat related to the shooting, but said increased security measures will remain in place as a precaution while the investigation continues.

ABC News’ Alex Ederson contributed to this report.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing his parents, renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner, made a brief first appearance in court on Wednesday.

Nick Reiner, 32, appeared quiet and calm, and sat behind the glass and behind his attorney, Alan Jackson — who helped defend Karen Read in Massachusetts.

He waived the right to a speedy arraignment. The arraignment is set for Jan. 7.

Nick Reiner was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, for allegedly stabbing his parents to death early on Sunday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Hochman said.

“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” Hochman said.

“Our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family,” Jackson said after court on Wednesday. “There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case.”

“We ask that during this process, you allow the system to move forward in the way that it was designed … not with jumping to conclusions, but with restraint and with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves,” Jackson said.

New videos obtained by ABC News appear to show the moments leading up to Nick Reiner’s arrest on Sunday night.

One of the videos appears to show Nick Reiner moments before his arrest near the University of Southern California. In the video, he’s wearing jeans, a striped jacket and a baseball cap. He’s seen with a red backpack slung over one shoulder as he enters a gas station and purchases a drink. 

Another video shows him outside walking near a crosswalk when several police vehicles with flashing lights surround him. He can be seen in the video raising his hands. 

The Reiners’ daughter found her parents’ bodies in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.

A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police arrived on Sunday, and the neighbor said, “Billy looked like he was about to cry.”

Nick Reiner — who was living on his parents’ property, according to a former family security guard — had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager. In 2016, Nick Reiner worked with his dad on the movie “Being Charlie,” which was based largely on his struggle with drug addiction. 

Sources told ABC News that Nick Reiner got into an argument with his father at a holiday party on Saturday night and was seen acting strangely.

“Prosecuting cases involving family violence are some of the most challenging and heart-wrenching we face because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes,” Hochman said in a statement on Tuesday.

ABC News’ Kerem Inal contributed to this report.

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(LOS ANGELES) — New videos appear to show the moments leading up to the arrest of Nick Reiner for the murders of his parents, renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner. 

One of the videos appears to show Nick Reiner, 32, moments before his Sunday night arrest near the University of Southern California. In the video, he’s wearing jeans, a striped jacket and a baseball cap. He’s seen with a red backpack slung over one shoulder as he enters a gas station and purchases a drink. 

Another video shows him outside walking near a crosswalk when several police vehicles with flashing lights surround him. He can be seen in the video raising his hands. 

Police said they found him thanks to “good, solid police work.”

Nick Reiner was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, for allegedly stabbing his parents to death early on Sunday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

Nick Reiner’s defense attorney, Alan Jackson — who helped defend Karen Read in Massachusetts — told reporters that the 32-year-old is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Hochman said.

“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” Hochman said.

The Reiners’ daughter found her parents’ bodies in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.

A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police arrived on Sunday, and the neighbor said, “Billy looked like he was about to cry.”

Nick Reiner — who was living on his parents’ property, according to a former family security guard — had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager. In 2016, Nick Reiner worked with his dad on the movie “Being Charlie,” which was based largely on his struggle with drug addiction. 

Sources told ABC News that Nick Reiner got into an argument with his father at a holiday party on Saturday night and was seen acting strangely.

“Prosecuting cases involving family violence are some of the most challenging and heart-wrenching we face because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes,” Hochman said in a statement on Tuesday.

ABC News’ Kerem Inal contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed criminal charges Wednesday in connection with the collapse of subprime auto lender and used car retailer Tricolor Holdings, which went bankrupt earlier this year.

Founder and CEO Daniel Chu, COO Daniel Goodgame, and former Tricolor executives Jerome Kollar and Ameryn Seibold, were charged with conspiracy, bank fraud and running a continuing financial crimes enterprise, according to the indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Kollar and Seibold have pleaded guilty to fraud and are cooperating with the government, according to prosecutors.

“CEO Daniel Chu was the leader of an elaborate scheme to defraud creditors of Tricolor,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement announcing the indictment. “At his direction, Tricolor repeatedly lied to banks and other credit providers, including by falsifying auto-loan data and ‘double pledging’ collateral. Fraud became an integral component of Tricolor’s business strategy.”

“The resulting billion-dollar collapse harmed banks, investors, employees and customers,” Clayton said.

Tricolor Holdings is a provider of subprime auto loans. The company also operates a chain of used car dealerships across the Southwest. It specializes in loans to low-credit and no-credit buyers, often issuing them without a credit check, the indictment said.

The defendants “engaged in a series of frauds directed at each of Tricolor’s lenders,” the indictment said. They allegedly double-pledged the same collateral to multiple lenders, allowing Tricolor to borrow against the same assets, at the same time, repeatedly, according to the indictment, and also “manipulated loan date to make ineligible, delinquent loans appear current and compliant with lender requirements.”

To cover their tracks, the defendants simply fabricated records, including fake customer payments, according to the indictment. Federal prosecutors said this fraudulent activity became Tricolor’s “routine manner of business.”

When Tricolor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September, its lenders – which included JPMorgan Chase, Fifth Third Bancorp and Barclays – sustained multi-million-dollar losses, prosecutors said.

Chu, 62, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the first count of the four with which he’s charged, Continuing Financial Crimes Enterprise. The remaining defendants face sentences of between five and 30 years in prison.

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(NEW YORK) — A $1.25 billion Powerball jackpot prize is up for grabs Wednesday night, with a cash value of $572.1 million, after no winners were selected Monday.

This is the game’s sixth largest prize ever, according to Powerball. The largest prize ever was $2.04 billion won on Nov. 7, 2022.

The Powerball jackpot last rolled Monday night, when no ticket matched the five white balls — 23, 35, 59, 63, 68 — and red Powerball 2.

The Powerball jackpot was last hit on Sept. 6 by two tickets in Missouri and Texas that split a $1.787 billion prize. There have been 43 consecutive drawings with no jackpot wins.

If a player wins on Wednesday night, they will have the choice between annual payments worth an estimated $1.25 billion or an immediate $572.1 million lump sum payment.

According to Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

The drawing will be held just before 11 p.m. ET in the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play.

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