Did she groom girls for Epstein or is she being punished for his crimes? It’s finally time for Maxwell to tell her story
For a woman known around the world, who has been the focus of documentaries, podcasts and endless news coverage, Ghislaine Maxwell still remains an enigma.
She has said very little publicly in the two decades since sexual abuse allegations about her friend Jeffrey Epstein began to surface.
We do not know how Maxwell met the late financier and paedophile, what the true nature of their relationship was, or how she funded her extravagant lifestyle.
Today, Maxwell will go on trial in New York accused of sexual offences, including that she conspired to entice girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein from 1994 to 1997 at his homes in New York City, Florida, and New Mexico – and at her residence in London.
She denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty, but if convicted on all counts she will likely spend the rest of her life in jail.
It is finally time for Maxwell to tell her side of the story.
The defence
Maxwell’s lawyers may argue that she too was a victim of Epstein. Others employed by the financier and convicted sex offender have used the same defence.
It is highly likely Maxwell’s lawyers will claim she is being punished for Epstein’s crimes. They may say that prosecutors failed to convict him, failed to keep him alive, and now need someone else to blame for their own shortcomings.
Maxwell’s brother Ian has voiced another likely defence argument: that the “tremendous weight of negative publicity” means he is “fearful” a fair trial is not possible.
The defence team are expected to try to undermine the credibility of the four alleged victims by claiming some are motivated by money.
Over $125m (£94m) from Epstein’s estate has been distributed to around 150 victims.
As the alleged offences were committed between 17 and 27 years ago, an expert witness on “false memories” will be called to give evidence.
Professor Elizabeth Loftus will likely argue that media coverage and contact with other victims can lead to them forming incorrect memories of abuse.
Maxwell’s lawyers will also return to arguments around consent that were a feature of pre-trial hearings.
The third alleged victim in this trial was 17 years old when prosecutors say she was abused in London. However, the age of consent in the UK is 18.
The decision over whether Maxwell takes the stand and testifies is likely to be made late on in the trial, once the prosecution has rested its case. But it has its dangers.
“A defendant testifying is always risky,” said defence attorney Dmitriy Shakhnevich.
“Because the defendant will open him or herself up to cross-examination, to examination as to prior bad acts to prior criminal conduct to prior, possibly even immoral conduct.”
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Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?
The prosecution
The testimonies of the four alleged victims will be at the heart of the prosecution case, with only one, Annie Farmer, waiving her anonymity.
Ms Farmer claims she was abused by Epstein at his New Mexico ranch in 1996.
In an interview with CBS in 2019 she said: “Maxwell was a really important part of the grooming process… They worked together as a team.”
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the most prominent of Epstein’s accusers, is not expected to be part of the trial.
Supporting witnesses will be called. There may be significant but yet-to-be-revealed people who have agreed to co-operate with the government and provide testimony.
An expert witness on grooming, Dr Lisa Rocchio, will give evidence.
In a pre-trial hearing, she told the court that academic studies have concluded there are common strategies in grooming of children: starting with gaining access and isolating a victim, then developing trust, and later desensitising them to physical and sexual contact.
Prosecutors intend to use a “little black book” of contacts, including names and phone numbers of alleged victims, as further evidence.
It is also possible the government will present video footage from the extensive CCTV systems Epstein installed in his homes.
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‘I don’t see her administering black eye to herself’
Epstein’s web
Maxwell’s trial is keenly awaited, not just because the alleged victims have been waiting decades for justice, but because of the web of high society contacts she and Epstein boasted in the worlds of fashion, politics, business and royalty.
The pair were close to Prince Andrew and Donald Trump. In a 2003 magazine profile, Mr Trump infamously said of Epstein: “He likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Epstein had links to Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Lex Wexner, the owner of fashion chain Victoria’s Secret.
The chief executive of Barclays, Jes Staley, resigned from the company earlier this month over his contacts with the financier.
Some argue the fact the defendant is female is also significant.
“Given where we are in this moment in time with the #MeToo movement, this is the first time you’ve got a woman so publicly on trial for these kind of crimes,” said Vicky Ward, the investigative journalist who first met Maxwell in the 1990s.
Whatever the verdict in this trial, it may not be the last to involve Epstein’s associates. Many civil cases are also under way between various parties linked to the saga.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial will certainly provide answers, but it is unlikely to solve all the mysteries surrounding the case. The Epstein/Maxwell jigsaw puzzle is far from complete.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
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