Ghislaine Maxwell case back in court as she appeals 2021 sex trafficking conviction
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Ghislaine Maxwell should have been protected by “immunity provisions” from a previous non-prosecution agreement in Florida, her attorneys have argued.
The disgraced British socialite, 62, returned to the spotlight this week as lawyers launched an appeal over her 2021 sex trafficking conviction.
During an appeal hearing in New York federal court on Tuesday, Diana Fabi Samson – representing Maxwell – referenced the 2008 non prosecution agreement, made by state prosecutors with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in Florida.
Ms Samson said not honouring the terms of the agreement would “strike a dagger in the heart of the trust between the government and its citizens.”
“In the end, Ms. Maxwell was prosecuted for crimes that she as a third party beneficiary to the plea agreement in Florida should not have been prosecuted,” Ms Samson said.
Maxwell’s attorneys had previously argued that a juror failed to disclose that they were a sexual abuse victim.
It was a 2021 interview journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley conducted with the juror Scotty David published in The Independent in the weeks following the Maxwell sex-trafficking verdict that led her legal team to appeal on this matter.
One of Maxwell’s attorneys, Arthur Aidala addressed the issue of an “impartial juror” outside court saying that the failure of Mr David to disclose he had been the victim of sexual assault was “wrong” and that the juror had “totally misrepresented the truth”.
“That is absolutely verboten. It’s wrong. And although the judge had a hearing, and he acknowledged he wasn’t accurate at all she said, ‘well, I think he made an honest mistake by not checking off that box so I’m going to let the verdict stand’,” he said.
Mr Aidala said the case should be “dismissed”, adding: “If we allow the government to make deals with the citizens with us, and then they decide, for whatever reason, they’re going to rip up that room and rip up that deal, that handshake means nothing.”
Maxwell was not present in the courtroom for Tuesday’s hearing, but was reportedly listening remotely from her jail cell in Florida.
She was convicted in 2021 of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with Epstein. She was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in June 2022.
Key points
Appeal: Maxwell claims ‘immunity’ from prosecution due to Epstein’s agreement
What was Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement?
In pictures: Maxwell’s life behind bars
Ghislaine Maxwell speaks out after Epstein files unsealed
Monday 11 March 2024 22:39 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell’s case to return to court this week
Monday 11 March 2024 22:39 , Mike Bedigan
Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell returns to the spotlight this week as lawyers launch an appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021 is due to begin this week.
Maxwell, 62, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars last year, after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Her appeal, which is taking place at a federal court in New York, is set to begin on Tuesday.
Follow the updates from The Independent here:
Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York
Monday 11 March 2024 23:00 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York
Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell returns to the spotlight this week as lawyers launch an appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021 is due to begin this week.
Maxwell, 62, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars last year, after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Read the full story here:
Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York
Ghislaine Maxwell’s former personal assistant settles Jeffrey Epstein libel claim
Tuesday 12 March 2024 01:00 , Mike Bedigan
Last month, a former personal assistant of Ghislaine Maxwell settled a High Court libel case in the UK after a journalist linked her to Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of a teenage girl in a book.
Emmy Tayler took legal action against international publisher Harper Collins over a passage from the book Perversion Of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, written by Julie K Brown and published in the UK in July 2021.
Read the full story here:
Ghislaine Maxwell’s former personal assistant settles Jeffrey Epstein libel claim
Watch: Most damning moments from Ghislaine Maxwell’s TalkTV interview
Tuesday 12 March 2024 03:00 , Mike Bedigan
Photos of Ghislaine Maxwell on Epstein’s ‘paedophile island’ resurface in new documents
Tuesday 12 March 2024 04:00 , Mike Bedigan
Photos of Ghislaine Maxwell on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island emerged in a trove of documents relating to the late convicted paedophile unsealed earlier this year in New York.
Thousands of pages were unsealed in January following a decision by Judge Loretta Preska in December to unseal filings in the now-settled litigation between Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre.
Read the full story here:
Photos of Ghislaine Maxwell on Epstein’s ‘paedophile island’ resurface in new filings
Ghislaine Maxwell took child sex offender Epstein to England ‘to meet royalty’
Tuesday 12 March 2024 08:00 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell took the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to England to introduce him to Prince Andrew and other royalty, according to court documents that were unsealed earlier this year.
The never-before-seen allegation, made by Alfredo Rodriguez, the manager of Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, casts doubt on Maxwell’s repeated claim that she did not introduce the paedophile to Prince Andrew.
