Inmates Say They Paid for Talk About Ghislaine Maxwell

When Ghislaine Maxwell showed up at a federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, some of the women locked up there say they learned a fast lesson: Don't talk about her. CNN reports that Julie Howell, serving a year for embezzlement, said she checked the rules, then sent her thoughts about Maxwell's transfer—"every inmate I've heard from is upset she's here"—to a British reporter through her husband. Days later, Howell said, she was pulled from a prison dog-training program, berated by the warden for "ruining her weekend," written up for "disruptive conduct" and "mail abuse," and abruptly shipped to a higher-security federal detention center in Houston for three months.

Another Bryan inmate said she, too, was transferred to Houston and disciplined after speaking with a reporter, though she says she tried not to criticize Maxwell. The Bureau of Prisons said that staff members are barred from giving any inmate special treatment and that media contact is allowed with prior approval, per CNN. Prison consultants say Maxwell's move to a minimum-security camp was highly unusual for her crimes—and that punishing inmates for talking to the press is not standard practice, though wardens have broad discretion. The bureau made the transfer from a federal prison in Florida last summer with little explanation, shortly after Maxwell met with Todd Blanche, then deputy attorney general, in Florida.

• Politico has an account of the House Oversight Committee's session with a former boyfriend of Maxwell's here.