Ghislaine Maxwell trial - live: Socialite’s ‘little black book’ to remain secret

Ghislaine Maxwell’s “little black book” containing the names and addresses of nearly 2,000 wealthy and powerful figures will remain secret.

Ms Maxwell’s defence attorneys came to an agreement with prosecutors over the weekend not to release the 97-page directory to the public.

Judge Alison Nathan had previously said she wanted to avoid “needless” namedropping during the trial.

The book was filled with contact details of Ms Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s famous friends, including Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and had been mentioned sporadically during her sex-trafficking trial.

Several entries were mentioned during the prosecution case and released as an exhibit under seal, meaning only jurors and attorneys could view them.

A redacted version of the book was published online in 2015.

Ms Maxwell’s attorneys have said they plan to call up to 35 witnesses when her defence opens on Thursday, including three who have requested to testify anonymously.

Read More

What are the charges in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial?

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Most explosive revelations so far from inside the courtroom

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Who are the key courtroom figures?

Key Points

• Maxwell’s defense team may bring in as many as 35 witnesses

• Maxwell believes Epstein was murdered in prison, brother says

• Maxwell asked 16-year-old to undress, massaged her breast

• Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking trial so far: All you need to know

• What to expect from the defence case

Ghislaine Maxwell believes Epstein was murdered in prison, brother says

14:26 , Bevan Hurley

Ghislaine Maxwell likely believes that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered, her brother Ian Maxwell said during an interview on Saturday.

In the 24-minute appearance on The Spectator’s Americano podcast, Mr Maxwell rallied behind his sister as he compared theories around the death of the convicted sex offender to the case of his own father, the media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who died in 1991.

“I don’t buy a lot of the conspiracy theories at all. It so happens that one of the conspiracy theories is about my father, that he was murdered.

“Of all of my siblings Ghislaine is the only one who happens to believe that he [Robert Maxwell] was murdered.

“And I would venture to believe that she may also think that Epstein was murdered,” he said.

Epstein, convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute, was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on further charges. While the medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, his death had sparked numerous conspiracy theories including that he was murdered.

Namita Singh reports.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pictured in same spot as Queen Elizabeth

13:32 , Eleanor Sly

Were Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell really in a romantic relationship?

12:45 , Eleanor Sly

Prosecutors have portrayed the intimate relationship between socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as an essential part of their alleged predatory behaviour.

Two of the four women to testify have described how the pair would laugh and fool around with each other like doting teenagers.

But were the duo actually in a romantic relationship as painted by the prosecutors.

Bevan Hurley has more:

Were Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell really in a romantic relationship?

Photographic evidence of Epstein’s island and planes

12:00 , Eleanor Sly

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

11:20 , Eleanor Sly

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.

Those decades-long connections are forming a key role in Ms Maxwell’s trial for sex-trafficking at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Ms Maxwell would frequently boast of her close friendships with Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Donald Trump, her accusers have testified.

Bevan Hurley explains:

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the biggest names embroiled in the Maxwell trial

Maxwell’s ‘little black book’ never to be made public

10:41 , Eleanor Sly

The prosecution and defence in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell have concluded that her “little black book” of contacts should never be made public, even though the jury have been allowed to look at a section of it.

The 97-page book contains names and contact details of nearly 2,000 people with Judge Alison Nathan ruling that only a limited amount of material from Maxwell’s contacts book would be shown under seal.

The book includes contact details of world leaders, businessmen and celebrities.

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Who are the key courtroom figures?

09:56 , Eleanor Sly

Ghislaine Maxwell trial for underage sex trafficking is underway in Manhattan’s federal court.

Prosecutors have rested their case, which centres around the testimony of four accusers who testified how Ms Maxwell allegedly recruited and groomed girls on behalf of her one-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.

The spectre of Epstein, who killed himself in August 2019 while awaiting trial, is likely to hang heavily over the trial.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Who are the key courtroom figures in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial?

Amanda Knox says Ghislaine Maxwell trial is giving her flashbacks to her own case

08:40 , Eleanor Sly

Amanda Knox has said that the Ghislaine Maxwell and Elizabeth Holmes trials are giving her “flashbacks” to her 2007 murder trial.