Read the full story here:
Ghislaine Maxwell took child sex offender Epstein to England ‘to meet royalty’
The Independent interview that set Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal in motion
Tuesday 12 March 2024 09:42 , Rachel Sharp
In the days following Ghislaine Maxwell‘s conviction for sex trafficking, the journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley interviewed one of the jurors who had put Maxwell behind bars.
What neither of them knew was that this interview, published by The Independent in January 2022, would help trigger an appeal by Maxwell’s legal team that could ultimately lead to her trial being overturned.
That is certainly what Maxwell will be hoping when she returns to federal court in New York on Tuesday to appeal her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking and abusing young girls in concert with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Read on...
The Independent interview that set Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal in motion
Jeffrey Epstein: How did the disgraced paedophile financier die?
Tuesday 12 March 2024 10:00 , Mike Bedigan
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is set to appeal her 20-year jail sentence for sex trafficking. She was convicted as an accomplice to her former boyfriend – disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
More than four years after the Epstein died by suicide in his prison cell, a New York District judge announced the unsealing of a trove of documents revealing the names of more than 150 of his associates.
The Independent’s Josh Marcus examines the circumstances around Epstein’s death here:
What happened to paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein?
Watch: Ghislaine Maxwell team will appeal guilty verdict, says attorney
Tuesday 12 March 2024 11:00 , Mike Bedigan
Recap: Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York
Tuesday 12 March 2024 11:45 , Mike Bedigan
Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell returns to the spotlight this week as lawyers launch an appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021 is due to begin this week.
Maxwell, 62, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars last year, after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Read the full story here:
Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York
Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records to be released
Tuesday 12 March 2024 12:05 , Rachel Sharp
Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid for freedom comes as grand jury transcripts from a 2006 Florida investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of dozens of underage girls will be released publicly later this year.
The legislation was signed into law last month by Governor Ron DeSantis and will take effect on 1 July.
Epstein, a wealthy financier, cut a deal with South Florida federal prosecutors in 2008 that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution.
He was sentenced to 18 months in the Palm Beach County jail system, followed by 12 months of house arrest. He was required to register as a sex offender.
“What happened was clearly wrong and the punishment was wholly inadequate for the crime,” Mr DeSantis said as he signed the new measure into law.
Although some material could still be edited out, most of the grand jury transcripts should be released fairly soon after the new law’s July 1 effective date once a petition is filed seeking them.
The AP
Ghislaine Maxwell appeal to begin today
Tuesday 12 March 2024 12:30 , Mike Bedigan
Lawyers appealing the 2021 sex trafficking conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell will give arguments to a three-jusdge panel later today.
The appeal is being heard at the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.
Jurors found Maxwell guilty in December 2021 of five charges for recruiting and grooming four underage girls for Epstein, her former boyfriend, to abuse between 1994 and 2004.
The disgraced British socialite, 62, is housed at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She is currently eligible for release in July 2037.
What accusers Carolyn, Jane, Kate and Annie Farmer said at her sex-trafficking trial
Tuesday 12 March 2024 12:50 , Rachel Sharp
Almost 30 years after some of the alleged abuse took place, accusers of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell finally had their day in court during the socialite’s trial.
Four women – three of them testifying under pseudonyms – took the stand during Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial to allege that Epstein’s former girlfriend preyed on vulnerable underage girls and groomed them for abuse by the late financier.
The women testified that Maxwell, 60, both enabled Epstein in his abuse and took part in some of the abuse herself.
Maxwell was convicted on five of the six charges she was facing in December 2021. She was sentenced to 20 years behind bars plus a $750,000 fine in June 2022.
Here’s what the four accusers testified in court:
Ghislaine Maxwell: What Carolyn and three other accusers said at trial
What accuser 1 ‘Jane’ testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial
Tuesday 12 March 2024 13:10 , Rachel Sharp
GRAPHIC DETAILS:
The first accuser to take the stand testified that she was sexually abused by Maxwell and Epstein for years starting at the age of 14, with the abuse taking place across three of the disgraced financier’s homes in Florida, New Mexico and New York.
The Hollywood actor testified under the name “Jane” and court sketch artists were told not to draw her likeness in order to protect her identity.
Jane has never publicly identified herself as a survivor of Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged abuse and said she does not want to out of fears it will harm her acting career where “victim-shaming is still very present to this day”.
Jane told the court that she first met Maxwell and Epstein back in 1994 at the age of 14 when she was attending a summer camp for musicians and actors at the Interlochin Center for the Arts in Michigan.
