Ghislaine Maxwell trial news – Socialite makes rare Saturday court appearance amid legal arguments after defense rests

GHISLAINE Maxwell appeared in front of a judge on Saturday, as attorneys determined how the socialite, and elements of her case, will be described to jurors ahead of her next trial date.

According to the Associated Press, Maxwell's legal team and the prosecution met in a Manhattan courtroom to debate jury instructions for the case.

That includes the approved request that the judge will refer to the 59-year-old as "Ms. Maxwell," not "the defendant."

Courtroom sketches showed Maxwell in court on Thursday and Friday seated next to her defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim.

It has been announced that Maxwell decided she will not testify in her trial, as she had been said to be “too fragile” to take the witness stand.

The friend and ex-lover of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is currently facing six charges, including multiple felony accounts, some of which include human trafficking accusations.

If convicted on all counts, Maxwell could face up to 80 years in prison.

Maxwell denies all accusations.

Read our Ghislaine Maxwell live blog for the very latest news and updates…

  • H. J. Hayes

    When was Maxwell arrested?

    Ghislaine was arrested suddenly in July 2020 – and has been held in prison ever since as she was deemed a flight risk.

    She has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sex trafficking and other charges for her alleged role in recruiting and grooming four teenagers for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.

    Her attorneys say she is being scapegoated because Epstein is no longer alive.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Does Ghislaine Maxwell have kids?

    Ghislaine Maxwell does not have any children of her own, but is reportedly the stepmother to her husband’s children from his first marriage.

    According to reports, Maxwell secretly wed tech millionaire Scott Borgerson in 2016.

    Maxwell’s own family didn’t know about the wedding until her bail hearing, according to her brother, Ian.

  • H. J. Hayes

    What was Jeffrey Epstein accused of?

    Jeffrey Epstein was accused of abusing women and underage girls for decades, assembling a network of enablers to help carry out and cover up his crimes.

    The serial sex abuser reportedly made a secret plea deal with the government in 2008 to avoid a potential life sentence and continued to abuse women.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Nude picture of Maxwell shown

    Police photos showing what appears to be a framed nude picture of Ghislaine Maxwell were shown to the jury at her sex trafficking trial.

    Prosecutors released more than 60 images from a police raid at Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous Palm Beach mansion as part of the case.

    Photos include images of a room in the property with a desk that appears to have a nude photo of Ghislaine sitting on it.

    It appears to be a now-famous photo of her lying on a beach, and above it, there is a framed portrait of her hanging on the wall.

    The photo of her lying nude on a beach has been widely reported on after it was previously revealed to have been found at the mansion.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Documents found during police raid

    Prosecutors have detailed a cache of documents that were seized from Epstein’s New York mansion during a raid in 2019.

    A large safe containing binders of CDs, cash, computer hard drives, diamonds, and passports was found.

    FBI agents left the house to obtain a warrant for the safe, but when they returned four days later everything from the safe was gone.

    The items were later returned in two suitcases by one of Epstein’s lawyers and the safe was later found buried in a closet.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Pilot claims Donald Trump was on Epstein’s plane

    Lawrence Visoski, Epstein’s former pilot who testified for the prosecution, was asked during cross examination about passengers aboard Epstein’s Gulf Stream plane.

    He confirmed former President Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton had all flown on it. – along with other big names like Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

    He told the court he never saw any sexual activity on the flight, or any underage girls without their parents.

    “I certainly remember President Trump, but not many people associated with him,” the pilot told the trial.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Farmer believed she would receive tuition support

    Farmer said she believed Epstein would help her pay for her college education, and expected other students to be at the ranch – which there weren’t.

    While at the ranch, Maxwell offered to give Farmer a massage, Farmer testified.

    Farmer, now 42, agreed to receive the massage and got undressed, she said. Maxwell touched her breasts during the massage, Farmer said.

    “Once she pulled down the sheet I felt kind of frozen,” Farmer said.

    Later on during the trip, Farmer said Epstein came into her room and climbed into bed with her.

    “Suddenly Epstein kind of opened my door, bounding into the room in a playful way, saying that he wanted to cuddle,” Farmer said, adding that Epstein “pressed his body into me.”

    She said she became uncomfortable and said she had to use the bathroom, which she described as an “excuse” to get away from Epstein.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Annie Farmer testifies in court

    Testifying at Maxwell’s ongoing sex trafficking and abuse trial in New York Friday, Annie Farmer said she met the disgraced financier and his alleged madam at just 16.

    Farmer – the only accuser taking to the stand under her real name – says Maxwell, 59, tried to coax her into a sexual encounter when she was a teen, alleging the pair plied her with gifts.

    She testified that Epstein took her to see the cinema with her older sister Maria – who was working for him at the time in New York – and during the film, the multi-millionaire pedophile “caressed” her hand and then her leg.

