Prosecutors Face Deadline to Disclose Identities of Ghislaine Maxwell’s Co-Conspirators

October 11th marks the most anticipated deadline in the case of U.S. v. Ghislaine Maxwell since dozens of previously sealed documents in the matter were ordered to be released to the public in early July. The unsealed documents cast new light on the extent of Maxwell’s involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal enterprise which trafficked children for sex abuse, giving federal prosecutors essential information to construct their case. This release prompted Maxwell’s defense team to put the prosecutor’s feet to the fire, as they launched formal requests to have the identities of any co-conspirators present in those disclosures who could offer statements against Maxwell to be revealed. While that initial request from the defense was made without objection in August, a court order issued on September 3rd by Judge Alison J. Nathan sets October 11th as the date by which federal prosecutors must disclose the identities of the co-conspirators they intend to name once Maxwell’s trial begins on November 29th.

The order conveys that the prosecution intends to offer statements from two people it has identified as Epstein and Maxwell’s co-conspirators. Given the high profile names associated with their illicit activities, speculation regarding who the prosecution has taken statements from is sure to run rampant. Epstein’s associates include everyone from former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump to magnates of finance and industry such as Leon Black and Bill Gates. Yet, an examination of the documents unsealed in July aids in narrowing down who those co-conspirators more likely than not will be.

The documents that were initially placed under seal following the settlement of a defamation case between Virginia Roberts Guiffre and Maxwell, which concluded in 2017. Guiffre has been the most visible of Epstein and Maxwell’s accusers, becoming the face of those who fell victim to their crimes. Mrs. Guiffre’s public position against Epstein would become the catalyst for her defamation suit against Maxwell in 2015. Following her claims that Maxwell was aided Epstein in recruiting over 30 underage girls, some as young as just 15 years old, which detailed that Maxwell herself had participated in the child sex abuse. Guiffre would allege that the Mossad-linked British socialite utilized her vastly expansive media connections to circulate stories defaming the victim’s credibility to undermine those accusations. By 2017, Maxwell was able to forge a settlement with Guiffre to avoid the defamation case going to court. Yet, the settlement would only delay the exposure of the sordid details contained in the dozens of depositions that Guiffre’s counsel would offer as evidence against Maxwell in the defamation case. Those depositions were taken from multiple cases against Maxwell and Epstein, among others such as a case brought against  legal scholar and alleged frequent Little St. James Island visitor Alan Dershowitz. The revelations contained within that deposition testimony offers tremendous insight into who the potential co-conspirators that will be named by federal prosecutors come October 11th could be.

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