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Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and served as an accomplice to Jeffrey Epstein, has responded to the highly-anticipated release of court documents that identify multiple associates of the deceased pedophile.
Maxwell’s attorneys Arthur Aidala and Diana Fabi Samson released a statement on Wednesday night, after the filings began to be unsealed, in which she continued to insist her innocence and vowed to plough ahead with her appeal.
“Ghislaine Maxwell took no position on the Court’s recent decision to unseal documents in Giuffre v. Maxwell as these disclosures have no bearing on her or her pending appeal,” they said in the statement, shared with The Messenger.
Ghislaine is currently focused on the upcoming appellate argument, where she will be requesting for her entire case to be dismissed. She is highly confident that she will receive justice in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
She has consistently and strongly asserted her innocence.
The collection of papers made public on Wednesday are a result of a legal case filed in 2015 against 62-year-old Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Epstein. After years passed, a judge has now demanded that these documents be revealed.
Ms. Giuffre filed a lawsuit in response to Maxwell’s accusation that she had been lying about the prolonged abuse she endured from Epstein and individuals within his close circle.
New photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The case was resolved in 2017, but was then placed under a confidential order, with the names of those mentioned in the legal documents remaining undisclosed.
The Miami Herald filed a lawsuit to obtain the sealed documents, while Maxwell’s lawyers attempted to prevent their release.
In 2019, approximately 2,000 pages of documents were initially made public, followed by additional document releases in the subsequent years.
However, the present collection of records remained confidential – and the identities of numerous individuals connected to the deceased pedophile were undisclosed, identified only as Jane and John Does.
Last month, US District Judge Loretta Preska made a significant decision stating that the collection of documents can be disclosed and the names can be fully revealed after January 1st.
Although the federal judge mandated that the identities of numerous victims of Epstein should be kept confidential, she specified that there was no lawful basis for withholding the identities of Epstein’s associates, referred to as “John and Jane Does”.
This has opened the door for numerous well-known individuals to become entangled with the infamous disgraced financier.
Some of the individuals included in the initial set of documents released are ex-president Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump.
Johanna Sjoberg, a victim of Epstein, recently revealed in a deposition that she had knowledge of Mr. Clinton’s connection to Epstein.
During her testimony, she stated that Epstein once mentioned how Clinton preferred younger girls.
A photo without a date depicts Ghislaine Maxwell giving a foot massage to Jeffrey Epstein.
Although Ms. Sjoberg gave testimony stating that she never had a personal encounter with Mr. Clinton, never witnessed him on Epstein’s island in the Caribbean, and never saw him being transported by helicopter by Maxwell.
There is no evidence of the former president’s involvement in any illegal activities and he is not facing any criminal charges.
The Independent has contacted Mr. Clinton’s representative for a statement. According to his spokesperson, who spoke to CNN on Wednesday, it has been almost two decades since President Clinton had any communication with Epstein. They also denied that the former president was aware of Epstein’s illegal activities.
The papers also disclose previously stated accusations made by Ms Sjoberg towards Prince Andrew.
In 2001, Ms. Sjoberg alleges that the duke groped her breast while they were both seated on a couch in Epstein’s Manhattan residence.
Andrew has consistently refuted the accusations against him, while Buckingham Palace has stated that all claims made against the duke are definitively false.
Additional documents and identities are anticipated to be disclosed in the following days.
The location where most of the abuse occurred was Epstein’s private island, Little St. James.
Simply being mentioned in the documents does not automatically imply that the person is being accused of any misconduct.
Maxwell, aged 62, is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, serving a 20-year sentence for her involvement in Epstein’s operation of a sex trafficking ring.
In December 2021, she was found guilty of six counts of persuading a minor to travel for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activities, transporting a minor with the intention of engaging in illegal sexual activities, trafficking a minor for sexual purposes, and three counts of participating in a conspiracy related to the aforementioned charges.
During the highly publicized court case, the prosecution detailed how Maxwell and Epstein carried out a “pyramid scheme of abuse” from 1994 to 2004, luring in young girls before subjecting them to sexual abuse.
Numerous individuals gave testimony in court about how Epstein’s ex-partner targeted and manipulated vulnerable young girls, ultimately delivering them to the deceased financier for exploitation. The victims stated that Maxwell not only facilitated Epstein’s abuse, but also actively participated in it.
Maxwell is challenging her guilty verdict and maintains her innocence in relation to Epstein’s offenses.
In 2019, while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges, Epstein took his own life in a jail cell in Manhattan.
Source: independent.co.uk