    “I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn’t something that I was at all expecting,” she told the court. 

    She claimed that age of 16, she visited Epstein at his New Mexico ranch in the spring of 1996, where she met Maxwell for the first time.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Why isn’t the Ghislaine Maxwell trial televised?

    This mostly has to do with different jurisdictions having different rules regarding the publicity – and broadcasting – in courtrooms.

    The two previous cases were conducted in county courts, meanwhile, Maxwell’s trial is in federal court, which has different jurisdictional rules.

    A federal court has some rules that allow some cameras in civil cases, but have barred broadcasting criminal cases since 1946 under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 53.

    However, some to most state and criminal courts have allowed trial broadcasts on a case by case basis, sometimes earning plenty of ire from others.

    Many complained that broadcasting trials, in turn, extended cases longer than they had to – saying it encouraged grandstanding from lawyers, judges and witnesses knowing they had a national audience.

  • H. J. Hayes

    Maxwell’s ex-assistant claims Epstein would see other women

    Jeffery Epstein would see other women behind socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s back, her ex-assistant told the court this week.

    Cimberly Espinosa, 55, who was hired by Epstein and then worked for Maxwell for six years, said she was once tasked with buying flowers for another woman.

    The witness — the first to testify at the start of Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial defense — described a parade of women visiting billionaire pedophile Epstein in his New York office from 1996 to 2002.

    Asked how old they were, she told a court in Manhattan: “Eighteen and over. Young women.”

  • H. J. Hayes

    Maxwell’s lawyers warned her ‘life is on the line’

    Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers have warned her “life is on the line” as they beg for more time to find witnesses in her sex trafficking trial.

    On day 12 of the trial, Maxwell’s lawyer Laura Menninger begged Judge Alison Nathan for more time to find witnesses – claiming Maxwell’s “life is on the line.”

    She told the court: “I understand that your honor runs a tight ship.

    “We are flying people across the country, across the pond, our client’s life is on the line, and we are given only a half a day to put on a witness.”

    Judge Nathan said that she was not inclined to delay the trial.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Epstein ‘bought flowers’ for girls

    Jeffrey Epstein would see other women behind socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s back, her ex-assistant told a court on Wednesday.

    Cimberly Espinosa, 55, who was hired by Epstein and then worked for Maxwell for six years, said she was once tasked with buying flowers for another woman.

    The witness — the first to testify at the start of Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial defense — described a parade of women visiting billionaire pedophile Epstein in his New York office from 1996 to 2002.

    Asked how old they were, she told a court in Manhattan: “Eighteen and over. Young women.”

  • Danielle Cinone

    Pilot claims Donald Trump was on Epstein’s plane

    Lawrence Visoski, Epstein’s former pilot who testified for the prosecution, was asked during cross-examination about passengers aboard Epstein’s Gulf Stream plane.

    He confirmed former President Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton had all flown on it. – along with other big names like Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

    He told the court he never saw any sexual activity on the flight or any underage girls without their parents.

    “I certainly remember President Trump, but not many people associated with him,” the pilot told the trial.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Farmer believed she would receive tuition support

    Farmer said she believed Epstein would help her pay for her college education, and expected other students to be at the ranch – which there weren’t.

    While at the ranch, Maxwell offered to give Farmer a massage, Farmer testified.

    Farmer, now 42, agreed to receive the massage and got undressed, she said. Maxwell touched her breasts during the massage, Farmer said.

    “Once she pulled down the sheet I felt kind of frozen,” Farmer said.

    Later on during the trip, Farmer said Epstein came into her room and climbed into bed with her.

    “Suddenly Epstein kind of opened my door, bounding into the room in a playful way, saying that he wanted to cuddle,” Farmer said, adding that Epstein “pressed his body into me.”

    She said she became uncomfortable and said she had to use the bathroom, which she described as an “excuse” to get away from Epstein.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Annie Farmer testifies in court

    Testifying at Maxwell’s ongoing sex trafficking and abuse trial in New York Friday, Annie Farmer said she met the disgraced financier and his alleged madam at just 16.

    Farmer – the only accuser taking to the stand under her real name – says Maxwell, 59, tried to coax her into a sexual encounter when she was a teen, alleging the pair plied her with gifts.

    She testified that Epstein took her to see the cinema with her older sister Maria – who was working for him at the time in New York – and during the film, the multi-millionaire pedophile “caressed” her hand and then her leg.

    “I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn’t something that I was at all expecting,” she told the court. 

    She claimed that age of 16, she visited Epstein at his New Mexico ranch in the spring of 1996, where she met Maxwell for the first time.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Buckingham Palace denies Prince Andrew allegations

    Buckingham Palace denied the allegation in 2015 saying “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors” by the Duke was “categorically untrue”.

    “Any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.”

    “It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

  • Danielle Cinone

    Who is Virginia Giuffre?