Ms Knox was wrongfully convicted of the murder of her 21-year-old roommate, British exchange student Meredith Kercher. She spent around four years incarcerated in Italy for the crime.

Ms Knox was acquitted in 2015, but wrote on Monday that she can “empathise and sympathise” with Ms Maxwell and Ms Holmes, who are both on trial on opposite ends of the US.

Jade Bremner has more:

Amanda Knox says Ghislaine Maxwell trial is giving her flashbacks

Who is Scott Borgerson, the rumoured husband of Epstein girlfriend and alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell?

08:04 , Eleanor Sly

The trial of Jeffrey Epstein‘s former girlfriend and alleged pimp, Ghislaine Maxwell, has uncovered a surprising detail about the British socialite’s personal life; apparently she is married.

Rumours have circulated for years that Ms Maxwell, who faces accusations that she groomed and recruited young girls for Epstein to sexually abuse, was secretly married. She has denied all the charges against her.

Ms Maxwell’s husband is reportedly millionaire tech CEO and former US Coast Guard officer Scott Borgerson, 44, who is said to be “very connected” to the former Trump administration. Details of their marriage emerged last year when Ms Maxwell told court clerks she tried filing for a divorce to spare her husband from being dragged into the proceedings.

Graig Graziosi explains:

Who is Scott Borgerson, the rumoured husband of Ghislaine Maxwell?

Ghislaine Maxwell’s 'little black book' not to be made public

05:21 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The prosecution and defence have unanimously agreed to not publically reveal British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s “little black book” of contacts.

Judge Alison Nathan ruled that only a limited amount of material from the contacts book would be released under seal to avoid “needless” name-dropping.

The 97-page book with contact details of almost 2,000 people, including politicians, celebrities and businessmen, was leaked to the internet in 2015.

Twitter suspends account 'tracking' Ghislaine Maxwell trial

04:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A Twitter account that allegedly monitored the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was suspended on 8 December.

The social media giant claimed the profile was violating rules against “platform manipulation and spam”.

The account at the time of suspension had over 525k followers.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers are asking to let defence witnesses be anonymous

04:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

After the accusers testified against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell using pseudonyms, the defence’s witnesses have also requested to testify without revealing their identities.

Bobbi C Sternheim, Ms Maxwell’s lawyer in the letter to Judge Alison J Nathan suggested that some potential defence witnesses might not be willing to testify if they had to do use their real names.

According to a New York Times report, Ms Sternheim wrote in the letter: “The court’s ruling on this issue may impact the willingness of these witnesses to testify...thereby compromising Ms Maxwell’s right to present her defence”.

What research tells us about women accused of sexual abuse

04:00 , Nathan Place

“When women are accused of sexual offenses, they are frequently accused of participating in abuse with a male co-offender, like the case involving Maxwell and Epstein,” writes Poco Kernsmith, a professor at Wayne State University in Michigan whose primary research includes sexual violence prevention.

“Indeed, it is estimated that 40 percent of women accused of sexual abuse did so with a co-offender,” she continues. “Women may be involved by recruiting victims into abusive situations. This can occur though manipulation or coercion, or by grooming the victims by providing a sense of safety. Female offenders may also participate in sexually abusing victims in front of, or at the same time as, the male abuser, or watching the abuse. Ghislaine Maxwell is accused of all of these.”

Read more here:

Ghislaine Maxwell and what research tells us about women accused of sexual abuse

How did Ghislaine Maxwell meet Jeffrey Epstein?

03:00 , Nathan Place

Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, told a 2016 deposition that she met Jeffrey Epstein, then a wealthy financier, in 1991 through a mutual friend.

During the 1990s, the couple socialised with Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as Prince Andrew, with Ms Maxwell flying on Epstein’s private jets and staying at his homes, before settling in a $5m New York townhouse.

Federal prosecutors allege that Ms Maxwell first helped Epstein with his sexual exploitation of underage girls in 1994.

Read more here:

How Ghislaine Maxwell met Jeffrey Epstein

Why is Virginia Giuffre not testifying?

