By Robert Willmann
(Update, Tuesday, 7 July: The hearing is now set for Tuesday morning, 14 July)--
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/files/gmaxwell_letter_hearing_to_be_14july.pdf
After being arrested in Bradford, New Hampshire last Thursday, before the Fourth of July weekend, Ghislaine Maxwell, charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein abuse underage girls, may have her arraignment, initial appearance, and bail hearing in Manhattan, New York City on Friday afternoon, 10 July.
In a letter dated and filed in the federal court on Sunday, 5 July, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) said that when in New Hampshire Maxwell had what would have been a brief appearance before a judge. This is required after an arrest, and is to occur "without unnecessary delay" [1].--
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/files/gmaxwell_letter_initial_appearance.pdf
The government asked that Maxwell be detained in custody until a trial, in a paper filed the day of the arrest. The motion for detention contains a few items of interest. She was born in France and is a citizen of and appears to have passports for at least France, Britain, and the U.S. The request for detention says: "Based on the Government’s investigation to date, the Government has identified more than 15 different bank accounts held by or associated with the defendant from 2016 to the present, and during that same period, the total balances of those accounts have ranged from a total of hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than $20 million"--
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/files/gmaxwell_motion_to_detain.pdf
The criminal indictment of Maxwell, which was unsealed the day of the arrest on 2 July, charges a curious time period of only "at least in or about 1994, up to and including at least in or about 1997", and refers to only three victims--
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/files/gmaxwell_indictment.pdf
The very limited written criminal charge can of course be seen as an opening gambit by the prosecution, since it can be expanded in a superseding indictment.
The letter filed with the court clerk identifies Christian Everdell as the current attorney for Maxwell; he had been a federal prosecutor in the SDNY for nearly 10 years [2]. In court documents a familiar surname appears as one of the SDNY co-prosecutors for the federal government -- Maurene Comey -- who was in the same role in the aborted prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein. The legal communities in New York City and Washington D.C. are two little clubs that sometimes tend to overlap.
If a court hearing takes place Friday, it will probably duplicate some of what happened in New Hampshire on 2 July. The big issue at this time is whether Ghislaine Maxwell will remain in custody or be released on bail under some specific conditions. Her arrest was described in an article in the British Daily Mail newspaper [3].
Documents from the 2 July court proceeding in New Hampshire have now been filed in the SDNY. Here are three of the 33 pages: the court clerk's docket sheet from Concord, New Hampshire, and the arrest warrant, which was authorized at the courthouse in White Plains, New York, and not in Manhattan! The pages that are excluded are the indictment, the order allowing a hearing by video and telephone conference, the commitment order to send Maxwell to the SDNY, and three pages that basically duplicate the clerk's docket sheet--
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/files/gmaxwell_new_hampshire_court_docs.pdf
The case is multi-sided. Ghislaine's father, Robert Maxwell, was a publisher who also was caught up in financial machinations. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1991 when he was found in the water outside of his large boat in the area of the Canary Islands. There were rumors he had relationships with government intelligence agencies. He was given a large funeral in Israel attended by Israeli politicians and was buried in a cemetery there. Ghislaine's close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is part of the factual foundation of the pending case. Epstein had been protected from criminal liability by the U.S. government through the Department of Justice which became evident in state and federal criminal cases developed against him in Florida that resulted in a disgraceful plea deal in Florida state court and in an equally disgraceful and concealed non-prosecution agreement with the federal government. Only through the determination of Florida attorney Bradley Edwards and Utah lawyer Paul Cassell, a former federal judge, was the perfidy of the federal government and Justice Department revealed through their lawsuit against the government under the Crime Victims' Rights Act--
Jeffery Epstein made some court appearances in his criminal case in the SDNY before he was said to have been found dead in the Manhattan federal Metropolitan Correctional Center from an "apparent suicide", when cameras were not working, blah blah blah. That explanation was rightfully laughed out of town. In terms of probability, Epstein was either murdered in the jail or was helped to escape.
And now here comes Ghislaine Maxwell.
[1] Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5. Initial Appearance.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_5
[2] https://www.cohengresser.com/attorney/christian-r-everdell/
All
I read that one of the victims listened to the arraignment on the telephone and a woman with a British accent could be heard sobbing and wailing in background and saying "How could this happen? How can this be?" Sounds like she thought she had her stay in NH "wired up."