    Virginia Giuffre is 38-years-old and from Sacramento, California.

    She is married to Robert Giuffre and has three children.

    She is known for being a public victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, and has allegedly been trafficked to Prince Andrew.

    Giuffre is an advocate of justice for sex trafficking survivors, and she created a non-profit organization called Victims Refuse Silence, which is based in the US.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Maxwell called Epstein “thoughtful, kind, generous”

    In 1992, Maxwell had a romantic relationship with American financier Jeffrey Epstein and remained closely associated with him up until his death on August 10 of 2019.

    After Epstein was arrested for sexually abusing minors, Maxwell claimed he was a “kind generous loving man”.

    She stated he had a “keen sense of humor and ready smile” as she tried to get charges against him dropped in Palm Beach.

    Ghislaine is quoted as saying in a document obtained by The Sun: “My experience of Jeffrey, is of a thoughtful, kind generous loving man, with a keen sense of humor and a ready smile – a man of principles and values and a man of his word.”

    Maxwell is accused of luring children into the clutches of her former boyfriend and even taking part in some of the abuse – claims she strongly denies.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Maxwell’s response to allegations

    The British socialite has repeatedly denied any involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.

    Her spokesperson said “the allegations made against Ghislaine Maxwell are untrue” and she “strongly denies allegations of an unsavory nature, which have appeared in the British press and elsewhere, and reserves her right to seek redress at the repetition of such old defamatory claims”.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Who flew on the ‘Lolita Express?’ continued

    Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey flew to Africa on the Lolita Express in 2002 as part of a project to raise awareness of the Aids crisis and poverty.

    Comedian Chris Tucker was also part of the group, including Clinton and Spacey, who flew to Africa on a five-day humanitarian trip in 2002.

    Flight logs reveal that Naomi Campbell also traveled on Epstein’s plane in 2002.

    Epstein’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz took trips on the jet in the late 1990s, flight records show.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Who flew on the ‘Lolita Express?’

    Former Epstein pilot Lawrence Visoski testified that former President Donald Trump was aboard Epstein’s distinctive Gulf Stream plane.

    The Sun reported in 2019 that Prince Andrew flew on a ­private jet with Epstein and his alleged 17-year-old sex slave Virginia Roberts.

    Brit socialite Ghislaine Maxwell traveled on the Lolita Express on a number of occasions, flight logs show.

    According to flight logs obtained by Fox News in 2016, former US president Bill Clinton was a passenger on the jet.

  • Danielle Cinone

    What was the ‘Lolita Express?’

    Jeffrey Epstein was alleged to have used the plane to court underage girls and fly them between his residences across the US.

    The luxury Boeing 727 aircraft was owned by Epstein, though what exactly happened on the flights remains a closely guarded secret.

    Victims of Epstein say he organized orgies on board the three-engine commercial jet.

    The luxury aircraft boasted deluxe furnishings, a spacious galley, expansive cabin lounge, and a master bedroom.

    The pilot of the plane reportedly undertook around 1,000 flights during his time flying Epstein and others.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Ghislaine Maxwell’s romantic history, continued

    According to a 2009 deposition, several of Epstein’s household employees testified that Epstein referred to Maxwell as his “main girlfriend.”

    It is unclear exactly when or if their relationship went from romantic to platonic before he was jailed for soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.

    Following his initial release, the two were no longer seen in public together.

    Maxwell was then linked to the founder of Gateway Computers, Ted Waitt. The two attended Chelsea Clinton‘s wedding together in 2010, and Maxwell reportedly helped Waitt to renovate a luxury yacht, Plan B, before they eventually split.

    While the exact time and date of the wedding is unknown, Maxwell and Borgerson have been married since 2016.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Ghislaine Maxwell’s romantic history

    While Maxwell has not been married prior to her nuptials with Scott Borgerson, she has been linked to a series of high-profile men over the years.

    In the 1990s, Maxwell dated Count Gianfranco Cicogna, an Italian aristocrat and millionaire. According to reports, the two ended on bad terms.

    Following her relationship with Cicogna, Maxwell began dating Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself while behind bars in 2019.

  • Danielle Cinone

    Word doc: Maxwell and Epstein were ‘best friends’

    FBI agents found a Word document, created by using the name ‘gmax’, which has been linked to Maxwell, that described the defendant’s relationship with Epstein.

    It read: “Jeffrey and Ghislaine have been together, a couple, for the last 11 years.”

    “They are, contrary to what many people think, rarely apart. I almost always see them together.”

    It continued: “Ghislaine is highly intelligent and great company with a ready smile and an infectious laugh, will always put one at one’s ease and always makes one feel welcome.”

    “Jeffrey and Ghislaine share many mutual interests and they have a lot of fun together. Jeffrey and Ghislaine complement each other really well and I can’t imagine one without the other.”

    “On top of being partners, they are also the best of friends.”

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