02:00 , Nathan Place

She stands in the middle in one of the most notorious photographs at the centre of the sex-trafficking allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell.

To her left, Ms Maxwell leans against the side of a doorway. To her right stands Prince Andrew, Duke of York, with his arm around her waist.

She has also been mentioned numerous times on nearly every day to date of Ms Maxwell’s trial. So why isn’t Virginia Giuffre testifying?

Read more here:

Why is Virginia Giuffre not testifying at Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial?

Will Ghislaine Maxwell take the stand in her sex-trafficking trial?

01:00 , Nathan Place

As Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial continues, a question remains: Will she testify?

Once the prosecution rests, Judge Alison Nathan will ask Ms Maxwell if she would like to take the stand to tell her version of events.

Defence lawyers tend to advise against such a move.

“She would do more harm than good,” Mark Richards, who represented Kyle Rittenhouse, told The New York Times.

Ultimately, however, the decision is up to the defendant.

Read more here:

Is Ghislaine Maxwell going to testify in her sex-trafficking trial?

Maxwell probably believes Epstein was murdered, brother says

00:00 , Nathan Place

Ghislaine Maxwell likely believes that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered, her brother Ian Maxwell said during an interview on Saturday.

On the podcast Americano, Mr Maxwell mentioned his own father, the media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who died in 1991.

“I don’t buy a lot of the conspiracy theories at all,” Mr Maxwell said. “It so happens that one of the conspiracy theories is about my father, that he was murdered. Of all of my siblings, Ghislaine is the only one who happens to believe that he was murdered. And I would venture to believe that she may also think that Epstein was murdered.”

Read more here:

Ghislaine Maxwell ‘believes Epstein was murdered in prison’

Accuser says she felt ‘frozen’ while being groped

Monday 13 December 2021 23:00 , Nathan Place

Annie Farmer, the only accuser to testify under her real name, says she was groped by both Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, leaving her feeling “frozen.”

Ms Farmer, who was 16 at the time of the alleged assaults, says the couple lured her to their Santa Fe ranch by feigning interest in her studies and promising to pay her college tuition.

Once she was there, she testified, Ms Maxwell insisted that she accept a massage, and then exposed and groped her breasts.

“She pulled the sheet down and exposed my breasts and started rubbing on my breasts,” Ms Farmer told the jury. “Once she pulled down the sheet I felt kind of frozen. It didn’t make sense to me that that would happen.”

Read more here:

Maxwell accuser says she felt ‘frozen’ while being groped during sexualised massage

Accusers place Ghislaine Maxwell at centre of Epstein’s abuse, experts say

Monday 13 December 2021 22:15 , Bevan Hurley

Two weeks of emotional, explicit testimony at Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex abuse trial from four women who said the British socialite groomed them as teenagers for deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein could largely undercut the defence’s argument that prosecutors are using Maxwell as a scapegoat, legal experts said.

The women – who say they met Maxwell at different times in places as far flung as Florida, New Mexico and London – all portrayed her as central to the sexual encounters they had with Epstein.

Maxwell’s attorneys did rattle three of the four accusers during tough cross-examination and scored two favourable rulings from US District Judge Alison Nathan, who said that two of the four women prosecutors called victims were old enough to consent at the time of the alleged encounters.

But as the defence prepares to mount its case, persuading jurors that Maxwell was not involved will be difficult, some experts said.

Accusers place Ghislaine Maxwell at center of Epstein’s abuse, experts say

Amanda Knox says Ghislaine Maxwell trial is giving her flashbacks to her own case

Monday 13 December 2021 21:40 , Bevan Hurley

Amanda Knox has said that the Ghislaine Maxwell and Elizabeth Holmestrials are giving her “flashbacks” to her 2007 murder trial.

Ms Knox was wrongfully convicted of the murder of her 21-year-old roommate, British exchange student Meredith Kercher. She spent around four years incarcerated in Italy for the crime.

Ms Knox was acquitted in 2015, but wrote on Monday that she can “empathise and sympathise” with Ms Maxwell and Ms Holmes, who are both on trial on opposite ends of the US.

