Double Setback For Ghislaine Maxwell--Could Be Interesting

Ghislaine Maxwell is involved in two separate cases in federal courts in New York--the civil case involving one of the Epstein victims (Giuffre) and the federal criminal charges that led to her recent arrest. She has suffered two setbacks, one in each case, meaning: There have been two separate victories for transparency in these cases. This could have significant ramifications going forward--during campaign season--because in the civil case voluminous documents are going to be released, including the flight logs for Epstein's private jet. 

Here is the Reuters account:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, suffered dual setbacks in a U.S. court on Thursday, as a judge authorized the release of new materials related to her, while another judge refused to block prosecutors and lawyers from publicly discussing her criminal case. 

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan directed the release of large portions of more than 80 documents from a 2015 civil lawsuit against Maxwell, the British socialite now facing criminal charges that she lured girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. 

The materials ordered unsealed include flight logs from Epstein's private jets, testimony from depositions in 2016 in which Maxwell's lawyers said she was asked "intrusive questions" about her sex life, and police reports from Palm Beach, Florida, where Epstein had a home. 

Maxwell, 58, is being held in a Brooklyn jail after pleading not guilty last week to charges she helped Epstein recruit and eventually abuse girls from 1994 to 1997, and committed perjury by denying knowledge of his abuse in depositions. 

Preska said the presumption the public had a right to access the documents outweighed Maxwell's arguments to keep them under wraps, including that they concerned "extremely personal" matters whose release could prove embarrassing or annoying.

The judge gave Maxwell one week to file an emergency appeal, but said both sides should proceed as though the documents will be made public "within a week." 

Lawyers for Maxwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Earlier, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan rejected Maxwell's separate effort to block prosecutors, FBI agents and lawyers for some accusers from making out-of-court statements about her criminal case. 

Nathan, who oversees the criminal case, said a gag order was not needed to protect Maxwell's right to a fair trial, but that she "will not hesitate" to act if needed.

Will the Court of Appeals try to bury this case again?

Eric Weinstein Takes Flamethrower To NYT

I'll be perfectly honest: Until an hour or so ago I'd never heard of Eric Weinstein. That was when I read Zerohedge:

NYT 'Chief Threat To Democracy': Eric Weinstein Takes Flamethrower To Paper Of Record After Bari Weiss Quits

The 'paper of record' the 'Chief Threat to Democracy?' There are certainly a lot of candidates for that honor, but I suppose that--at a minimum--the NYT fits into the Top Ten or so.

Zerohedge gives a summary of Weinstein's twitter rant, and you can read the whole thing in the original here. Or try both. The unrolled twitter thread makes a good read. All I want to do here is draw attention to three stories that Weinstein says Weiss would have liked to have covered but couldn't. Check this out:

This is the paper in 2016 that couldnt be interested in the story that millions of Americans were likely lying to pollsters about Donald Trump.

The paper refusing to ask the CIA/FBI if Epstein was Intelligence related.

The paper that can’t report that it seeks race rioting:

Can we all agree that those are three big stories? But that second one ...

Recall that Alex Acosta claims--and has never been contradicted--that he was told from way high up the Deep State feed chain that the whole Epstein case was national security involved:

Acosta later said he offered a lenient plea deal because he was told that Epstein "belonged to intelligence", was "above his pay grade," and to "leave it alone".

Today in the NYPost there was a story about how Ghislaine Maxwell is wearing suicide proof paper garments and is being continually moved from one cell to another because her keepers are afraid of assassins. It's almost as if someone way high up (hello, Bill Barr!) suspects Epstein didn't actually suicide.

My point is not to dredge up stuff that we've already discussed. The point is that if someone as Establishment connected as Bari Weiss is willing to entertain the idea that Epstein's underage sex op was "intelligence related", then, yeah, we should all be thinking about that, too.

And the real point of all this is that what's currently playing out in our national life runs very deep. Very deep.

Maxwell Update Per Shipwreckedcrew

Shipwreckedcrew has a number of shrewd observations re what's up in the Maxwell case:

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@shipwreckedcrew

Absolutely.  This indictment is an invitation to plead guilty.  This isn't even close to what they would actually try her on if she decides to fight.


@NoChromeHD

Your thoughts. Have they held back of more recent serious charges as further leverage? A superseding indictment perhaps?

4:04 PM · Jul 3, 2020


@shipwreckedcrew

Yes.


@SuzieWarrior

Are you saying that if she doesn't plead guilty, there will be superseding indictments? Because I couldn't believe how little they charged her with, and such old crimes. Is that why they didn't charge her with sex trafficking specifically?

