Whistleblower Nurse Says She Exposed Alleged 'VIP' Treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell to Protect Inmates

Noella Turnage, a nurse who worked at Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan, says she told House Democratic staff about alleged special treatment given to Ghislaine Maxwell because she was concerned for other inmates — not for political reasons. Turnage was dismissed from her job on Nov. 10, a day after congressional inquiries about Maxwell’s treatment and emails became public.

What Turnage says

Turnage told congressional staffers she came forward out of "common human decency" after observing what she described as leadership misconduct and retaliation against staff and inmates who raised concerns. She said the decision to blow the whistle was driven by inmate welfare, not by public outrage over Maxwell or Jeffrey Epstein.

“When even one inmate is wrongly retaliated against, and influence gets another one protected, somebody had to say something,” Turnage said.

Allegations and evidence

Lawmakers obtained email correspondence sent by Maxwell during her first months at FPC Bryan. Those messages indicated Maxwell felt "happier" at Bryan — describing a cleaner facility and friendlier staff — and suggested she had unusually direct lines to Warden Tanisha Hall for arranging visits and communicating with her lawyers. Other attorneys with clients at Bryan called such access highly unusual.

Responses and consequences

Maxwell’s attorney, Leah Saffian, said the release of the emails was improper and denied that a pardon or commutation request had been made to the administration. Saffian also said some employees were terminated for unauthorized access to the inmate email system and indicated she intends to challenge Maxwell’s sentence through a habeas petition.

A former senior specialist at Bryan, Ashley Anderson, who was terminated in August, also told committee staff she has repeatedly pushed back against alleged abuse and called the system "lacking transparency, accountability, and fairness." House Judiciary Democrats said they will support government employees who report retaliatory behavior to expose waste, fraud, or corruption.

Context

Maxwell was transferred to FPC Bryan in early August after a July meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The situation has renewed calls from some members of Congress for the Justice Department to release records connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s investigation. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Rep. Jamie Raskin pressed prison officials about reports of perceived "VIP treatment," including allegations of special visitor accommodations, meals sent to Maxwell’s dormitory room, late-night workouts, and shower privileges not available to others. Media reports have also said at least two inmates were transferred after speaking to the press; officials have not publicly confirmed the reasons for those transfers.

Current status

The Bureau of Prisons and Warden Hall have not publicly commented on employee terminations tied to the email disclosures. The matter remains under congressional inquiry, and legal actions related to the disclosure and Maxwell’s sentence are reportedly being prepared.