Writing in an opinion piece for Common Sense on the fact “we can’t look away from female villains”, Ms Knox explained that she isn’t convinced by Ms Maxwell’s defence – that she was coerced by the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein into sex trafficking.

Amanda Knox says Ghislaine Maxwell trial is giving her flashbacks

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Monday 13 December 2021 20:50 , Bevan Hurley

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.

Those decades-long connections are forming a key role in Ms Maxwell’s trial for sex-trafficking at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Ms Maxwell would frequently boast of her close friendships with Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Donald Trump, her accusers have testified.

Prosecutors say the access to powerful people was both alluring and intimidating – and victims of Epstein’s abuse would feel afraid to break off contact out of fear of what he and his powerful allies might do.

Ms Maxwell faces six charges: one each of enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of conspiracy related to the other counts.

She has denied all the charges.

Read the full story here...

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the biggest names embroiled in the Maxwell trial

ICYMI: Woman says she gave Epstein sexualised massage while wearing schoolgirl’s outfit

Monday 13 December 2021 19:50 , Bevan Hurley

On day six of Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial, the accuser who testified under the pseudonym Kate said she’d been told to dress in a schoolgirl’s outfit before giving Jeffrey Epstein sexualised massages at his Palm Beach mansion.

The now 44-year-old British woman told the court she had first given sexual massages to Epstein at the age of 17 at Ms Maxwell’s townhouse in Belgravia, London.

The woman said on a later trip to Epstein’s mansion in Florida she found a schoolgirl’s uniform had been left on a bed in her room consisting of a short white pleated-skirt, shirt, underwear and socks.

She said she asked Ms Maxwell “what was happening with the clothes in my room”.

“And she said, ‘I thought it would be good for you to take Jeffrey his tea in these clothes’.”

“I didn’t know how to say no,” Kate said.

“She told me I was such a good girl, and that I was one of his favourites.”

Woman says she gave Epstein sexualised massages while wearing schoolgirl’s outfit

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Most explosive revelations so far from inside the courtroom

Monday 13 December 2021 19:15 , Bevan Hurley

Ghislaine Maxwell’s two week old trial has seen graphic testimony from four accusers, wealthy and powerful individuals name-dropped, and taken jurors inside the extreme wealth of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The government’s case against Ms Maxwell, 59, centres around her decades-long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

It alleges she operated as his enabler in luring vulnerable teenage girls with promises of scholarships, attention and financial assistance for their families, and coerced them into becoming objects for his sexual gratification.

This later expanded to a “pyramid scheme of abuse”, according to prosecutors, in which young girls already in Epstein’s orbit would offer to recruit classmates and friends with the promise of easy money.

Here are some of the most explosive revelations so far...

Most explosive revelations so far from the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Defence witnesses in Ghislaine Maxwell trial ask to testify under pseudonyms

Monday 13 December 2021 18:13 , Bevan Hurley

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have asked for some witnesses to have their real names withheld to avoid “unwanted attention”.

After the prosecution case rested on Friday, Christian Everdell asked Judge Alison Nathan if defence witnesses could take the stand under pseudonyms.

“People who testify might get a lot of unwanted attention, especially if they are testifying on behalf of Ms Maxwell,” Mr Everdell told the court.

Judge Nathan said she would take the request under consideration.

In filings to the court, Ms Maxwell’s attorneys have said they intend to call up to 35 potential witnesses.

The defence case gets underway on Thursday, and they have indicated they expect it to last up to four days.

Ms Maxwell faces six charges; sex trafficking of a minor, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three conspiracy charges relating to the three offences.

She has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Analysis: Defence lawyers face tough challenge separating Maxwell from Epstein’s crimes

Monday 13 December 2021 17:20 , Bevan Hurley

As Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorneys prepare to open the defense in her trial for sex trafficking minors, they face difficult time persuading jurors that she played no role in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, according to Reuters.

Prosecutors called four accusers who placed Ms Maxwell at the centre of Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors, luring them in as a trusted, sisterly figure for Epstein to prey upon.

