NEW YORK:A U.S. appeals court on Monday dealt Ghislaine Maxwell a blow by refusing to block the release of a deposition she gave concerning her relationship with the late financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said there was a presumption the public had a right to see Maxwell's 418-page deposition, which was taken in April 2016 for a now-settled civil defamation lawsuit against her.
In an unsigned order, the court also said U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan did not abuse her discretion in rejecting Maxwell's "meritless arguments" that her interests superseded that presumption.
Lawyers for Maxwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment, including whether they plan a further appeal.
The order upheld Preska's decision in July to release the deposition and hundreds of other documents from the 2015 defamation lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers.
That case was settled in 2017, and many of the documents have been made public.
But Maxwell's lawyers said bad publicity from disclosing "intimate, sensitive, and personal details" from the deposition could undermine her ability to defend against criminal charges that she enabled Epstein's sexual abuses.
They said the British socialite thought her deposition would remain confidential, and that releasing it would violate her constitutional right against self-incrimination, and imperil a fair trial because jurors might hold its contents against her.
The appeals court separately rejected Maxwell's request to modify a protective order in her criminal case, so she could access confidential materials she hoped would persuade Preska to keep the deposition under wraps.
Maxwell, 58, has pleaded not guilty to helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sexual acts in the mid-1990s, and not guilty to perjury for having denied involvement in the deposition.
A trial is scheduled for next July.
Giuffre said she was a teenager when Maxwell pulled her into Epstein's circle, where she was groomed and trafficked for sex with Epstein and other wealthy, powerful men.
The push to unseal the deposition came from Giuffre and the Miami Herald newspaper, which had investigated Epstein's conduct and his successful effort in 2007 to avoid federal sex trafficking charges.
Lawyers for Giuffre and the newspaper were not immediately available for comment. The U.S. Department of Justice, which opposed modifying the protective order, did not immediately respond to a similar request.
Maxwell was arrested on July 2 in New Hampshire, where prosecutors said she had been hiding out.
She has been locked up in a Brooklyn jail after U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversees the criminal case, called her an unacceptable flight risk.
Epstein killed himself at age 66 in August 2019 at a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges announced the previous month.
Reuters
Tue Oct 20 2020
A courtroom sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell during her arraignment hearing where she was denied bail for her role aiding Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and eventually abuse of minor girls, Manhattan Federal Court, New York. REUTERS file pic
MITRA rangka pelbagai bantuan untuk pembangunan masyarakat India
Unit Transformasi Masyarakat India Malaysia (MITRA) sedang merangka pelbagai program bantuan yang bersesuaian bagi pembangunan kaum itu.
ESSCOM laksana tugas cemerlang bendung ancaman - Kaunselor EU
Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) telah melaksanakan tugas dengan cemerlang dalam membendung pelbagai ancaman di Zon Selamat Pantai Timur Sabah (ESS ZONE).
APMM rampas minuman beralkohol, bot, enjin bernilai RM472,000
APMM Labuan merampas minuman beralkohol pelbagai jenama, sebuah bot fiber, dan tiga enjin dianggarkan bernilai lebih RM472,000 yang disyaki terlibat dalam aktiviti penyeludupan.
Kefahaman orang ramai terhadap harta intelek masih rendah - Fuziah
Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Kos Sara Hidup komited meningkatkan kefahaman orang ramai yang masih rendah terhadap harta intelek, kata Timbalan Menterinya Fuziah Salleh.
MITI perkenal slogan baharu: Fokus diperbaharui pacu pelaburan, perdagangan, industri
Kementerian Pelaburan, Perdagangan dan Industri (MITI) telah memperkenalkan slogan baharu "Pemacu Potensi Global" yang mencerminkan fokusnya yang diperbaharui.
Kelaparan akut jejaskan 281.6 juta orang tahun lepas - PBB
Tahap bahaya kelaparan akut menjejaskan 281.6 juta orang tahun lepas, tahun kelima berturut-turut bahawa ketakjaminan makanan semakin memburuk.
Pusat Kargo KLIA gempar ancaman bom, rupanya bungkusan berisi komputer riba
Pusat Kargo Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) gempar apabila mesin pengimbas menerima bungkusan tertera ayat ancaman bom hari ini.
Ziana Zain giat bersenam di gimnasium, persiap diri untuk konsert solo bulan depan
Ziana Zain mahu memastikan beliau mampu memberikan yang terbaik apabila impiannya itu bakal menjadi kenyataan bulan depan.
AWANI 7:45 [25/04/2024] - Akaun KWSP distruktur semula | Pensyarah pro-Israel | Suspek tembak di KLIA didakwa | Astro Radio kekal nombor 1!
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas #AWANI745 bersama Cynthia Ng;
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
Agihan 10% akaun tiga, pencarum boleh keluar bila-bila masa
Serangan di KLIA, Hafizul didakwa cuba bunuh isteri
SPRM sahkan Tun Mahathir disiasat isu isytihar harta
Era, Sinar, Gegar jejak dominasi saluran radio Melayu
Saksikan #AWANI745 di saluran 501 Astro AWANI, Astro AWANI apps dan astroawani.com/live-tv.
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
Agihan 10% akaun tiga, pencarum boleh keluar bila-bila masa
Serangan di KLIA, Hafizul didakwa cuba bunuh isteri
SPRM sahkan Tun Mahathir disiasat isu isytihar harta
Era, Sinar, Gegar jejak dominasi saluran radio Melayu
Saksikan #AWANI745 di saluran 501 Astro AWANI, Astro AWANI apps dan astroawani.com/live-tv.
AWANI Ringkas: SSPA terbaik pernah diperkenalkan kerajaan - PM
AWANI Ringkas
Sosialit Britain bersalah atas tuduhan pemerdagangan seks
Sabitan kesalahan buat Maxwell adalah dari lima ke 40 tahun.
Suspek kes pemerdagangan manusia gantung diri dalam penjara
Epstein, 66, dipercayai menggantung diri sebelum mayatnya ditemukan pada pukul 7.30 pagi waktu tempatan pada Sabtu.