Jane said Epstein told her he was a major donor for the camp and that he supported young talent, taking an interest in her classes and what she wanted to do.
When Jane told them she lived in Palm Beach, Florida, Epstein said he had a home there too and took her phone number.
Weeks later, she said she and her mother were invited to Epstein’s home for tea. After that first visit, the teenager would continue to regularly visit the Palm Beach home without her mother. At first, she said she looked upon Maxwell as a “quirky” older sister who would take her shopping and buy her clothes and Victoria’s Secret underwear.
Jane said Maxwell soon began talking to her about sex and once told her â “if you f*** them once you can f*** them again because they are grandfathered in”.
Jane testified that the first time the abuse took place, Epstein led her into his pool house when she was 14.
There, he pulled the young girl on top of him on a couch and “proceeded to masturbate on me”, she said. Maxwell was not there that first time.
Jane described how she was “frozen in fear” and “had never seen a penis before”.
Epstein, she said, acted like “nothing had happened” afterwards and she told no one about the incident because she was “terrified and felt gross” and “ashamed”.
It was not long after that first incident that the 14-year-old was abused again - this time with Maxwell allegedly joining in the abuse, she said.
On that occasion, Jane testified that Maxwell and Epstein led her into a bedroom at Epstein’s Palm Beach home and undressed. She said the duo began “fondling each other” before asking her to take her top off. Jane testified that both Maxwell and Epstein touched her body during that encounter.
From then onwards, Jane said she continued to be sexually abused “every time” she visited one of Epstein’s properties as she was flown on his private jet - nicknamed the Lolita Express – between New York, Florida and New Mexico.
Often, she said, she would be led into a massage room and instructed by Maxwell to perform sexualised massages on Epstein. As well as Maxwell and Epstein, Jane said she was also forced to take part in group orgies with other older women.
What accuser 2 ‘Kate’ testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial
Tuesday 12 March 2024 13:30 , Rachel Sharp
GRAPHIC DETAILS:
The second accuser to take the stand in Maxwell’s 2021 trial, a British woman known only as “Kate”, said she was first introduced to Maxwell through an older boyfriend on a trip to Paris in 1994.
She said she was a “lonely” 17-year-old at the time and lived close to Maxwell in Belgravia, London, with her mother. When she returned home, she was invited to Maxwell’s home for tea. This first visit involved only her and Maxwell who she said she saw as a “new friend”.
On her next visit, Epstein was there and she was encouraged to massage the paedophile’s feet and shoulders to show him “how strong” she was.
Despite having no massage therapy training, she received a call a couple of weeks later from Maxwell asking her to come to her townhouse and massage Epstein. Kate testified that she was led upstairs by Maxwell to a massage room where Epstein was naked.
Maxwell gave her some massage oil and closed the door, shutting the teenager alone in a room with Epstein, according to Kate. Kate testified that Epstein then engaged in a sex act with her.
She said she was called back to the townhouse a few days later and was greeted by Maxwell who told her she “did such a good job last time”.
Maxwell then allegedly led Kate upstairs to the same room massage room telling her “have a good time” as she closed the door on her in a room with a naked Epstein. Epstein engaged in a sex act with Kate again this time, she said.
Afterwards, Kate said Maxwell asked her: “How did it go? Did you have fun? Was it good?”
Kate said she saw Maxwell and Epstein “multiple times” over the next few years as she was flown between the financier’s properties in New York and Florida and his Caribbean island Little St James for the sexual encounters.
Kate told the court that, on one occasion when she was 18, Maxwell laid out a schoolgirl’s outfit on a bed in Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion and told her she thought it would “be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in this outfit”.
“I didn’t know how to say no,” said Kate.
She said she wore the outfit for sex with Epstein and was told by Maxwell afterwards what “a good girl” she was and “that I was one of his favourites”.
What accuser 3 ‘Carolyn’ testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial
Tuesday 12 March 2024 13:50 , Rachel Sharp
GRAPHIC DETAILS:
The third accuser at Maxwell’s trial testified under her first name Carolyn telling the court that she was first introduced to Epstein through Virginia Roberts-Giuffre, the Epstein accuser seen in the now-infamous photo with Maxwell and Prince Andrew as a teenager.
Carolyn told the court how she had a difficult home life, living with an alcoholic mother and being raped by her grandfather from the age of four.
She said Ms Roberts-Giuffre first took her to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion at the age of 14 suggesting she could make money from the wealthy older man.
