Ghislaine Maxwell isn’t done fighting—she’s making a dramatic new bid to overturn her sex trafficking conviction, just as the explosive Epstein files are set to hit the public spotlight. The infamous British socialite, once a close companion of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, has pleaded with a federal judge in New York to toss her 2021 conviction. Maxwell, now serving a 20-year stint behind bars for her role in Epstein’s horrific abuse ring, claims justice was not served during her trial.

Maxwell’s latest legal maneuver—a fresh habeas petition—asserts that significant new evidence has surfaced, supposedly proving she didn’t get a fair shot in court. “No reasonable juror would have convicted me, knowing all the facts,” the filing insists. Her lawyers argue that key exonerating information was hidden, and that the jury was misled by false testimony.

Her repeated appeals have already hit brick walls: appellate courts denied her challenges, and, last October, the nation’s highest court shut the door on reconsidering whether prosecutors acted appropriately in bringing her to justice. This fresh move comes as the clock ticks down on a high-stakes deadline for the Department of Justice, which must release a trove of documents—known as the Epstein files—as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law, signed by then-President Donald Trump in November (a stunning turnaround after his initial resistance), gives federal prosecutors until Friday to unseal records. That means details from both the infamous 2008 Florida plea deal—where Epstein admitted guilt to soliciting a minor—and the Manhattan cases targeting Epstein and Maxwell are on the verge of seeing daylight.

Epstein’s own world unraveled when he was indicted on child sex trafficking charges in 2019; weeks later, authorities say, he died by suicide in a New York jail. Maxwell, painted as his ruthless accomplice throughout her trial, was convicted of luring and abusing young girls, with survivors taking the stand to expose the shocking manipulations—including claims Maxwell seized victims’ passports and directly participated in the abuse.

Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, previously warned that publicizing the court papers could sabotage her shot at a retrial, should her petition finally gain traction. Still, the DOJ has authority under the new act to keep some files secret—if releasing them would blow the lid off any active investigations. All eyes are now on the federal bench, as Maxwell’s final appeal and the Epstein files’ release threaten to ignite new scandal.