News Analysis by Cherly Abou Chabke, Staff Writer

September 9th, 2020

Warning: Explicit and triggering content .

Even in death, Epstein kept the controversy alive. His story, ripe for conspiracy theories, is gaining momentous notoriety today due to the ongoing events related to his literal partner crime, Ghislaine Maxwell. Who is she? What is her connection with Epstein’s international sex trafficking ring? Why is she under arrest? Can we see today a glimpse of the possibility of justice being served for the victims who have endured for almost 20 years? Is this the end of the obscene travesty of justice? 

In order to answer these questions, let’s first, take a brief look back at the protagonists’ background and history, to elucidate afterwards, the current events and their connection to the case. 

 

Ghislaine Maxwell, is a British socialite turned alleged wrangler and abuser of teens who was deeply connected to Jeffrey Epstein and his vast sex trafficking web. In July 2020, Maxwell was arrested in connection with an investigation with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a famous financier and convicted sex offender, who was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking minors, but died in his jail cell before his trial.

Young Maxwell, fled the UK to reinvent herself after her father’s scandals, and went to New York, where she met Epstein, who was a prominent figure at the time. Everyone knew him, and knew that he had money but no one knew how he made that money. The pair dated for a short time, but eventually remained associates and close friends: Ghislaine had the connections, Epstein had the resources.

She was frequently seen in and out of Epstein’s various estates whether it be the private island of Little Saint James, Palm Beach, the massive ranch in New Mexico or the $77,000,000 Upper East Side mansion previously owned by Leslie Wexner, (the billionaire behind Victoria’s secret), and then gifted to Epstein for $0 (friendship goals or couple goals?). 

When Ghislaine wasn’t shuffling underage girls in and out of Epstein’s estates, she was attending high-profile events like Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. She’s also been seen in many photos alongside many celebrities, such as Bill Clinton, who according to information from Flight Logs obtained by Gawker in 2015, “took repeated trips on the " Lolita Express"— Epstein’s private passenger jet (more than 11 times). 

Ghislaine similarly hobnobbed with Donald Trump who also appeared in Epstein’s little black book, obtained by Gawker, alongside Prince Andrew, and Alan Dershowtiz (Epstein’s lawyer).

 

In 2014, one of Epstein’s and Maxwell’s victims, Virginia Giuffre said in a court filing, that she was just 16 when she had sex with Alan Dershowitz at least 6 times in Epstein’s various residences. She sued him, and Dershowitz countersued her for defamation, and fiercely denied the allegations.

Giuffre had stated publicly and in court-documents that she first found herself in Epstein and Ghislaine’s circle in 1999, when she was working as a locker-room attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. She said that Ghislaine herself recruited her, and mentioned that when she was 17, she was sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew, whose daughter’s weddings pictures recently emerged on social media. Guiffre admitted that the prince assaulted her 2 more times once in New York, and once on Epstein’s island. Even though there is a photo of the 2 of them together, prince Andrew claims “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady. None, whatsoever”. 

As said by another alleged victim named Maria Farmer, who was a student when she met the pair, “Ghislaine would stop young girls in the tracks whenever she saw them”. 

According to a federal indictment, “Ghislaine facilitated Epstein’s abuse of minor girls, and was the center of his sex trafficking ring, assisting Epstein, recruiting girls, and reportedly even partaking in the abuse at various Epstein properties”. To befriend victims, the indictment says, Maxwell would ask them about “their lives, their schools, and their families”, and would take them “to the movies or shopping”. 

Then, after forming a report, Maxwell would “try to normalize sexual abuse for a minor victim by among other things, discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim, being present when a minor victim was undresses, and/or being present for sex acts involving the minor victim and Epstein”. The indictment went on to describe alleged experiences involving 3 unnamed minors who were sexually abused. One Jane Doe (an anonymous female party, typically the plaintiff, in a legal action, who wishes to protect her identity) claims Ghislaine raped her more than a dozen times, beginning when she was just 14 years old, and asserted that “she is just as evil as Jeffrey Epstein”. 