On that first visit, she told the court she met Maxwell who told Ms Roberts-Giuffre to “ââbring her upstairs and show her what to do”. Ms Roberts-Giuffre showed Carolyn how Epstein liked to be massaged and she saw her engage in a sex act with Epstein that day, she testified.
Carolyn told the court that, after the first incident, she was called to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion more than 100 times from the age of 14 to give Epstein sexualised massages in exchange for $300 cash.
At the peak of the alleged abuse, she would visit the home around two to three times a week, she said.
The visits were arranged by Maxwell, she said, who would call her to arrange “appointment times” for when the abuse took place. If she couldn’t reach her directly, Carolyn said the defendant would call her mother or boyfriend.
Carolyn testified that on at least one occasion she recalled Maxwell being the person who handed her the cash.
What accuser 4, Annie Farmer, testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial
Tuesday 12 March 2024 14:10 , Rachel Sharp
GRAPHIC DETAILS:
Annie Farmer was the last accuser to testify at Maxwell’s trial and the only to waive her anonymity, after she has spoken out publicly in the past about the alleged abuse she and her sister Maria Farmer suffered at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell.
Ms Farmer told the court she first met Epstein at the age of 16 in 1995 through her older sister – an aspiring artist in New York who had recently started working for Epstein.
She said Epstein had bought her a plane ticket to New York with her sister telling her the billionaire wanted to help her with her education.
In April 1996, a 16-year-old Ms Farmer was invited to Epstein’s ranch in Santa Fe under the promise that he wanted to pay for her college study, she said.ââââ
When she arrived at the ranch, she realised she was the only young person there.
Ms Farmer said it was then decided that Maxwell would show her how to give Epstein a foot massage.
Then, Maxwell allegedly asked the teenager if she had ever had a professional massage.
“She said she wanted me to have that experience and would be happy to give me a massage,” testified Ms Farmer.
Ms Farmer told the court that Maxwell had told her to get undressed and get under the sheet on a massage table, which was already set up in the room she was staying in. Maxwell then “pulled the sheet down and exposed my breasts, and started rubbing on my chest and on my upper breast”, testified Ms Farmer.
The following morning, Epstein came into her room and climbed into her bed telling her he “wanted to cuddle”, she said.
Ms Farmer testified that the paedophile “pressed “his body into me” and she “felt kind of frozen”.
Later that day, she said Maxwell appeared to no longer be interested in talking to her about her education.
When she left the ranch after that visit, Ms Farmer said she did not speak to or see Maxwell again.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother claims sex trafficking conviction unsafe
Tuesday 12 March 2024 14:30 , Andrea Cavallier
Ian Maxwell has accused the US justice system of bias and said his convicted sex trafficker sister did not receive a fair trial, ahead of her crucial appeal hearing.
He has claimed that three jurors in the trial were unable to make impartial judgements because of their own history of sexual abuse.
Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Mr Maxwell said: “The American justice system and the court were biased against my sister, and she didn’t get a fair trial.
“How could they fairly and dispassionately consider evidence in a sex abuse case? On this issue alone, Ghislaine should have her conviction kicked out.”
Read more:
Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother: new evidence should free my sister
Virginia Giuffre’s victim impact statement: ‘You opened the door to hell’
Tuesday 12 March 2024 15:40 , Andrea Cavallier
At Maxwell’s trial, a victim impact statement was read on behalf of Virginia Giuffre. She did not testify.
In it, Ms Giuffre, who has subsequently settled a sexual assault case against Prince Andrew, said:
“I want to be clear about one thing: without question, Jeffrey Epstein was a terrible paedophile. But I never would have met Jeffrey Epstein if not for you. For me, and for so many others, you opened the door to hell.”
Watch: Most damning moments from Ghislaine Maxwell’s TalkTV interview
Tuesday 12 March 2024 16:40 , Andrea Cavallier
Ghislaine Maxwell’s case returns to New York today
Tuesday 12 March 2024 17:00 , Andrea Cavallier
Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell returns to the spotlight today as lawyers launch an appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021.
Maxwell, 62, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars last year, after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Her appeal, which is taking place at a federal court in New York, is set to begin at 2pm.
