Ghislaine Maxwell’s Trial May Shed Light on Jeffrey Epstein’s Famous Friends, Media Says

© REUTERS / Lucas JacksonFILE PHOTO: Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks alongside William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director-in-charge of the New York Office, at a news conference announcing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, 2020
FILE PHOTO: Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks alongside William F. Sweeney Jr., assistant director-in-charge of the New York Office, at a news conference announcing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, 2020 - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.11.2021
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Maxwell, the daughter of a UK publishing tycoon, was arrested by the FBI in July 2020 and has since been held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York. Several women accuse her of grooming young girls for disgraced US financier, Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged in 2019 with running a sex-trafficking network of minors and died in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial this month may shed light on Jeffrey Epstein’s famous friends and whether they were implicated in his crimes, Forbes reported after a US federal judge ruled against proposed redactions of documents for the upcoming hearing.
Judge Alison Nathan said that the redactions proposed by Maxwell’s legal team "were unnecessary to protect the privacy interests of the individuals implicated”. According to Forbes, the ruling opens up the possibility of high-profile figures such as Prince Andrew, actor Kevin Spacey, former US Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley being mentioned during the upcoming trial.

The judge also allowed to use the terms "victim" and "minor" to describe the accusers. Ms Maxwell’s lawyers have argued that the terms were "inherently prejudicial".

During the pre-trial hearing, Maxwell’s lawyers yet again drew attention to her prison conditions. Attorney Bobbi Sternheim claimed that on the day her client was due to attend the pre-trial hearing, Maxwell was awoken hours before dawn and forced to crawl "on her hands and knees" to get into a prison van. Maxwell was offered "very little food" and given no utensils to eat it with, the lawyer said.

Previously, her legal team described prison conditions as "cruel" and "onerous". Lawyers have alleged that she is being woken every 15 minutes during the night and subjected to strip searches multiple times during the day. As a result, she has lost six kilograms and started losing hair, her lawyers claimed.
Last week, her brother Ian Maxwell told UK media that the guards have reportedly "physically abused" Ghislaine, as he vowed to take legal action against US authorities over the treatment of his sister.

"We're going to take [the case] to the United Nations. America has to be held to account and it will be", he said.

Who is Ghislaine Maxwell and Why Does Her Trial Matter?


The ninth and youngest child of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, she was part of the highest circles in Britain and the United States. In the 1990s, she met Jeffrey Epstein, a US financier and millionaire. The two dated and it is said that even after their breakup, they maintained close contact. In 2019, Epstein was charged with running a sex trafficking network of minors. Dozens of women claimed that he had sexually abused and raped them, including when they were minors.

The alleged victims accused Maxwell of luring them into the hands of Epstein by promising them well-paid jobs at the millionaire's house. Some of the women claimed that she not only groomed them, but also took part in the abuse.

Epstein didn’t live to see his trial. He hanged himself in prison on 10 August 2019. His death sparked numerous conspiracy theories. According to one, the financier was killed by his powerful friends (among them presidents, prime ministers, and royals), who feared they may be implicated in his crimes. Several of his pals, including Prince Andrew and former US President Bill Clinton, travelled on Epstein’s private jet and visited his private island, where the women claim they were abused.

Thus, Maxwell is the only person who can shed light on his crimes. Her trial is scheduled for 29 November. She faces eight charges, including sex trafficking of minors and enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts. She claims she is innocent and insists that the prosecution has made her a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes.
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