 

In 2007, it seemed that the ground beneath Epstein and Ghislaine, was beginning to crumble, as an FBI investigation into allegations of sexual assaulting and abusing underage girls and women was precooling. Enough evidence was provided to put Epstein and his allies behind bars; however, the case took an unexpected turn, that put “the story” to rest… up until 2019. 

Alan Dershowitz was hired in 2007 to defend Epstein, and was able to get him a cushy, non prosecution agreement, the infamous “Sweetheart Deal”, thanks to Alex Acosta, then the US attorney in Southern Florida, and Trump’s former Labor Secretary. The deal unconventionally immunized Epstein along with his “named and unnamed” alleged co-conspirators. In return, Epstein pleaded guilty, and only spent 13 months in jail, and was able to go on work release. 

The police department of Palm Beach, wanted answers as to why this occurred given the evidence, but the FBI, that once thoroughly collaborated with the police department in question to gather information about the victims in the respective state, refused to disclose any news regarding the case after the plea-deal and advised them to stop discussing the issue. 

 

After Epstein’s incredibly short stay in jail, Ghislaine was never seen with him again publicly (coincidence?); instead she started an environmental non profit, to help the oceans.

In 2015, a lawsuit accusing Ghislaine of complicity in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring was brewing. All of a sudden her upper east side residence was sold, and she fled New York City.

When Epstein was charged again in 2019, Ghislaine nonprofit oceanic project went down; the website just said “sad to announce that it will cease all operations”.

Ghislaine’s once very public life, all of a sudden became incredibly clandestine, in the wake of Epstein’s 2019 arrest, on sex trafficking charges. 

 The FBI raided his Upper East mansion, and found thousands of nude photos of girls, as well as a trove of DVDs in a safe marked “young “name” + name”, “girls ‘pictures nude”

Shortly after that, celebrities who once cavorted with Epstein and Ghislaine, quickly disavowed their relationship with the alleged pedophiles, sex traffickers, including one conspicuous former game show host turned president of the United States, Donald Trump. 

 

In 2002 Trump gladly confirmed that he has “known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side”. While once approving of Epstein and his penchant for younger women, Trump was now singing a different tune “I had a falling out with him, I haven’t spoken to him in 15 years, I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you”.

Epstein was found dead in his cell under mysterious circumstances, just days after being charged with sex trafficking. Many believe because “he had friends in high places, he was murdered”, although his death was ruled a suicide. Ghislaine seemingly went into hiding, knowing her day, was around the corner. 

One year after Epstein’s death, she was arrested on July 3rd 2020, on her 156 acre New Hampshire, purchased in all cash the previous year. After being denied bail, Ghislaine has since pled not guilty on July 14. Her trial is set to being in July 2021. 

 

On July 19 2020, a gunman posing as a FedEx driver, shot and killed the 20-year-old son of a federal judge Esther Salas, in New Jersey, and wounded her husband. The judge in question, was assigned earlier that week to preside over a Jeffrey Epstein case: she was supposed to oversee a lawsuit brought by investors against Deutsche Bank over its connection to the handling of financial businesses associated to the sexual predator. Talk about an unexpected accident. 

 In the midst of this quandary, and during his coronavirus briefing at the White House, President Trump’s response to a specific striking question raised some eyebrows.  In fact, the President was asked the following: "Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison, and a lot of people want to know if she's going to turn in powerful people. I know you've talked in the past about Prince Andrew, and you've criticized Bill Clinton's behavior. I'm wondering, do you feel that she's going to turn in powerful men? How do you see that working out?" He replied by saying: "I don't know; I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly," Mr. Trump replied.

 Seems like, the President’s good wishes paid off: “Civil case records release on hold as accused Jeffrey Epstein conspirator files appeal”. 