Follow the updates from The Independent here:
Ghislaine Maxwell back in court as she appeals 2021 sex trafficking conviction: Live
What Maxwell accusers Carolyn, Jane, Kate and Annie Farmer said at her sex-trafficking trial
Tuesday 12 March 2024 18:10 , Mike Bedigan
At her 2021 trial, four witnesses testified about the abuse they suffered at the hands of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
Here’s what they said, Rachel Sharp writes
Ghislaine Maxwell: What Carolyn and three other accusers said at trial
Ghislaine Maxwell appeal beginning in New York
Tuesday 12 March 2024 18:38 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal in her 2021 sex trafficking conviction has begun, with the disgraced socialite’s attorney Diana Fabi Samson addressing the three judges.
We’ll bring you updates from the courtroom shortly.
Maxwell lawyer addresses impartial trial juror
Tuesday 12 March 2024 20:02 , Mike Bedigan
Though there was no mention of it during Tuesday’s hearing, lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell later addressed the issue of an “impartial juror” outside court.
Arthur Aidala, said that the failure of juror Scotty David to disclose he had been the victim of sexual assault was “wrong” and that Mr David had “totally misrepresented the truth”.
“What's worse is after the fact he goes on national television and says what a big role he played in the jury, basically acting as an expert witness to explain some of the flaws in the prosecution's case and speaking in his capacity as a victim of a sexual act.
“That is absolutely verboten. It's wrong. And although the judge had a hearing, and he acknowledged he wasn't accurate at all she said, ‘well, I think he made an honest mistake by not checking off that box so I'm going to let the verdict stand.”
Mr Aidala continued: “If we allow that to happen in the United States of America, each and every one of us are in jeopardy, because it could be your father, your uncle, your aunt, your cousin who's on trial, and you really want someone who's sitting in the jury box who've been so afflicted by something so similar, in that they cannot be fair and impartial.
“It's all about being fair. And there are certain things that could happen in one's life that makes you unable to be fair and impartial. And that was the case in Ghislaine Maxwell’s jury box. And [Mr David] admits that he played a heavy role in there.
“On that grounds the case that would cause the case to be reversed to go back to a new trial.
Mr Aidala said the case should be “dismissed”, adding: “If we allow the government to make deals with the citizens with us, and then they decide, for whatever reason, they're going to rip up that room and rip up that deal, that handshake means nothing.”
Watch: Maxwell lawyer addresses juror who failed to disclose he was the victim of sexual abuse
Tuesday 12 March 2024 20:30 , Mike Bedigan
Recap: Ghislaine Maxwell breaks silence after Epstein files unsealed
Tuesday 12 March 2024 22:45 , Mike Bedigan
Earlier this year a trove of documents containing information about the associates of late paedophil Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed. Ghislaine Maxwell – his accomplice and former girlfried was named multiple times in the documents.
The documents were part of a defamation lawsuit brought against Maxwell back in 2015 by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre – documents which years later a judge finally ordered to be released.
Shortly after the unsealing, Maxwell’s attorneys Arthur Aidala and Diana Fabi Samson released a statement in which she continued to insist her innocence and vowed to plough ahead with her appeal.
Read the statement, and full story, here:
Ghislaine Maxwell breaks silence after Epstein files unsealed
No mention of ‘impartial’ juror 50 during appeal hearing
Tuesday 12 March 2024 23:10 , Mike Bedigan
Attorneys representing Ghislaine Maxwell were expected to argue that their client did not get a fair trial because, among other things, one of the jurors, Scotty David, failed to disclose in his juror questionnaire that he is a survivor of sexual abuse.
Attorney Diana Fabi Samson was only given 10 minutes for the defence arguments, and used the time to say that Maxwell should have been protected by provisions a prior agreement made between Jeffrey Epstein and federal prosecturors in 2008.
There was no mention of Mr David during the hearing.
It was a 2021 interview journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley conducted with Mr David, known as Juror 50, published in The Independent in the weeks following the Maxwell sex-trafficking verdict that led her legal team to appeal over her conviction.
But Tuesday’s hearing ended without any mention of Juror 50.
One of Maxwell’s attorneys, Arthur Aidala later addressed the issue of an “impartial juror” outside court.
Judge said Ghislaine Maxwell’s behaviour was ‘heinous and predatory’
Tuesday 12 March 2024 23:30 , Mike Bedigan
Judge Alison Nathan, who presided over the trial in 2021, said Maxwell’s behaviour had been “heinous and predatory”.
The court heard harrowing testimony from victims who described how Maxwell had lured them to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s homes where they were abused.
Maxwell was found guilty of recruiting and grooming four teenagers for sexual abuse by Epstein, who was her boyfriend at the time, and who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial.
On Tuesday, an appeal court on New York heard that Maxwell should have been protected from conviction by provisions of a non-prosecution agreement made between Epstein and prosecutors in Florida in 2008.
