Ghislaine Maxwell wanted to divorce husband 'to protect him', lawyers say

Maxwell's lawyers have asked for her release on a $28.5m bail package, and pointed to her marriage as a reason she wouldn't flee

The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's latest argument for bail in her sex trafficking case claimed that she and her husband had discussed a divorce of convenience to protect him ... from the terrible consequences of being associated with her", according to Manhattan federal court papers filed Wednesday.

Maxwell has been jailed since her 2 July arrest for alleged involvement in the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking of minor girls. Maxwell had been a close confidante of Epstein as he cultivated a circle of powerful friends and associates across the world.