A federal judge has unsealed hundreds of pages of transcripts and other documents related to a now-settled defamation suit brought against Ghislaine Maxwell, who…
A federal judge has unsealed hundreds of pages of transcripts and other documents related to a now-settled defamation suit brought against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping the late Jeffrey Epstein run a sex trafficking operation that catered to rich and powerful men.
The documents include a deposition given by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the draft of a memoir she was writing about her experiences inside the sex-trafficking ring, and email exchanges between Maxwell and Epstein.
Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, was charged earlier this month on several counts related to sex trafficking of minors andperjury. She has pleaded not guilty in that case. The 2015 defamation suit was brought by Giuffre after the British socialite accused her of lying when she alleged Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused and exploited her.
Among other things, the documents included an email exchange in which Epstein protested his innocence and appeared to provide Maxwell with a statement to the media or set of talking points that she might use in defending herself against the allegations.
Maxwell had been the « target of outright lies, innuendo, slander, defamation and salacious gossip and harassment, » the email said in language that pushed back against « false allegations of impropriety and offensive behavior that I abhor and have never ever been party to. »
A few days later, responding to an email from Maxwell, Epstein wrote: « You have done nothing wrong and I (would) urge you to start acting like it. » He urged her to « go outside, head high, not as an (escaping) convict. go to parties. deal with it. »
U. S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the documents unsealed last week after Maxwell’s lawyer Laura Menninger made a last-minute appeal to keep them from going public, arguing that they could damage her defense.
Preska ordered « many » of the case’s documents to be released last week, but she gave Menninger one week to file an emergency appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. As she granted that delay, Preska also ordered both sides in the case to prepare for the records to be unsealed — including making any necessary redactions.
Even so, Preska criticized Maxwell’s defense team, saying the court was « troubled—but not surprised—that Ms.