4:45 PM · Jul 3, 2020


@shipwreckedcrew

Funny how CNN didn't manage to get footage of the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell's house in New Hampshire, nor did the FBI think it was necessary to make the arrest at dawn.

No cameras, arrest happens at 8:30 am.

Raise your hand if you think the Special Counsel tipped CNN re Stone.

4:44 PM · Jul 3, 2020

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The real question is: Does DoJ have any plans for a deal? Are they offering this "invitation to plead guilty" with or without strings--requirements for cooperation? Such an invitation in a very high profile case would normally suggest the government is seeking cooperation.

UPDATED: Bill Barr Is Still On The Job

AG Bill Barr's impeachment by the Dem's House may be imminent, but he continues to imperturbably do his job. It's almost like he just doesn't care about anything except the common good of the American nation. Refreshing.

Item: Some jerk named Jason Charter has been arrested as an Antifa leader who was in charge of the attempt to topple Andrew Jackson. He apparently has also been identified as a ringleader in the assault on Jack Posobiec. Who thinks that if enforcement of the law with regard to Antifa were left to Chris Wray at the FBI this would be happening? I don't. What other AG of recent memory would be willing to get in the Dem House's face in this way while they threatened his impeachment?

Item: Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's groomer and procurer, has been arrested by the FBI. The indictment is said to target the years 1994-1997 (wait, who was president then?), and Techno Fog promises a thread on why those years are important.

Sean Davis asks an interesting question about the timing of the arrest:

Is it just a coincidence that a mere two weeks after Attorney General Bill Barr fired Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, that the FBI and DOJ finally arrested and charged Jeffrey Epstein's madam?

Believe this or not, but there are actually people out there on the internet who don't believe this was a coincidence! Not only that, but the same people are asking questions like: What else was Berman holding up? Who else thinks Chris Wray never would have done anything like this, but for Barr? How many AGs never moved against Epstein's operation over the past 20 years?

Does this tell us something about why the Dems were so irate about Berman's removal?

By the way, how did Ghislaine Maxwell wind up in Bradford, NH--population 356? Was she there to see the Bement Covered Bridge, or ... what? Gotta be a story there.

In the meantime, employment numbers for the Trump recovery are stunning.

ADDENDUM: I'm not actually that interested in this case from any legal standpoint, but Jonathan Turley is--and I'll share that interest:

Maxwell's arrest could be bad news for a number of individuals including Prince Andrew. One wrinkle however is the outrageous plea deal struck by the Justice Department with Epstein that purportedly protects "co-conspirators."

Epstein Confidante Maxwell Arrested In New Hampshire

"In a surprising move, Ghislaine Maxwell, the British heiress and confidante to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested in New Hampshire. Maxwell’s arrest  could have a ripple effect on both criminal and civil matters ranging from the still uncertain status of Prince Andrew to a number of defamation lawsuits."

... That deal however was not lawfully executed by Jim [sic--should be Alex] Acosta who did a great disservice not only to justice but more importantly these victims. Ironically, the improper role played by the Justice Department in the case may actually help it now with any prosecution of Maxwell.

We now have the indictment. Any problem with the Acosta deal made be avoided by not just attacking the validity of the agreement, as noted, but reliance on multiple perjury counts stemming from depositions (which would not be impacted by the agreement, even if enforceable).

Six counts:

Count 1-2: Enticement of a Minor To Travel To Engage In Illegal Sex Acts
Count 3-4:  Transportation Of A Minor With Intent To Engage In Criminal Sexual Activity
Count 5-6: Perjury

Turley thinks Berman wasn't holding anything up re Epstein/Maxwell. That's very charitable of him, given the past history of unusual legal proceedings and deals in this case.

UPDATE: Well, there is a story about Bradford, NH, and Maxwell. It sounds like she may have been hiding out there, while rumors put her in Paris. Per Techno Fog:

Ghislaine Maxwell - new info from the US Detention Memo: 

1) The grand jury returned the indictment on 6/29/20 

2) Maxwell has 15+ bank accounts. Some hold more than $20 million. 

3) Transfers of millions $$ to/from Epstein 

4) Cash purchase of 156 acre NH Property in 2019

According to the detention memo:

Most recently, the defendant appears to have been hiding on a 156-acre property acquired in an all-cash purchase in December 2019 (through a carefully anonymized LLC) in Bradford, New Hampshire, an area to which sha has no other known connections.