Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell file second objection to the release of sexually charged deposition she gave in civil suit filed by accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre
- Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers want court to stop release of 2016 transcripts
- Maxwell gave deposition in lawsuit filed in 2015 by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
- Giuffre alleged she trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, an associate of Maxwell
- She alleged Maxwell pulled her into Epstein’s inner circle and groomed her
- Last month, Maxwell’s request to halt release of deposition was denied
- The 418-page deposition included revelations about relationship with Epstein
- In deposition, Maxwell dodged questions about sex with underage girls
- Maxwell also denied she participated in orgies with teenage girls
Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell are asking a federal court to reverse an earlier decision to unseal a 2016 deposition she gave as part of a lawsuit filed by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers want to block the release of sensitive transcripts from a 2016 civil suit deposition brought against convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s former madam by one of his alleged victims.
Attorneys for Maxwell filed an objection late on Thursday to a July ruling by Manhattan-based US District Judge Loretta Preska, who ordered the transcripts unsealed.
The transcripts include statements made by Maxwell during her sworn deposition that she gave in a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges she was made a sex slave by Epstein when she was a teenager.
Her attorneys claim that releasing the transcripts, which are said to include explosive, sexually-charged statements, could prejudice a jury and jeopardize Maxwell’s chances of receiving a fair trial, the Miami Herald reported.
‘There can be no doubt that matters concerning Ms. Maxwell’s case have been excessively and extensively reported,’ Maxwell’s attorney, Laura A. Menninger, wrote in the court filing.
‘The press, the government, and plaintiff have made every effort to try Ms. Maxwell as a proxy for the now deceased Mr. Epstein.
‘The prejudice caused by the flood of coverage that comes with every new unsealing event in this case cannot be overstated.’
Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sexual acts in the mid-1990s, and not guilty to perjury for having denied involvement in the deposition.
A trial is scheduled for next July.
Maxwell is currently in jail awaiting trial on charges that she lured girls as young as 14 years old Epstein for him to abuse between 1994 and 1997. New York prosecutors claim she perjured herself in her deposition, when she was asked if Epstein had ‘a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages’. Maxwell flatly said: ‘I don’t know what you are talking about’
Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sexual acts in the mid-1990s, and not guilty to perjury for having denied involvement in the deposition. Epstein killed himself at age 66 in August 2019 at a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges
Maxwell, 58, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as she awaits trial on sex trafficking charges
Giuffre said she was a teenager when Maxwell pulled her into Epstein’s circle, where she was groomed and trafficked for sex with Epstein and other wealthy, powerful men.
The push to unseal the deposition came from Giuffre and the Miami Herald newspaper, which had investigated Epstein’s conduct and his successful effort in 2007 to avoid federal sex trafficking charges.
Maxwell was arrested on July 2 in New Hampshire, where prosecutors said she had been hiding out.
She has been locked up in a Brooklyn jail after US District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversees the criminal case, called her an unacceptable flight risk.
Epstein killed himself at age 66 in August 2019 at a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges announced the previous month.
Last month, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected similar arguments from Maxwell’s lawyers.
The court said there was a presumption the public had a right to see Maxwell’s 418-page deposition, which was taken in April 2016 for the now-settled civil defamation lawsuit against her.
In the unsigned order, the court also said Preska did not abuse her discretion in rejecting Maxwell’s ‘meritless arguments’ that her interests superseded that presumption.
Last month’s court filing also asked Preska not to release depositions from two individuals who are identified only as Doe 1 and Doe 2.
Giuffre (pictured) said she was a teenager when Maxwell pulled her into Epstein’s circle, where she was groomed and trafficked for sex with Epstein and other wealthy, powerful men
The lawyers for the two non-parties did not want their clients’ names to be released. They did not raise any further objections before a November 4 deadline.
In the bombshell deposition released last month, Maxwell admitted she had an intimate relationship with Epstein, but refused to discuss their sex life as she dodged questions about orgies, underage girls and Prince Andrew.
The 418-page document was released after Maxwell’s attorneys fought tooth and nail to keep the deposition private.