Legal experts told Reuters the “remarkably similar accounts” would undermine the expected defence argument that Ms Maxwell has become a “scapegoat” for Epstein’s crimes.

“The government has done a good job of keeping the jury focused on Maxwell,” said former federal prosecutor Sarah Krissoff.

“The government will argue that the fact that each victim has a different story - and didn’t exaggerate Maxwell’s role in that story - demonstrates the credibility of those accounts.”

Under intensive cross examination, defence attorneys challenged the accusers’ credibility and argued their memories had been corrupted by the promise of large payouts from the Epstein compensation fund.

Jeffrey Cohen, an associate professor at Boston College Law School, told the news agency the defence was likely to argue the cross-examination shows they were “out for vengeance and clouded by passion”.

The defence did successfully argue that two of the accusers, Annie Farmer, and a British woman who testified under the pseudonym “Kate”, were old enough to consent at the time of their alleged abuse.

Their testimony showed patterns of abuse that backed up the other accusers, one who gave evidence under the pseudonym “Jane”, and another who testified under her first name Carolyn.

Testimony from Kate and Ms Farmer showed “strikingly similar patterns of behaviour on Maxwell’s part,” that bolstered Jane’s and Carolyn’s testimony, Deborah Tuerkheimer, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law, told Reuters.

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Who are the key courtroom figures?

Monday 13 December 2021 17:01 , Bevan Hurley

Prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial have rested their case, which centres around the testimony of four accusers who testified how Ms Maxwell allegedly recruited and groomed girls on behalf of her one-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.

She has assembled a formidable team of lawyers to argue her case, at a cost of as much as $7 million, including so-called “super lawyer” Bobbi Sternheim and three other experienced trial lawyers Jeffrey Pagliuca, Christian Everdell and Laura Menninger.

For the prosecution, Maurene Comey leads a team of four US District Attorney’s from the Southern District of New York.

Judge Alison Nathan is presiding over the trial.

Who are the key courtroom figures in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial?

Amanda Knox says she knows what it’s like to be 'held accountable for the crimes of men’

Monday 13 December 2021 15:54 , Bevan Hurley

Amanda Knox says while she can sympathise with Ghislaine Maxwell for being blamed for Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, the evidence against her seems “pretty damning”.

Writing on Bari Weiss’s substack Common Sense, Ms Knox says she has been closely following the trials of Ms Maxwell and “former girlboss extraordinaire” Elizabeth Holmes.

Both defendants have sought to cast former romantic partners as being to blame for the crimes they are accused of.

Ms Holmes is on trial in California for defrauding investors of Theranos, and her defence has focused on the actions of the former president and COO of the company Sunny Balwani.

Ms Knox was found guilty before later being acquitted of the murder of her former roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. The real killer, Rudy Guede, blamed Ms Knox for the crime, and was released from prison last month.

“When it comes to being held accountable for the crimes of men, and being manipulated by other, powerful men within a system and situation wildly out of your control . . . hi, my name is Amanda Knox,” she writes.

“I know very well what it’s like to be scapegoated for a man’s crimes and to be a victim of true coercion. If there is anyone who can empathise—and sympathise—with these two women, it’s me.

“But even for me, it’s not easy... I can’t help but balk at their defense strategies, which seem like a refusal to be held accountable.

“While it’s true that even powerful women can yet remain subservient to powerful men, we shouldn’t forget that the most vulnerable people in these equations are not Maxwell and Holmes, but the victims they are trying to brush aside or discredit,” she wrote on Ms Weiss’s Substack.

FBI found diamonds, cash, passports and hard drives after cracking open Epstein’s safe in 2019 raid

Monday 13 December 2021 15:20 , Bevan Hurley

Photos taken during an FBI raid on Jeffrey Epstein’s eight-story townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 2019 have been released for the first time.

Among the images shown to the jury in Ghislaine Maxwell’s underage sex-trafficking trial was one showing a safe found in a fifth-floor dressing room that was sawed open by the FBI and contained hard drives, CDs, diamonds, a large amount of US currency, and passports belonging to Epstein.

FBI special agent Kelly Maguire testified last week in Ms Maxwell’s trial at the Manhattan federal court.

