Live update on bail hearing for Ghislaine Maxwell

Today belongs to Virginia Jiuffre, Maria Farmer and the other women who have come forward.

Also to Whitney Webb, Shaun Atwood and the TruNews team that have not let go of this story.

LOCK HER UP! EDWARD 

SZALL REPORTS FROM 

GHISLAINE MAXWELL BAIL 

HEARING IN NYC

Listen to "Lock Her Up! Edward Szall Reports from Ghislaine Maxwell Bail Hearing in NYC" on Spreaker.

Today on TruNews, co-host Edward Szall broadcasts live from New York in front of Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion, as the bail hearing for Ghislaine Maxwell was underway earlier in the day. Rick Wiles also provides extended commentary of the denial of freedom to Maxwell by Judge Alison Nathan. Later in the program, our TRUNEWS team has the opportunity to tour of the Vatican envoy’s home, located directly behind Epstein’s infamous Manhattan domicile. 

Rick Wiles, Doc Burkhart, Edward Szall Airdate 07/14/2020

Watch the podcast HERE

LIVE UPDATES: JUDGE DENIES BAIL FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan Says The Former Associate Of Jeffrey Epstein Didn't Adequately Describe Her Financial Resources, Posed An Extreme Flight Risk, And Wasn't Necessarily Susceptible To COVID-19.

TruNews,

15 July, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE – This is an ongoing liveblog of today’s arraignment and bail hearing for Ghislaine Maxwell. The most recent update will appear first with previous updates and the original report to follow below)

3:15 P.M. EDT UPDATE – The federal judge hearing a defense request to release Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell on $5 million bail has ruled against releasing her prior to trial.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan said the British socialite who also possesses French, American, and Israeli citizenship failed to provide a full accounting of her financial assets, making any attempt to set bail “impossible.” She went on to say no condition of release would be sufficient to ensure Maxwell didn’t flee the country prior to trial.

Noting Maxwell did stay in the country for the past year, the judge said it’s impossible to know if the defendant actually ever thought she might be charged by the U.S. government. She also noted the government’s case against Maxwell “appears strong.” She concluded:

“The risks are simply too great.”

Addressing Maxwell’s attorneys’ arguments made today, Nathan said she found the example of Bernie Madoff’s bail “wanting.” She also noted Maxwell’s attorneys made no specific argument about their client’s health that would make her particularly susceptible to COVID-19.

3 P.M. EDT UPDATE – Now that both sides have made their final arguments regarding a bail request for Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the judge says she will soon make a decision on the defense attorneys’ request.

Maxwell’s attorneys continued their attack on federal prosecutors’ claims that she is concealing her true wealth, suggesting the hearing “should not turn into some mini-investigation” of her personal finances. Her lead attorney, Mark Cohen, neglected to note that his client is legally obligated to state all of her assets when bail is being set.

He then claimed that his client only transferred assets during her time in hiding because she had been blacklisted by a bank. He did not specify what bank had dropped her and the judge didn’t ask him to clarify.

They also claimed they put together the best bail proposal they could under the circumstances, claiming they had limited time to explore all of her personal assets.

Cohen also said his team intends to push forward with their challenge of her arrest on the grounds that she was protected by the non-prosecution agreement hammered out between federal prosecutors in Florida and attorneys representing Epstein. This is the second time they have claimed the NPA also covers their client.

In rebuttal, the lead prosecutor in the case, Allison Moe, said there was never any discussion of Maxwell voluntarily surrendering because they were concerned she would flee the moment her attorney informed her she was about to be arrested. She claimed there was no dispute that Maxwell was living in hiding after Epstein’s arrest.

She also attacked the defense’s financial submissions, asking:

“She cannot remember off the top of her head how many millions she has? That should concern the court.”

Moe also argued the Epstein NPA has no bearing on the Maxwell case because she wasn’t a party to the agreement.

2:30 P.M. EDT UPDATE – The first of Ghislaine Maxwell’s alleged victims has provided her statement to the court that is now weighing whether or not to allow her to be released on bail prior to her trial next year.

The statement, read by federal prosectors, states that “without Ghislaine, Jeffrey [Epstein] could not have done what he did.” She went on to say the disgraced pedophile financier’s alleged accomplice engaged in “calculating and sadistic manipulation” to entice and groom her for Epstein.

The victim, Jane Doe, said that if Maxwell is released, she and her 2-year-old child will need round-the-clock protection. She noted that her child’s life was threatened after she testified in a separate proceeding, adding:

“[Maxwell’s] sole purpose is that of self-preservation. She will never admit what she’s done … I know how many lives she has ruined, and she has nothing to lose by fleeing.”