Posted by: turcopolier | 06 July 2020 at 01:57 PM
Is Prince Andrew just a distraction in this case? Given the number of years involved and the number of politicians disgraced, coopted or corrupted during the same time frame he can't be the only one, and certainly doesn't seem to be the most important one.
Posted by: Fred | 06 July 2020 at 03:48 PM
Colonel,
Your initial instincts now appear correct. I'll explain separately.
Posted by: J | 06 July 2020 at 03:49 PM
IMO, anyone expecting that the plutocrat pedo ring will be busted will be sorely disappointed and is not paying attention to justice in contemporary America!
Sir Epstein was reportedly at the epicenter of a pedo ring for decades. He clearly engaged in all this with impunity for a long while. Including getting a sweetheart deal from the US attorney in Miami who landed up as Trump's Labor Secretary. This indictment is for the period 1994-97 so far. It would imply that Prince Andrew and Dershowitz are off the hook. Also, Virginia Roberts Guiffre's sex trafficking claims are not part of this indictment, while a judge has ordered her to destroy evidence. She also has a defamation case against Ghislaine Maxwell.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8483209/Attorneys-representing-Virginia-Giuffre-ordered-destroy-evidence.html
Posted by: blue peacock | 06 July 2020 at 04:37 PM
Given the American take on jail permeability, I wonder how long she will survive.
Posted by: Master Slacker | 06 July 2020 at 04:51 PM
master slacker
All the word wonders. If the Trumpies are serious about this they will hide her in a safe house somewhere surrounded by Trump loyalists.
Posted by: turcopolier | 06 July 2020 at 04:53 PM
Makes good summer time beachside reading - lurid and steamy.
Posted by: Deap | 06 July 2020 at 05:34 PM
Robert, thanks for keeping us up to speed with the legal details.
Do you have an opinion on whether count three's mention of co-conspirators may be significant, or the fact that the Public Corruption Unit are handling the case?
Colonel, my first thought when I heard the story of the sobbing woman with a British accent was that it could easily have be staged, so as to give the impression of justice being done. Cynicism is hard to escape in this case, though I try to keep an open mind.
Posted by: Barbara Ann | 06 July 2020 at 05:53 PM
Can Rbt. Willmann, or somebody else knowledgeable, explain the precise reason a judge is ordering the DESTRUCTION of evidence?
Judges can and do order information be kept under seal.
So why the irreversible step of ordering destruction??
Any references would be appreciated.
Posted by: Keith Harbaugh | 06 July 2020 at 06:24 PM
We'll find out if Bill Barr is for real or just another swamp creature in sheep's clothing.
Still waiting on the Durham "investigation" and the election is only 4 months away.
Posted by: TV | 06 July 2020 at 06:24 PM
Fred - You mention the Duke of York. I don't think he's all there -
https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/12/01/wikileaks-reveals-the-mixed-blessings-of-royal-diplomacy/
"I can’t judge Prince Andrew; we’ve all been young once,” Jordan’s Prince Hassan told an English interviewer. I'm not sure whether that's a barbed comment or not given that the Duke is scarcely in his first youth.
"Andrew is naive and unworldly, a product of the royal bubble." says another scandal sheet. I suspect he may well be innocent of everything except naivety.
Naivety in the Epstein circle could lead to a lot of trouble. I'm surprised the Palace establishment let one of their charges out without a minder. Bit late now.
Posted by: English Outsider | 06 July 2020 at 07:19 PM
Colonel,
re: "they will hide her in a safe house somewhere surrounded by Trump loyalists"
I and my friends are wondering if there are any "Trump Loyalists" at all in Washington. Are there? Are they effective?
Folks in Turkey are following this story closely. Some have remarked that if anything at all happens to Maxwell, it would indicate that the Federal Republic of the USA is finished as a working polity. I hope she does not die of a heart attack. No one here would believe it.
Ishmael Zechariah
Posted by: Ishmael Zechariah | 06 July 2020 at 07:49 PM
Let's hope the Federal Detention Center in Brooklyn is more secure than the one in Manhattan where Epstein was held.
What about Epstein's other accomplices that helped to recruit underage girls? Maxwell was just one of several.
Wiki entry on Maxwell says that she also associated with Kevin Spacey a self-confessed a$$ bandit. So the question arises, was she also pimping out underage poolboys?
