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Why Jeffrey Epstein remains a mystery and Prince Andrew can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being: 5 insights into the Epstein process
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Half-time in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime confidante of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Five findings from the first two weeks of the New York federal trial.
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Ghislaine Maxwell (left) talking to her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim in a New York courtroom. Photographs are not allowed in US federal courts.
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Now it is the turn of the defense. After ten days, the prosecution concluded the evidence in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime companion of the late sex criminal and financier Jeffrey Epstein, on Friday. Five takeaways from the first phase of the trial in New York federal court.
There are holes in the evidence
The New York prosecutor accuses Maxwell of having served Epstein as a pimp and of bringing underage victims to the sex offender. In order to substantiate this allegation before the jury, the prosecution called four Epstein victims to the stand. But these got entangled in contradictions, at least from the point of view of the defense. Maxwell’s lawyers pointed out contemporary interrogation protocols or diary entries in which the victims only talked about Epstein, but not about Maxwell.
The public prosecutor’s office has not yet been able to convince
A trial in federal court has little in common with a court show on television; However, prosecutors are successful when they can tell a convincing story to the jury. The prosecution has failed to do this in the past two weeks. As a result, key prosecution witnesses appeared strangely unprepared. Ultimately, this may not matter if the jury believes the terrible victim stories; but judgments before the federal court must be unanimous. So it would be a success for the defense if they could convince a single juror of Maxwell’s innocence.
Jeffrey Epstein remains a mystery
Sure: Maxwell, now 59, is on trial and not Epstein, who died in a New York prison in the summer of 2020 at the age of 66. But the two were a couple, at least in the nineties: They supposedly stayed in the same bedroom in a New York townhouse, and she also managed the numerous properties he owned for him. So it would have been only logical if the prosecution had shed some light on Epstein. How did he make his money? Why did he keep flying around the world? And: did he actually surround himself with the rich and beautiful of this world? All of these questions have so far remained unanswered in court.
Prince Andrew got off scot-free so far
Speaking of the rich and beautiful: In the first two weeks of Maxwell’s trial, the names Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were mentioned in federal court in New York. A former Epstein pilot said he regularly transported celebrities’ private planes. This is “bad news” for the people mentioned – whoever wanted to see could know that Epstein was surrounded by noticeably young women (and girls).
But Prince Andrews & Co. are not on trial. There was therefore no speculation in the federal court about a possible complicity of influential people, which might also explain why Epstein got off scot-free for so long. The prosecution refrained from calling Virginia Roberts to the stand. The woman, who now lives in Australia, says that Prince Andrew raped her.
Will Maxwell testify?
The central question in the second half of the trial is: Will Ghislaine Maxwell take the stand? Usually lawyers advise clients not to take this step. But Maxwell may be tempted to defy that advice – because she feels like the justice system is holding her accountable for Epstein’s crimes. That would be a high risk decision.
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