Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: Day 7
The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has been adjourned for the day after an attorney on the case fell ill. Judge Alison Nathan said there was no reason to believe it was Covid-related. Proceedings are expected to resume on Friday.
Included in the latest release of evidence from the socialite’s sex-trafficking trial was an image of Jeffrey Epstein and Ms Maxwell sitting together at the Queen’s Balmoral estate. The photo is thought to have been taken in 1999 and shows the pair sitting on a bench on the deck of a log cabin in the highlands of Scotland.
Ms Maxwell is accused of grooming teenage girls for her convicted sex offender partner from the 1990s onwards. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Her defence team said that she is being made the “scapegoat” for Epstein’s deeds.
However, her accusers have testified that she was instrumental in the late financier’s crimes and even participated. Annie Farmer, the fourth accuser from the indictment against Ms Maxwell, was expected to testify today. She is the only victim using her real name.
The prosecution reiterated on Wednesday that they intend to rest their case this week, wrapping up arguments from their side in a trial that was expected to last five to six weeks.
Voices: The return of a phrase we should never use again
Author, journalist, and professor Margot Mifflin explains why the phrase “underage girl” is so wrong and why it should never be used.
Oliver O’Connell10 December 2021 04:15
Ghislaine Maxwell’s family hires their own courtroom artist
Days after a sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell drawing the artist went viral, her family has hired their own artist, apparently in an attempt to have her sketched for “sympathetic pictures” for their website, The Times reported.
The move did not go down well with social media users. The Maxwell family was criticised for “opulent show of wealth.”
“Rich people are wild. I didn’t even know you could bring your own courtroom artist,” wrote blogger Sugabelly on Twitter.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar10 December 2021 04:11
Never before seen photos of Epstein’s mansion shown to jury
A sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell hanging in Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion appears in one of dozens of never-before-seen photographs submitted into evidence by prosecutors in the socialite’s trial.
The images were taken during an FBI raid on Epstein’s Florida home in 2005 and show his bedroom, offices, and a massage table where he received sexualised massages.
Oliver O’Connell10 December 2021 03:15
Maxwell photos removed from Palm Beach mansion when Epstein entertained other women
Jeffrey Epstein ordered all photos of Ghislaine Maxwell removed from his Palm Beach mansion when he entertained female guests, a New York federal court was told by his former housekeeper.
Oliver O’Connell10 December 2021 02:15
‘She told me I was such a good girl, and that I was one of his favourites’
Oliver O’Connell10 December 2021 01:15
Key witness ‘Jane’ describes years of abuse at hands of Epstein and Maxwell
Jeffrey Epstein engaged in sadomasochistic sexual abuse with a 14-year-old girl who had been left grief-stricken and living in poverty after the death of her father, and Ghislaine Maxwell was often “in the room” when it took place, a jury heard on during the first day of the socialite’s trial.
Oliver O’Connell10 December 2021 00:15
Key accuser ‘Jane’ recalls meeting Trump at Mar-a-Lago with Epstein
The accuser, testifying under the pseudonym “Jane”, faced a gruelling cross-examination by Ms Maxwell’s defence team on the third day of her trial.
A day earlier Jane had described in vivid detail being subjected to years of sexual abuse by Epstein at properties in Palm Beach, New York and New Mexico between the ages of 14 and 16, and how Ms Maxwell had joined in on multiple occasions.
Oliver O’Connell9 December 2021 23:15
Housekeeper drove accuser ‘Jane’ to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion aged 14, court hears
Jeffrey Epstein’s former housekeeper testified that the first accuser in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial was a frequent visitor to his Palm Beach mansion when she was 14 years old.
Mr Alessi said Ms Maxwell was the “lady of the house” and maintained an iron grip over every aspect of life at the Palm Beach mansion.
Oliver O’Connell9 December 2021 22:15
All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.
Those decades-long connections are forming a key role in Ms Maxwell’s trial for sex-trafficking at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.
Ms Maxwell would frequently boast of her close friendships with Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Donald Trump, her accusers have testified.
Prosecutors say the access to powerful people was both alluring and intimidating – and victims of Epstein’s abuse would feel afraid to break off contact out of fear of what he and his powerful allies might do.
Oliver O’Connell9 December 2021 21:30
Could Maxwell take the stand?
With the prosecution’s case drawing to a close, when the defence team calls its witnesses could the socialite testify, or would cross-examination prove too great a risk?
Oliver O’Connell9 December 2021 20:45