 

However, it is vital to acknowledge that on 29 July, Maxwell lost extraordinary last-minute appeal to stop release of “embarrassing confidential documents”. US District Judge Loretta Preska confirmed her ruling that files “must be unsealed and released to the public”. Immediately after that, Maxwell’s lawyer filed a letter asking for “an emergency phone meeting with court”, stating “non-parties” would be harmed. An elegant way of saying, big names are in trouble, feel the heat yet?  

The content could indeed be explosive and possibly hold exhaustive evidence against the wealthy elite who socialized with Epstein. Judge Loretta Preska ordered the parties to “proceed with unsealing the relevant materials” rejecting Maxwell's new bid. The files were due to be made public on Thursday covering potentially-incriminating testimony she gave in a defamation suit from 2015, however the judge blocked their release until at least next week after last-minute appeal - appeal that allows Maxwell, who is being prosecuted by New York's Southern District, to appeal to the Second District - which may keep testimony hidden. 

Nevertheless, things got heated again on 31 July when a cache of documents in civil litigation against Maxwell were unsealed, following a 23 July court decision . The documents in question stem from Epstein accuser aforementioned Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 civil action, against Maxwell and include correspondence with Epstein, and are not in connection with the ones involving Maxwell’s deposition, who have yet to be released. Maxwell, who met Giuffre at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, lured the then 15-year-old into Epstein’s orbit under the guise of offering work as a masseuse. 

The unsealed documents allege that Maxwell “trained underage girls as sex slaves”, claims that have long been denied by Maxwell herself and all of the accused men.

Guiffre states in the documents that the couple “pressured her into having sex with numerous rich or notable men, including Prince Andrew, US politicians, wealthy entrepreneurs, a famous scientist, and a fashion designer”. The files also include personal emails between Epstein and Maxwell, as well as information from a discussion between Giuffre and her lawyer. 

Here is a foretaste:

“It is your contention that ‘Ghislaine Maxwell had sex with underage girls virtually every day when I was around her’, correct?” Giuffre was asked during a May 2016 deposition covered in this document batch.

“Yes.”

“All right. With whom did Ghislaine Maxwell have sex in your presence?” she was asked..

“Well, there’s a lot of girls that were involved. We weren’t on a first-name basis with each other. I wouldn’t be able to give you lists of names of girls. It was continuous,” Giuffre answered.

Shortly after saying Epstein’s US Virgin Islands estate was “a place where orgies were a constant thing that took place”, Giuffre said she “had to” perform oral sex on Maxwell, in Epstein’s presence by the pool.

When asked whom Maxwell “directed her to have sex with”, Giuffre said: “I’m going to continue to tell you that they both directed me to do it. It was part of my training. They both told me: “You’ve got tickets to go here. This is who you’re meeting, and this is what you’re doing.” 

“I’m trying to tell you that they both did, Ghislaine and Jeffrey both directed me. They both paid me and they both directed me,” Giuffre alleged. 

The document dump also exposed that Maxwell worked as a “helicopter pilot” to Epstein’s private island, and supposedly flew former President Bill Clinton there. 

 

However, the saga concerning the unsealing of court documents, hit a bump on 27 August, when judge Preska ruled  “those allowed to object to documents being revealed include those who allegedly engaged in sexual acts with Virginia Roberts or other alleged victims”, thus inviting Epstein’s alleged accusers and abusers to “object to releasing more documents, despite widespread public desire to see them”.  We therefore assume that the Ghislaine Maxwell documents may not be released for years. 

On 28 August, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Maxwell was the first inmate in Brooklyn jail, to get a “kid-glove, special prison treatment”, while awaiting for her trial, with the in-person visit of her lawyer during the COVID-19 ban. This event occurred at a time when numerous prisoners who have been held there for a longer period, and in a Manhattan federal jail, have been incapable of receiving visits from their own attorneys because of the pandemic rules.

 

Keeping the controversy alive: if the unsealed 23 July documents encompass correspondence with Epstein, why is Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial a year away?