A former inmate turned federal prison consultant has come forward with explosive allegations of what he calls a “massive coverup” surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell—claiming that the Bureau of Prisons is enforcing total silence and even punishing inmates who dare to speak about her.
Sam Mangel, a consultant known for advising high-profile inmates such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, told The Daily Beast Podcast that both staff and inmates were explicitly warned not to discuss Maxwell’s presence or treatment. According to him, one prisoner who did speak out was quickly removed without explanation.
“In this case with Ms. Maxwell, it is completely different,” Mangel said. “They were warned, the inmates and the staff were warned prior to her coming in that under no circumstances are they to disclose anything that happens with her or to her or surrounding her during her time at Bryan.”
Mangel said the warning was strictly enforced. A woman serving a short sentence—who happened to be connected to one of Mangel’s clients—allegedly spoke to a journalist about Maxwell. That same night, she was taken out of the facility.
“So you know for sure they have an AI system that is just looking for the name Maxwell,” Mangel said. “And as soon as this other inmate made the statement, she was whisked off that night to Houston Federal Detention Center, which is a maximum security facility. The sentiment is one of walking on ice.”
He described a deep sense of fear among staff. “They’re afraid, as the staff is afraid, to do anything wrong because they know that in order for her to have gotten there, the strings [were pulled] at the highest possible level.”
Maxwell, the disgraced socialite and convicted sex trafficker who was once Jeffrey Epstein’s partner, was quietly moved in August from a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum-security camp in Bryan, Texas—an institution known for its more lenient conditions.
The move sparked serious questions because, under normal Bureau of Prisons policy, such a transfer shouldn’t have been allowed. Maxwell’s conviction carried a “public safety factor,” which usually prevents inmates from being placed in minimum-security facilities.
“Anything involving a sexual act is the most serious—or one of the most serious—public safety factors someone can have on them, and that specifically precludes an individual from serving their time in a camp,” Mangel said. “I’ve helped thousands of people… They will not waive that public safety factor. So getting your transfer to a camp is crazy.”
He claimed the order to relocate Maxwell didn’t come from local prison administrators but from “well above their heads.”
The timeline makes things even murkier. Just before the transfer, Maxwell allegedly had a private meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former Trump attorney who now serves as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department.
According to Mangel, their conversation lasted several hours. Soon after, Maxwell’s security restrictions disappeared, and she was moved to Bryan—where inmates enjoy yoga classes and a dorm-like lifestyle.
“So it’s my understanding that the directive to move her to a minimum security camp, Bryan, came from well above their heads,” Mangel reiterated, pointing to top officials at the Bureau of Prisons. Those include Director William Marshall and Deputy Director Joshua Smith, both of whom were appointed by Trump earlier this year.
“I truly believe that once she started cooperating, the Bureau of Prisons had to move her,” Mangel added. “It was the only solution for the Bureau of Prisons if their goal was to keep her safe and alive. If they moved her to another low-security [facility], they would have had the same challenges.”
Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking minors, but her name continues to draw attention due to unanswered questions about Epstein’s network and the powerful figures allegedly connected to it.
“I have to imagine that getting her to Bryan was the starting point to getting her out of custody, whether through commutation or pardon,” Mangel said. “It just seems to me that you don’t move someone to that type of facility with this kind of protection and precautions if you’re not overly concerned about her safety and what she has to say and offer.”
He added, “So my guess, and purely speculation, is that at some point she will receive some form of clemency.”
The Department of Justice has yet to address the alleged meeting between Maxwell and Blanche. Due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Bureau of Prisons has not issued any comment. The White House also declined to respond.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Maxwell appears to be living comfortably among other well-known inmates such as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and reality TV personality Jen Shah. Witnesses have even seen her attending yoga sessions.
Whether her transfer was part of a carefully orchestrated plan to secure her release remains uncertain—but within the prison system, few are brave enough to question it.