She led the team that searched the 40-room, 19,000 square foot property at 9 East 71st Street on 6 and 7 July 2019 and walked the jury through what the photos depicted.

Ms Maguire said the search team found a safe in a closet in a fifth floor dressing room and pulled it into the middle of the room.

When asked by a US assistant attorney how they opened the safe, she replied: “We brought a saw.”

Photos from 2019 FBI raid on Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion released

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the famous names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Monday 13 December 2021 13:55 , Eleanor Sly

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.

Those decades-long connections are forming a key role in Ms Maxwell’s trial for sex-trafficking at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Ms Maxwell would frequently boast of her close friendships with Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Donald Trump, her accusers have testified.

Bevan Hurley reports:

From Trump to Prince Andrew: All the biggest names embroiled in the Maxwell trial

Who is Ghislaine Maxwell’s secret husband?

Monday 13 December 2021 13:20 , Eleanor Sly

Ghislaine Maxwell’s secret husband, Scott Borgerson is a 44-year-old millionaire tech CEO and ex-military officer.

He is rumoured to be “very connected” to the Trump administration, The Evening Standard reported.

The tech founder is now thought to have moved on romantically although reports suggest he and Maxwell, 59, are still married.

It is thought that the pair were married in 2016, although it wasn’t until July 2020 that details of their marriage emerged when court papers supporting Maxwell’s bail application showed she had transferred all her assets to a trust under his control.

Maxwell later told court chiefs that she didn’t want her husband to suffer from “being associated with her” and so she had tried to file for a divorce ahead of her arrest.

Ghislaine Maxwell: Socialite’s life of luxury with rich and royal friends

Monday 13 December 2021 12:38 , Eleanor Sly

Ghislaine Maxwell was once a “sophisticated” and “very impressive” British socialite until her affiliation with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein led to her detention for alleged sex trafficking.

The daughter of disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell the 59-year-old attempted to start a new life in Manhattan after his death in 1991 and met Epstein the following year.

Mr Maxwell was found drowned after apparently falling from his yacht – called Lady Ghislaine – off the Tenerife coast.

Josh Payne reports:

Ghislaine Maxwell: Socialite’s life of luxury with rich and royal friends

Some of the photographs used as evidence in the trial

Monday 13 December 2021 12:06 , Eleanor Sly

What to expect from the defence case

Monday 13 December 2021 11:23 , Eleanor Sly

With Ghislaine Maxwell’s defence case due to begin, what exactly should we expect from it?

On Friday, the defence suggested that they may call upon up to 35 witnesses for the next part of the trial. It was also disclosed that some of these witnesses may wish to remain anonymous.

During her opening statement to the jury at the start of the trial, defence counsel Bobbi Sternheim suggested that the charges against Maxwell were for "things Jeffrey Epstein did".

Court documents which were previously submitted by the defence, suggest Maxwell’s counsel expect to challenge the accusations against her. They will do this by claiming that the accusers may have "false or distorted memories.”

As yet, whether or not Maxwell will testify remains unknown.

How Ghislaine Maxwell met Jeffrey Epstein

Monday 13 December 2021 10:35 , Eleanor Sly

She spent decades rubbing shoulders with British royals and US presidents.

Now British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is set to stand trial in a New York courtroom on sex trafficking charges, and faces decades behind bars if convicted. The trial is set to beging on Monday, 29 November.

Ms Maxwell, the daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, told a 2016 deposition that she met Jeffrey Epstein, then a wealthy financier, in 1991 through a mutual friend.

Graeme Massie has more:

How Ghislaine Maxwell met Jeffrey Epstein

What are the charges in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial?

Monday 13 December 2021 09:29 , Eleanor Sly

The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite accused of recruiting and grooming girls for deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, got underway on Monday in New York federal court.

Here is an explanation of the charges Maxwell faces and her expected defence:

What are the charges in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex abuse trial?

Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Who are the key courtroom figures?

Monday 13 December 2021 08:50 , Eleanor Sly

After nearly 17 months in jail, Ghislaine Maxwell will finally have her day in court as her trial for underage sex trafficking gets underway in Manhattan’s federal court on Monday.