Posted by: JP Billen | 06 July 2020 at 08:05 PM
This is a very good read on Ghislaine's options:
https://medium.com/@dylanhoward/ghislaines-last-stand-if-epstein-s-accomplice-tells-all-will-the-fallout-be-too-much-even-for-u-s-8fc87089da
Posted by: TV | 06 July 2020 at 09:52 PM
I read an interesting point I can't really evaluate on my own, which is that the prosecution is coming out of the FBI's Public Corruption Unit, which is a department specifically designed to deal with issues arising from prosecution of politicians. Reportedly they suss out subtle quid-pro-quos, rarely settle, and indicates there could be more interesting layers to this case.
Posted by: Dan | 06 July 2020 at 09:59 PM
https://theconversation.com/these-are-the-customers-who-support-sex-trafficking-in-the-us-121866
Looks like they were in good company
Posted by: mcohen | 06 July 2020 at 10:25 PM
Senator Graham won't nominate Clayton:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/503711-graham-signals-he-wont-take-up-us-attorney-pick-without-schumer-gillibrand
The fact Graham won't approve Trump's nominee to oversee the case against Ghislaine is very odd.
Posted by: FakeBot | 06 July 2020 at 10:40 PM
Anyone who ever appeared in a picture partying with Epstein needs to be questioned up to, and including, POTUS.
But let's start with Cindy McCain.
Posted by: Vegetius | 06 July 2020 at 11:29 PM
The Daily Mail (print edition) splashes all over its front page that Christopher Steele (THE Christopher Steele) has now produced another "dossier" claiming that a lot of Britain's top influential people, including politicians, are being bribed by the Chinese company Huawei to support Huawei's involvement in the construction of Britain's 5G.
The BBC reports on the Mail story:
"For its main story, the Daily Mail says the diplomatic war over Huawei's involvement in Britain's 5G network has taken an extraordinary twist, after a dossier accused China of trying to manipulate key establishment figures in the UK to back the telecoms giant.
It says the report, commissioned by a New York film producer, names several prominent individuals, claiming the aim was to make them China's "useful idiots".
The paper says those identified in the report have issued statements strenuously denying knowledge of or involvement in any such operation.
A Huawei spokesman is quoted as saying the company categorically rejects the unfounded allegations, which it says are the latest in a long-running American campaign against it."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-53315418
(A New York film producer????)
Unfortunately I am banned from The Mail's site just as I am banned from this site so I am unable to provide a web address for the story.
Posted by: johnf | 07 July 2020 at 01:58 AM
More on the Steele story here:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/06/peer-baffled-by-claims-he-was-targeted-by-fake-pr-campaign-to-boost-huawei
Posted by: johnf | 07 July 2020 at 02:12 AM
Does she have an Izzy passport or not? Other passports are worthless.
Posted by: Charlie Wilson | 07 July 2020 at 09:13 AM
English Outsider
The prince in question is acting his class - using others because that what they do.
Wodehouse made them look more palatable than they really were.
Posted by: BABAK MAKKINEJAD | 07 July 2020 at 03:31 PM
Ishmael Zechariah
Absolutely.
This would not have happened in the United States in 1955, she was a different country then.
Posted by: BABAK MAKKINEJAD | 07 July 2020 at 03:42 PM
mcohen,
Lumping together adult women engaging in prostitution with the sexual abuse of children is, in my opinion, not the most honest way of thinking about these issues. If Prince Andrew had spent a night with a 25 year old call girl that would have been entirely different than what he did.
Posted by: JamesT | 07 July 2020 at 04:07 PM
Ishmael Zechariah,
"They" don't care if the average guy on the street believes anything. "They" have the media control and can spin anything and create enough confusion. Note the reaction to Epstein's death. The average guy believes he was murdered or spirited out, but does it matter.
We also don't know how "clean" Trump's hands are in this affair. He knew Epstein and is photographed with him along wth Melania. What we don't know is if he partook and what he knew about the pedo ring. He is quoted as saying that Epstein enjoyed younger women.
The Epstein case is interesting because of its brazenness and the length of time the pedo ring ran. From the sweetheart deal from the US attorney in Miami, to all those associated with him and the continuation of these activities in the open even after it became known.
My bet is that it will all be buried. Ghislaine may not survive this, precisely because of the fear that at some stage she may spill some of the beans either in a "tell-all" memoir or in an unguarded moment or out of remorse. She will have the opportunity to "spin".
Posted by: blue peacock | 07 July 2020 at 05:09 PM