Deposition From 2016 Epstein and Maxwell Case Unsealed

A deposition from 2016 has been released that shows that the former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein claimed she had not seen him perform any “inappropriate underage activities”.

The testimony by Ghislaine Maxwell was made during a civil defamation lawsuit that she has since fought to keep secret, even though the lawsuit, brought by one of Epstein’s accusers Virginia Giuffre, had been settled.

US District Judge Loretta Preska allowed the transcripts to be released despite lawyers for Ms. Maxwell claiming that it could affect her trial next year as well as potentially breach her constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Ms. Maxwell has been accused of aiding Epstein as he trafficked and sexually abused under aged girls as well as perjury for lying under oath when she gave her original deposition.

If convicted, the 58 year old, who is still in custody following her July arrest, could be served with a prison sentence of up to 35 years.

According to the deposition, Ms. Giuffre sued Ms. Maxwell after she referred to Ms. Giuffre as a liar. Ms. Maxwell denied several allegations in the deposition including the claim that she had seen the financier having sex saying “I never saw any inappropriate underage activities with Jeffrey ever.”

Ms. Maxwell was also asked if she knew of any sexual acts between masseuses and Epstein that may have been non-consensual, to which she replied, “All the time that I have been in the house I have never seen, heard, nor witnessed, nor have [had] reported to me that any activities took place, that people were in distress, either reported to me by the staff or anyone else.”

Ms. Maxwell continued that all staff she had employed to work within Epstein’s properties were over 18 years old. She also denied having taken part in any sexual activities with any of the staff.

When asked if she believed Epstein could have been sexually abused any minors Ms. Maxwell responded that she could “only testify to what I know. I know that Virginia is a liar.”

In the deposition Ms. Giuffre had claimed that she had been employed as a masseuse to Epstein while she was still underage. Furthermore she claimed that she was kept as a “sex slave” by Epstein something Ms. Maxwell helped with.

Speaking on behalf of Ms. Giuffre her lawyer Sigrid McCawley said that the permission for the deposition to be unsealed was “a long time coming and a welcome step towards revealing the evidence of the scope and scale of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking ring.”

Ms. Maxwell is the ninth daughter of the former newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell who built his publishing empire – which included British company Mirror Group Newspapers and the New York Daily News – after working his way out of poverty in Czechoslovakia.

Born in 1923 Mr Maxwell had appeared to be something of a success story following his escape from Nazi occupation and his subsequent enlisting in the Czechoslovakian army during World War II. His military career saw him become a dedicated war hero.

While living in the UK Mr. Maxwell served as a politician in the Labor Party and at one time was estimated to worth around $1.9 billion.

However, after his naked body was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean in November 1991 it soon came to light that he had in fact had financial difficulties and had been stealing from his employees pension funds in an attempt to keep his empire going. More than $900 million had been taken from the pension funds leaving many struggling in their later years.

Ms. Maxwell had been educated at Oxford and it is claimed that as a well-connected socialite she was able to introduce Epstein to many of her influential friends, including former President Bill Clinton and the UK’s Prince Andrew. Although Ms. Maxwell and Epstein had a romantic relationship it is believed she continued to work with him once they had split, however in 2003 Epstein had said that Ms. Maxwell was not an employee but was in fact his ‘best friend’.

Ms. Maxwell is currently waiting trial for allegedly aiding Epstein groom underage girls between 1994 and 1997. Prosecutors believe that “one or more victims’ will testify. These four charges were during the period she was in an ‘intimate relationship’ with Epstein while the other two charges relate to the allegations of perjury in 2016.

It is claimed that Ms. Maxwell “assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18”.

Epstein was found hanged in his prison cell in New York while he was waiting for his trial.

Ms. Giuffre continues to allege that she was made to have sex with both Epstein and his acquaintances, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, who she says she had to sleep with when she was only 17 saying, “I knew I had to keep him [Prince Andrew] happy, because it’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would expect from me.”

While Prince Andrew has ‘categorically’ denied all of Ms. Giuffre’s claims he has also declared that he has no recollection of meeting her.

Following a disastrous interview on British television Prince Andrew was removed from all royal duties.