That blistering statement was followed by live testimony by alleged victim Annie Farmer, who has previously made her identity public. She said Maxwell was a sexual predator who “never showed any remorse.”

Maxwell’s attorneys responded by saying she’s “not the monster” the prosecutors have portrayed, adding that she is part of a “very large and close family” and has many friends with whom she can stay while electronically monitored. They also argued it’s “not realistic” to expect them to mount a defense and prepare for trial while she is in custody in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Her attorneys say they also received a number of threatening messages. However, they focused much of their arguments on case law surrounding bail and the government’s burden of proof that she is a flight risk. The case of Bernie Madoff was cited, which the judge noted didn’t involved anyone with “significant international ties.”

Maxwell’s attorneys also claimed they were in contact with prosecutors “eight to 10 times” in the past year. Had they been given advance notice of the indictment, they claim their client would have willfully surrendered – but the judge asked if they had notified prosecutors of their willingness to voluntarily surrender, a process described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Her lead attorney, Mark Cohen, said they had merely argued against indictment, but claimed he was easily accessible to arrange a voluntary surrender. He also countered prosecutors’ claims his client was attempting to flee, saying she was in pajamas at the time of her arrest and she went to a back room of the house because it was part of her security detail’s protocols whenever someone came to the house unannounced.

2 P.M. EDT UPDATE – Prosecutors say the trial of former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell should take no more than two weeks to complete.

Ultimately, the judge set a trial timeline that would have oral arguments begin July 12, 2021. Both sides agreed, setting the stage for the real fireworks of the day: the bail arguments.

Prosecutors argued that Maxwell is “an extreme flight risk” who should be detained before trial, noting she “spent the last year making concerted efforts to conceal her whereabouts.” They also described her as a “predator with a preference for underage girls” who enticed and groomed victims as young as 14 to have sex with Epstein.

The judge asked about reports that Maxwell had been in touch with prosecutors a year prior to her arrest. But they said that contact “has not been substantial,” adding that they were through her lawyers, who did not provide information about her whereabouts.

Prosecutors also provided details about how the New Hampshire home where Maxwell was eventually arrested was sold to her. They said two people – both described as “British” – toured the home with the real estate agent. One was said to be an author, the other was a journalist. Maxwell concealed her identity by using the name “Jane Marshall.”

They also noted that when agents arrived at her home to arrest her, she resisted opening the door and had used tinfoil in an effort to hide her cellphone. When she was arrested, she could not tell FBI agents the name of the company that bought her home.

They also noted that Maxwell has reported no income, yet her lifestyle suggests otherwise. These pieces of evidence, they added, suggests she is hiding her assets and has established aliases that could be used while on the run, if she were allowed to be freed on bail.

Maxwell’s attorneys have noted that the judge has granted compassionate release to inmates during the course of the pandemic, and quoted from one of those orders in which the judge had described COVID-19 as “unprecedented and extraordinarily dangerous.” They said if she is not released, it will mean one additional year in detention as she awaits trial.

1:30 P.M. EDT UPDATE – The arraignment and bail hearing for former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell is now well underway.

Maxwell pled not guilty to all charges and offered to surrender her American, French, and UK passports, but no mention was made of her Israeli passport. The move was intended to prove she would not be a “flight risk” as suggested by prosecutors.

Prosecutors also proposed a timeline for the trial that would have “discovery” – the collection of evidence by both sides – ending by Nov. 9. Defense motions could be filed up to Dec. 21, and government responses could be filed by Jan. 22 with trial to follow sometime in the first quarter of 2021.

The prosecutors also said they do not anticipate any new charges, but added their investigation is still ongoing. They noted that evidence collected in Palm Beach County, Fla. – likely a reference to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein – is now in their possession in Manhattan.

All three victims will present their statements against Maxwell being allowed to be free on bail pending trial. One was included in the prosecutors’ response to the motion, another will be read by a prosecutor, and a third victim will speak directly to the judge.

1 P.M. EDT UPDATE – The proceedings are set to begin. A small pool of reporters – including TruNews correspondent Edward Szall – have been allowed to report live from the courtroom. In addition to her formal arraignment, Ghislaine Maxwell will be present vie video conference for a hearing on a motion by her attorneys to allow her to be free on $5 million bail ahead of her trial.

To speak to the danger of allowing that to happen, prosecutors have asked one of her alleged victims to speak before the judge today. The identity of the alleged victim will be shielded. Even if bail is granted, Maxwell will remain incarcerated while prosecutors simultaneously:

• fit her for an electronic bracelet,

• verify her financial status, as well as those who have pledged additional security on her bail bond, and file an emergency appeal.

