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Ghislaine Maxwell Used Cart to 'Barricade' Herself in Prison Conference Room, Prosecutors Claim

© AP Photo / Elizabeth WilliamsGhislaine Maxwell, centre, appears in Manhattan Federal court flanked by her attorneys, Bobbi C. Sternheim, left, and Jeff Paugliuca, right, and a US Marshal, rear, during her arraignment on a superceding indictment, Friday, 23 April 2021, in New York
Ghislaine Maxwell, centre, appears in Manhattan Federal court flanked by her attorneys, Bobbi C. Sternheim, left, and Jeff Paugliuca, right, and a US Marshal, rear, during her arraignment on a superceding indictment, Friday, 23 April 2021, in New York - Sputnik International, 1920, 27.08.2021
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Jeffrey Epstein’s close associate Ghislaine Maxwell is currently in a Brooklyn prison awaiting trial in relation to sex trafficking, grooming and perjury charges. The British socialite denies all the accusations, as she keeps asking to be released on bail in order to better prepare herself for her upcoming trial in November.
Ghislaine Maxwell used the cart with legal documents to “barricade” herself in the video conference room and is no longer permitted to bring the trolley into the area, her prosecutors have claimed in a letter addressed to US federal court in New York.
Maxwell uses the video-teleconference (VTC) room at the Metropolitan Detention Center where she is currently imprisoned for meetings with her defence council.
The letter, exclusively provided by the Daily Mail, said that the woman posed a “security threat” with the cart as she had apparently barricaded the door to the room during an unspecified incident.
Prosecutors went on to claim that as for now, “the defendant may bring whatever materials she can carry into the room, and if she needs other materials during a particular meeting with counsel, she may leave the VTC room, retrieve those materials by hand, and then return to her meeting with counsel”.
The letter, addressed to Judge Alison Nathan, was filed as a response to Maxwell’s lawyers’ ongoing complaints about the woman’s prison conditions. The socialite’s defence team insists that Maxwell’s ability to properly prepare for her November trial has been constrained, as Epstein’s former pal is being accused of grooming and sex trafficking minors, as well as lying about it in court statements years ago.
In a letter dated 18 August and cited by the Daily Mail, Maxwell’s lawyer Bobbi C. Sternheim claimed that her ability to communicate with the client via a video call was disrupted. Sternheim also cited the socialite’s concerns that their conversations were “taped”.
In response to the prosecutors’ “barricade” accusations, Sternheim said that Maxwell “never” tried to block the door with the cart.
Ghislaine Maxwell appears via video link during her arraignment hearing, where she was denied bail for her role aiding Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and eventually abuse underage girls, in Manhattan Federal Court, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, 14 July 2020 in this courtroom sketch - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.04.2021
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According to Sternheim, prosecutors just “cannot resist the opportunity to gratuitously cast Ghislaine Maxwell in a negative light while it defends the Metropolitan Detention Center at all costs.” 

No Bail For Maxwell

Maxwell’s legal team repeatedly asked the court to release the publishing heiress on bail, citing “horrific” prison conditions and the woman’s lack of sleep due to constant checks, “odorous” water and non-edible food.  
In June, Maxwell was denied bail for the fifth time despite offering a whopping sum of $28.5 million and an earlier pledge that she would give up her British and French citizenship if it helps her to get out of jail. But the court has again sided with prosecutors to claim that Maxwell remains a serious flight-risk.
Judge Alison Nathan said in the recent ruling that she “remains confident that Ms. Maxwell is fully able to communicate with her defence counsel and to prepare for trial.”
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