Jeffrey Epstein ‘pimp’ Ghislaine Maxwell shamelessly fights to keep names of 100s of paedo’s celebrity pals secret
JEFFREY Epstein's personal ‘pimp’ Ghislaine Maxwell is shamelessly fighting to keep the names of hundreds of the paedo’s closest celebrity pals secret.
Attorneys for the sex offender's former friend are asking a federal judge to keep court records sealed for the sake of the socialite's privacy and the reputation of Epstein's alleged accomplices.
"The sealed testimony or summaries may inappropriately influence potential witnesses or alleged victims."
SECRET FILES
The sealed court filings refer to the civil defamation lawsuit filed against Maxwell in 2015 by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has maintained she was used as a sex slave by Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in a toilet aged 17.
Although the case has since been settled, sealed and redacted court filings are said to contain the names of hundreds of Epstein's wealthy and celebrity pals.
The sealed records include the identities of people who provided information in the case as well as the names of alleged victims and individuals accused of enabling Epstein or participating in the abuse.
Epstein socialized with high-profile business leaders, scientists, royalty and politicians including Prince Andrew, President Trump and the Clintons.
A lengthy 418-page transcript of one of Maxwell's depositions in the case is now being considered for release.
However, Maxwell's attorneys argue the deposition was given under an expectation of confidentiality that had been agreed to by both parties, according to Maxwell's court filing.
"This series of pleadings concerns [Giuffre's] attempt to compel Ms. Maxwell to answer intrusive questions about her sex life," Pagliuca wrote.
"The subject matter of these [documents] is extremely personal, confidential, and subject to considerable abuse by the media."
The subject matter of these [documents] is extremely personal, confidential, and subject to considerable abuse by the media.
Maxwell's attorney, Jeffrey Pagliuca
The collection of documents now under review for potential release by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska represents a small portion of the thousands of pages of documents that must be reviewed for potential release.
The process could drag on for many months.
'EPSTEIN'S PIMP'
Giuffre alleges that she was procured by “madame” Maxwell, 58, the daughter of disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell, as a teenage “sex slave” for Epstein.
She also accused Maxwell of facilitating and participating in the abuse of underage girls.
Giuffre - formerly Roberts - is now a 36-year-old mother living in Australia.
She released a manuscript just hours before Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The manuscript added to more than 2,000 documents of a lawsuit pending against the former financier and his pals.
The legal documents were released in a defamation case involving Giuffre, who in 2015 claimed Prince Andrew slept with her three times.
Giuffre also claimed that she had sex with Prince Andrew in a toilet when she was 17, after a night where he had been plying her with vodka in a posh London club.
The royal has vehemently denied the accusations against him, branding them "false" and "without foundation".
Maxwell has also denied the allegations.
However, Roberts has stood by her accusations.
Maxwell's attorneys argue that the bulk of the sealed documents and exhibits should stay sealed.
They maintain that the filings "were gratuitous and served no legitimate purpose" when they were submitted by Giuffre's attorneys.
Lawyers representing Giuffre, Maxwell, the Miami Herald, and an anonymous individual who intervened to assert privacy interests, have been haggling for the last several months over whether to unseal the records.
Giuffre has advocated for near-total disclosure of the records, while Maxwell and her attorneys have argued there could be potentially "life-changing" reputational damage to those whose names are made public.
Giuffre's attorney, Sigrid McCawley, wrote in a statement: "The documents and exhibits should be carefully examined for the vivid, detailed and tragic story they tell in the face of cursory, bumper sticker-like statements by those accused.
"Virginia Roberts Giuffre is a survivor and a woman to be believed. She believes a reckoning of inevitable accountability has begun."
The morning after the first set of documents was made public, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell.
Maxwell has disappeared since the paedo financier's death last year and strongly denies all allegations of sexual misconduct made against her.
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