The hearing is being held in a jury assembly room, typically used for the jury selection process for federal trials. The judge, a court reporter, and up to 60 spectators will be allowed in the room due to social distancing requirements. Those in attendance were required to have their temperatures taken and to answer a questionnaire – which included questions about participation in church services.

ORIGINAL REPORT – A federal judge is expected to decide this afternoon whether to grant bail to Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime associate who has been charged with luring young girls so the late financier could sexually abuse them.

Maxwell’s formal arraignment will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan’s Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege she helped Epstein recruit and sexually abuse girls from 1994 to 1997, and then lied about it in depositions taken in 2016.

In a new filing Monday afternoon, those same prosecutors detailed why they believe she is a “flight risk” – someone very likely to flee and go into hiding to evade recapture – if she is released on bail ahead of her upcoming trial. They said she had former British military operatives guarding her New Hampshire hideout and was discovered by authorities with a cell phone wrapped in tinfoil to avoid detection.

They further argued:

“There will be no trial for the victims if the defendant is afforded the opportunity to flee the jurisdiction, and there is every reason to think that is exactly what she will do if she is released. For the reasons detailed in the Detention Memorandum, and as further discussed below, the defendant poses a clear risk of flight, and no conditions of bail could reasonably assure her continued appearance in this case. Among other concerns:

• she is a citizen of a country that does not extradite its own citizens;

• she appears to have access to considerable wealth domestically and abroad;

• her finances are completely opaque, as her memorandum pointedly declines to provide the Court with information about her financial resources; and she appears to be skilled at living in hiding.

“These are glaring red flags, even before the Court considers the gravity of the charges in this case and the serious penalties the defendant faces if convicted at trial.

“Instead of attempting to address the risks of releasing a defendant with apparent access to extraordinary financial resources, who has the ability to live beyond the reach of extradition in France, and who has already demonstrated a willingness and ability to live in hiding, the defendant instead proposes a bail package that amounts to little more than an unsecured bond. Among other things, the proposed bail package contemplates the defendant pledging as the sole security a property that is beyond the territory and judicial reach of the United States, and which therefore is of no value as collateral. She proposes six unidentified co-signers, an unknown number of whom even reside in the United States, and none of whose assets are identified. The Court and the Government have no information whatsoever regarding whether these co-signers would be able to able to pay the proposed $5 million bond should the defendant flee – or if, of equal concern, the co-signers are themselves so wealthy that it would be no financial burden whatsoever to do so.

“The defendant does not identify what residence she proposes to live at in the Southern District of New York, nor does she identify any meaningful ties to the area. And most importantly, the defendant’s memorandum provides the Court with no information whatsoever about her own finances or her access to the wealth of others, declining to provide the Court the very information that would inform any decision about whether a bond is even meaningful to the defendant – and which the Government submits would reveal the defendant’s financial means to flee and live comfortably abroad for the rest of her life.”

Maxwell was arrested on July 2 in Bradford, N.H., where authorities said she was hiding out at a 156-acre property she bought last December in an all-cash transaction with her identity shielded. Her lawyers said she moved there, and changed her phone and email address, to escape “unrelenting and intrusive media coverage.”

But in their new filing, prosecutors said that when FBI agents went to arrest Maxwell, they had to forcibly enter her home, where she hid in an interior room, and found a cellphone wrapped in tin foil in an apparent effort to evade detection. The FBI spoke with her security guard and found that her brother had hired a security company which employed former members of the British military to guard the home in rotations.

Maxwell had given one of the guards a credit card that had the same name as the LLC which had purchased her New Hampshire home, the filing said. The security guard with whom the FBI spoke said that Maxwell had never left the property since he began working there and that the guard ran necessary errands for the property using the credit card Maxwell gave him.

Though Maxwell’s attorneys argued that she took these extreme measures to avoid unwanted press attention, the prosecutors said that this argument “entirely misses the point.” They wrote:

“The defendant’s conduct is clearly relevant to the Court’s assessment of her risk of flight, because it evidences her readiness and ability to live in hiding, and to do so indefinitely. As such, even if her behavior in the last year could be attributed solely to her desire to avoid media attention, that should give the Court serious concerns about what steps she would be willing to take to avoid federal prison.

“Second, the fact that the defendant took these measures to conceal herself after Epstein was indicted in this District – and after the Government announced that its investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirators was ongoing – cannot be ignored. To the contrary, these measures are at least equally consistent with the notion that the defendant also sought to evade detection by law enforcement.”

Maxwell is expected to plead not guilty to six criminal charges, including four related to transporting minors for illegal sexual acts, and two for perjury. She has been held since July 6 at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a Brooklyn jail, and is expected to appear by video conference at today’s 1 p.m. EDT arraignment.

(Reuters and The Daily Caller contributed to this report)