Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty on 5 of 6 charges, including sex trafficking. Some expect her to cooperate with prosecutors to name other conspirators.
Summary
Ghislaine Maxwell, a “close associate” of Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted of five charges in federal court on Wednesday.
- For years, Maxwell would recruit underage girls for sexual exploitation by Epstein, who appears to have killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019.
- Attorneys for Maxwell intend to appeal the conviction, arguing their client was being punished for Epstein’s crimes.
- Now that she has been convicted of sex trafficking, Maxwell could also face new charges of perjury as a result of testimony she gave in 2016.
- CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson said it is possible Maxwell may cut a deal with prosecutors to turn over the names of anyone else involved in order to reduce her jail sentence.
- Slate detailed their reporter’s contact with “conspiracy theorists” watching the trial, who expected “this trial would unlock the secrets of the universe” and reveal an international conspiracy of child sex trafficking among the rich and powerful.
- The Daily Beast reported on the verdict’s effect on Prince Andrew’s prospects, who faces allegations from one of Epstein’s victims.
- Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz told the network that others involved in the recruitment, grooming, and abuse of Epstein’s victims should be worried at the prospect of Maxwell cooperating with the government.
- The New York Post highlighted Maxwell’s glitzy and glamorous lifestyle with Epstein, and how testimony of her status in the Epstein household corroborated that lifestyle.
- RedState’s missive on the guilty verdicts quotes Human Events that “all details of Epstein’s [personal] network have been ordered sealed” and suggested some people “want this story to go away forever.”
© Dallas Gerber, 2021