Maxwell’s lawyers seek to undermine the credibility of the accusers

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There was a good time this week Ghislaine MaxwellThe worst case case for sexual smuggling. It came as his defense lawyer recounted all that one of Maxwell’s accusers had done in his career as a soap operager: a car accident victim, a cancer patient, a prostitute and another murdered murderer, and others.
“I forgot about him,” the woman, now in her 40’s and known as “Jane”, He replied.
Then the lawyer, Laura Menninger, came up with the idea: Jane was, he said, a well-trained liar. His testimony about the rape he had suffered at the age of 14 was compelling. “You’re a player who shows someone off for sure to get money,” the lawyer said. “You can cry when you order.”
The exchange revealed the evils of Maxwell’s case: in order to win, British socialite lawyers must break the integrity of Jane and three other people who are expected to testify that Maxwell seduced them. Jeffrey Epstein‘and at times he engaged in sexual misconduct. Maxwell has denied any wrongdoing.
Denial of a defendant’s credibility in such a case is not a new legal procedure. What can change is the way it plays out during the MeToo era where many people are re-examining how they can receive and respond to the grievances of abused women. Defensive defense that would have offended judges, say lawyers, now some may see them as embarrassing.
Elie Honig, a former state attorney who handled rape cases, stated: “It is a very dangerous practice. “It’s probably the only way Ghislaine Maxwell but. If the judges praise these women and trust them, then she is a cook. “
Maxwell is one of two prominent women who are being prosecuted this week for gender equality and justice. In San Jose, California, Elizabeth Holmes, who was previously the founder of a blood test company called Theranos, attempted to answer a fraud charge by telling the jurja that he was in the hands of an oppressive girlfriend and business associate. “She touched everything about who I was and I don’t understand her very well,” she said Monday.
In Manhattan, Maxwell ‘s lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, also accused his client of being a victim, arguing in the opening words of the Bible that Maxwell was made a scapegoat for Epstein’s sins. “Ever since Eve was blamed for tempting Adam and the apostle, women have been held accountable for their misconduct, and women are often the target of ridicule and punishment more often than men,” says Sternheim.
Surprisingly, Maxwell’s case is a competition for successful women. Menninger and the infamous Sternheim lead the opposition team consisting of Alison Moe, Lara Pomerantz and Maurene Comey. The presiding judge is the infamous Alison Nathan, who was appointed last month by President Joe Biden to federal court. Then there’s Maxwell, himself.
The Oxford-trained daughter of the late British journalist and financier Robert Maxwell went through a Manhattan show when he arrived in the early 1990s. He became Epstein’s best friend and superintendent, including the largest New York mansion and Caribbean island. He was arrested in 2020, one year later found hanging in Manhattan Prison awaiting trial for the mistreatment of many young girls.
Prosecutors say they supported Epstein’s plot because it helped him to trust vulnerable girls like Jane, who told the judges this week how the two started talking to her while eating ice cream on a picnic bench. summer camp in Michigan in 1994. She was 14. “I thought they were married,” says Jane.
Jane recalled that her father had died of cancer months earlier and that their home had been destroyed. A few weeks after the first meeting, Epstein sent a truck driver to bring him and his mother to his parents. Palm Beach a place where tea, he explained, he likes to support young artists, he explained.
She began to return alone every week, Jane testified. There was fun and pool by Ghislaine, who was seen to her as a “big sister”, with trips to the movies and shopping. Then one day Epstein took her home and beat her, Jane said. Afterwards, he testified, Maxwell showed him how to massage the genitals on Epstein which sometimes turns into celebrations.
“They pushed me off the bed and stripped me of my clothes,” she said, recalling how that first such incident took place.
Testifying, Jane said, hoping to close: “This is something I’ve been running away from all my life.”
But first he had to deal with questions from Menninger, who had been up all day attacking Jane’s subject. He also said that the evidence exacerbated his family’s problems, he was encouraged by the money (he received $ 5m from Epstein’s victims ‘fund which was $ 2.9m after the lawyers’ fine), and he had to come years ago. He also pointed to inconsistencies between Jane’s testimony and government documents in various discussions with her.
“Do you remember this in the last two years?” Menninger asked later, after meeting Jane with a 2019 conference statement stating that she “did not really remember” about her first massage with Maxwell. Jane was also filled with embarrassing questions about her memory of Epstein’s oral sex, breast squeezing, masturbation and the use of vibrators.
For Barry Salzman, a Florida lawyer who works as a scapegoat and a representative of Epstein’s victims, it was cheap. “Over the years, security has a lot to play with remembering mistakes,” Salzman said. He further states: “In this country, it is not uncommon — but not always — for victims of sexual harassment by law enforcement agencies to do so.”
Salzman does not expect Maxwell ‘s lawyers to pull their punches when the other women are standing. “She just lost everything she could on this. She’s 70 years old [in prison], ”He said, asking:“ Who can blame himself for this? ”
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