Over the course of the heated deposition, Maxwell repeatedly lashed out against Giuffre’s lawyers, tried to object to questioning and at one point pounded her fist on the table.
After the fit, she remarked: ‘Can we be clear, I didn’t threaten anybody.’
The combative Maxwell continually denied all wrongdoing.
She refused to answer questions about her sex life with Epstein, denied she participated in orgies and rebuffed questions about underage girls, including a 13-year-old, being in Epstein’s home.
The 58-year-old became agitated and refused to answer a simple question of whether she believed it is psychologically harmful for an adult to have sex with a minor.
‘What are you asking me? I don’t know what you are asking,’ Maxwell responded.
‘This has nothing to do with Virginia Roberts.’
She denied taking nude photos of Epstein’s victims, yet insisted that every photo she took was by request and would have been ‘mainstream type magazine photos’ that ‘could have been very happily and expected to be displayed on your parents’ mantel piece or grandparents’ mantel piece.’
Ghislaine Maxwell admitted she had an intimate relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in a bombshell 2016 deposition released today, but refused to discuss their sex life as she dodged questions about orgies, underage girls and Prince Andrew. Maxwell – who dated Epstein in the 1990s – refused to answer when asked if he liked having his nipples pinched, saying she would not discuss any of their sex life
President Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew were also brought up during the conversation, with Maxwell profusely denying Clinton had been to Epstein’s ‘pedo’ island
Over the course of the heated deposition, Maxwell repeatedly lashed out against Giuffre’s lawyers, tried to object to questioning and at one point pounded her fist on the table. After the fit, she said: ‘Can we be clear, I didn’t threaten anybody’
Former President Bill Clinton and Britain’s Prince Andrew were also brought up during the hours-long conversation, with Maxwell profusely denying Clinton had been to Epstein’s ‘pedo’ island.
THE ‘LIES’ GHISLAINE MAXWELL TOLD DURING HER DEPOSITION
Also published on Thursday was a document filed by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s lawyers listing the alleged ‘lies’ Maxwell told during her deposition.
Some of the ‘lies’ are listed below
Maxwell claimed she only visited Jeffrey’s Epstein Palm Beach home once in 2005.
Giuffre’s lawyers claim flight manifests show she flew on his plane at least 11 times with Epstein to Florida.
Maxwell claimed ‘she couldn’t recall’ being on a flight with Giuffre.
Yet flight logs show the teen flew with Maxwell on Epstein’s plane 23 times.
Maxwell claimed she didn’t recall having Giuffre at her London townhome, despite the infamous picture of Maxwell with Giuffre posing with Prince Andrew in her home.
The disgraced British socialite denied knowing that ‘massage’ was a code word for sexual activity for Epstein.
She also skirted questions about Giuffre’s claim that Prince Andrew used a Spitting Image puppet to grope her in Epstein’s New York home.
Giuffre has claimed she was instructed to have sex with Prince Andrew multiple times, claims that he vehemently denied.
Federal prosecutors in New York claim Maxwell perjured herself in the deposition when she was asked if Epstein had ‘a scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages’.
Maxwell flatly said: ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
She lashed out when asked if she ever helped recruit underage girls for Epstein to abuse, saying: ‘First of all, you are trying to trap me, I will not be trapped.
‘You are asking me if I recruit, I told you no.
‘I totally resent and find it disgusting that you use the word recruit. I already told you I don’t know what you are saying about that and your implication is repulsive.’
Maxwell denied that Epstein had any ‘negative, unflattering, private or potentially embarrassing information’ on her, and her lawyer objected to the question if the billionaire was aware of any ‘illegal activity’ that she had conducted.
Maxwell claimed she had never done anything illegal, but admitted she had a DUI on her record stemming from an arrest in the UK.
The deposition was redacted in parts, with the names of Prince Andrew, Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner, Alan Dershowitz and some mentions of the Clintons blocked out.
However, they were still identifiable through details given and previous reporting.
Meanwhile, the names of four underage victims were not redacted in the document.
SCROLL TO END TO READ GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S DEPOSITION IN FULL
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