Ghislaine Maxwell not present for New York appeal hearing
00:15 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell was not present for her appeal hearing, which took place in front of a three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
The disgraced British socialite is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee, in Florida.
It is believed that Maxwell listened to the proceedings via phone from prison.
Denying Maxwell plea agreement terms a ‘dagger in the heart of trust'
01:00 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers argued that by not honouring the terms of a 2008 plea agreement made between prosecutors in Florida and Jeffrey Epstein would “strike a dagger in the heart of the trust between the government and its citizens.”
During the appeal hearing on Tuesday in a New York federal court house, attorney Diana Fabi Samson told the court that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was looking into the possibility of “corruption” in the plea agreement.
“This case, count six is a count that is covered by that plea agreement in time in charge, and by the particular person who was interviewed in the Florida investigation,” she said.
“That charge should be precluded by the non prosecution agreement and should be dismissed. Denying the viability of this plea agreement strikes a dagger in the heart of the trust between the government and its citizens regarding plea agreements.”
Maxwell should have had ‘immunity provisions’ from previous prosecution agreement in Florida, say lawyers
02:00 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell should have been protected by “immunity provisions” from a previous non-prosecution agreement in Florida, her attorneys have argued.
During an appeal hearing in New York federal court on Tuesday, Diana Fabi Samson referenced the 2008 non prosecution agreement, made by state prosecutors with Jeffrey Epstein in Florida.
In the agreement — also known as an NPA — Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program.
Epstein was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.
“In the end, Ms. Maxwell was prosecuted for crimes that she as a third party beneficiary to the plea agreement in Florida should not have been prosecuted,” Ms Samson said.
Maxwell was not present in the court room on Tuesday, but was reportedly listening remotely from her jail cell in Florida.
Life inside Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison
03:10 , Mike Bedigan
Maxwell – daughter of the late media tycoon and fraudster Robert Maxwell who was previously used to a life of opulent luxury – is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee.
Black filth smeared on walls, rodent infestations, and sanitary products being used to plug leaks in dilapidated living quarters are a few of the issues recorded at the prison, according to a Justice Department watchdog report, seen by The Independent.
A cafeteria was found to contain broken stools with sharp edges which could be used as weapons, leaking windows, and scores of dead insects.
Meanwhile, Maxwell is said to have lodged hundreds of complaints, including over a lack of vegan food options and access to black hair dye.
Read more:
Filth, rats and fear of reprisals: Life inside Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison
From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial
04:00 , Mike Bedigan
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.
Those decades-long connections formed a key role in Maxwell’s conviction for sex-trafficking at a federal courthouse in Manhattan in December 2021.
As her appeal begins in New York today, here’s a look back at some of the famous names embroiled in the scandal:
From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the biggest names embroiled in the Maxwell trial
Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement
06:00 , Mike Bedigan
At the hearing on Tuesday in New York, Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers argued that the disgraced socialite should not have been prosecuted in 2019, as she was protected by provisions from a prior non-prosecution agreement (NPA) made by Florida prosecutors with late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The deal was made by former federal prosecutor Alex Acosta, and resulted in a jail sentence and a sex offender registration for the disgraced financier.
Under the 2008 NPA, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
Epstein was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019, but he took his own life while in federal custody as he awaited trial.
Ghislaine Maxwell: The life of the Jeffrey Epstein associate found guilty of sex trafficking
08:00 , Mike Bedigan
Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell, was jailed after being found guilty of federal sex trafficking charges for her role in procuring and grooming underage girls for billionaire paedophile ex-boyfriend.
As her lawyers gear up to launch an appeal in the case, here is a look at her life:
Ghislaine Maxwell: The Jeffrey Epstein associate found guilty of sex trafficking
In pictures: Maxwell behind bars
10:00 , Mike Bedigan
Watch: Maxwell was protected under non-prosecution agreement, argues lawyer
12:00 , Mike Bedigan
ICYMI: Ghislaine Maxwell lawyers argue she should have been protected by Epstein deal as she makes bid for freedom
13:00 , Mike Bedigan
On Tuesday, attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell argued that the disgraced British socialite should have been protected by a deal Jeffrey Epstein made years ago as they made a bid for her freedom in a New York courtroom.
Maxwell, 62, returned to the spotlight this week as her defence team launched an appeal over her sex trafficking conviction.
Read the full story here:
Ghislaine Maxwell lawyers argue she should have been protected by Epstein deal
