Feds Reportedly Want to Ban Ghislaine Maxwell's Lawyers From Claiming She Was Victim of Epstein
© AP Photo / John Minchillo
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Maxwell has been accused by several women of luring them into the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, a US financier who was charged with running a sex trafficking ring in 2019. She faces eight charges, including enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts. Her lawyers insist she's innocent and has been made a scapegoat for Epstein's acts.
Federal prosecutors want to ban Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team from claiming she herself was a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, The Daily Beast has reported, citing court filings it viewed. According to the outlet, the prosecution has argued that Judge Alison Nathan presiding over the case should forbid "the defence from making the baseless argument" that Maxwell was duped or exploited by Epstein.
"The government's years-long investigation has not developed any evidence that the defendant was victimised in any way by Jeffrey Epstein", the court filing stated.
Prosecutors said that during numerous meetings with Maxwell's legal team her lawyers "made a variety of factual assertions in order to dissuade", but those arguments never included allegations that the financier abused the British socialite.
Allowing this line of argument (that Maxwell was a victim) "would be highly prejudicial and confusing to the jury", prosecutors said. "It would primarily serve to invite the jury to feel sympathy for the defendant, providing an unlawful basis for jury nullification".
Allowing this line of argument (that Maxwell was a victim) "would be highly prejudicial and confusing to the jury", prosecutors said. "It would primarily serve to invite the jury to feel sympathy for the defendant, providing an unlawful basis for jury nullification".
Partners in Crime?
Ghislaine Maxwell is the daughter of UK publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell. 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's alleged victims didn't find justice as the financier was found dead in his cell on 10 August 2019, while awaiting trial. Thus, Maxwell is the only person who can shed light on his crimes. She faces eight charges, including sex trafficking of minors and enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts.
Her lawyers and family have insisted that she is innocent and has been made a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes by prosecutors. A friend of Maxwell, UK aristocrat Lady Victoria Hervey, claimed Ghislaine is not a criminal, but a victim. She was "so brainwashed" by Epstein and "so in love with him that she lost the reality of what she was doing", Lady Hervey said. Maxwell's trial is scheduled for 29 November.
Epstein's alleged victims didn't find justice as the financier was found dead in his cell on 10 August 2019, while awaiting trial. Thus, Maxwell is the only person who can shed light on his crimes. She faces eight charges, including sex trafficking of minors and enticing minors as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts.
Her lawyers and family have insisted that she is innocent and has been made a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes by prosecutors. A friend of Maxwell, UK aristocrat Lady Victoria Hervey, claimed Ghislaine is not a criminal, but a victim. She was "so brainwashed" by Epstein and "so in love with him that she lost the reality of what she was doing", Lady Hervey said. Maxwell's trial is scheduled for 29 November.
