British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, is pictured in 1991. She now faces multiple counts related to sex trafficking of minors and perjury. She has pleaded not guilty.  Jim James/AP British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, is pictured in 1991. She now faces multiple counts related to sex trafficking of minors and perjury. She has pleaded not guilty. Jim James/AP

Judge releases trove of sealed records related to lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell

Updated at 2 p.m. ET

 

A federal judge has unsealed hundreds of pages of deposition transcripts and other documents related to a now-settled defamation suit brought against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping the late Jeffrey Epstein run a sex trafficking operation that catered to rich and powerful men.

The 47 documents include a deposition given by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the draft of a memoir she was writing about her experiences inside the sex-trafficking ring, and previously unseen email exchanges between Maxwell and Epstein.

A centerpiece of the documents remains sealed: Maxwell's own deposition transcripts from 2016. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska granted a stay on those records and a transcript from "John Doe 1" until Monday to give Maxwell's defense team time to seek a stay in appellate court.

Maxwell, Epstein's ex-girlfriend, was charged earlier this month on several counts related to sex trafficking of minors and perjury. She has pleaded not guilty in that case. Giuffre brought the 2015 defamation suit after the British socialite accused her of lying when she alleged Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused and exploited her.

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Some of the documents released late Thursday night are being seen publicly for the first time; others have been released before but now have different or no redactions.

In an excerpt of Giuffre's deposition in May 2016, she said Maxwell and Epstein ordered her to have sex with men by telling her to give them a "massage."

"And when they say massage, they mean erotic, OK?" Giuffre said, adding later, "That's their code word."

At one point, the attorney questioning Giuffre ran down a list of prominent men with whom she said she was told to have sex.

"Other than Glenn Dubin, Stephen Kaufmann, Prince Andrew, Jean-Luc Brunel, Bill Richardson, another prince, the large hotel chain owner and Marvin Minsky, is there anyone else that Ghislaine Maxwell directed you to go have sex with?"

"I am definitely sure there is," Giuffre replied. "But can I remember everybody's name? No."

A similar list of names appeared last year in court documents unsealed in the federal case against Epstein on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Many of those men have denied the allegations against them. When NPR contacted Richardson, the former New Mexico governor, last year, a spokesperson said, "The charges are completely false."

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By Bill Chappell
By Scott Neuman
(Source: npr.org; July 31, 2020; https://tinyurl.com/y26cmlzv)
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