After months of pre-trial hearings, prosecutors will deliver opening arguments on how Ms Maxwell allegedly recruited and groomed girls on behalf of her one-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.

The spectre of Epstein, who killed himself in August 2019 while awaiting trial, is likely to hang heavily over the trial.

Bevan Hurley reports:

Who are the key courtroom figures in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial?

Maxwell’s husband may be in a new relationship

Monday 13 December 2021 07:47 , Eleanor Sly

Ghislaine Maxwell’s husband could be in a new relationship, according to reports.

It is thought that Maxwell, 59, secretly married Scott Borgerson, a technology entrepreneur, in 2016, without even telling some close relatives.

Court papers supporting her bail application also showed that she transferred all her assets to a trust controlled by Mr Borgerson.

However, whilst Maxwell was attending court, Mr Borgerson was photographed strolling around a New England town with a potential new girlfriend.

Maxwell asked 16-year-old to undress, massaged her breast

Monday 13 December 2021 07:03 , Arpan Rai

One of the four accusers, Annie Farmer, told the court on Friday that she was shown by Ghislaine Maxwell about how to give Jeffrey Epstein a foot massage.

“Maxwell wanted to show me how to rub his foot because that was something she thought I should learn how to do,” she told the court.

Ms Farmer, who has decided not to go by a pseudonym, said: “I felt very uncomfortable – I didn’t want to be touching his foot. I wanted to stop and I was hoping it would be over quickly.”

The woman added that she was asked by Ms Maxwell if she “had ever had a professional massage and talked about what a lovely experience it was.”

“She wanted me to have that experience and she would be happy to give me a massage and encouraged me to say yes.”

Full report on this by Josh Payne here

Ghislaine Maxwell hearing so far: All you need to know

Monday 13 December 2021 06:55 , Arpan Rai

After two weeks of explosive accusations against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the prosecutors on Friday rested their case.

Labelled “dangerous” and a “predator”, Maxwell has been widely accused of luring and grooming teenage girls for her partner Epstein.

In the last two weeks, Ms Maxwell was accused of summoning a 14-year-old girl for an orgy, groping another teenager and bringing out a schoolgirl outfit for the third accuser before setting her up for a sexualised massage.

Nearly two dozen photos confirming the intimate relationship between Epstein and Maxwell were also presented to the jury last week, giving a peak into how their operations were carried out.

Josh Payne reports here

From Trump to Prince Andrew: High profile names embroiled in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial

Monday 13 December 2021 06:35 , Arpan Rai

The lavish lifestyle with the top names of the world has come back to haunt Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner and alleged aide in massive sex-trafficking scandal, as more revelations in the court trial show the crimes committed.

The duo is known to have palled around with presidents, movie stars and royalty, hosting household names aboard private jets and at palatial properties all over the world.

Those decades-long connections are forming a key role in Ms Maxwell’s trial for sex-trafficking at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Full report on this is presented by Bevan Hurley here.

Maxwell’s legal team may bring in as many as 35 witnesses

Monday 13 December 2021 05:06 , Arpan Rai

As it prepares to testify this week, Ghislaine Maxwell defense team is likely to bring 35 witnesses, court documents show.

On Friday evening, the defense informed the government via a letter that it identifies 35 witnesses in alphabetical order with no information about the order in which these witnesses will be called.

It is also reported that three of the total 35 want to testify under pseudonyms or just their first names, similar to the three accusers who testified against Ms Maxwell and Epstein. The request has been opposed by the prosecutors.

Ghislaine Maxwell believes Epstein was murdered in prison, brother says

Monday 13 December 2021 04:42 , Arpan Rai

Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother has said that the British socialite believes her former partner Jeffrey Epstein was murdered, akin to the same belief she had for her father’s death.

Epstein died by suicide and was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019.

In an interview with The Spectator’s Americano podcast, Ian Maxwell said that he does not buy conspiracy theories “at all”.

“It so happens that one of the conspiracy theories is about my father, that he was murdered,” said Mr Maxwell, who has been present physically in the court through the course of trial so far.

“Of all my siblings, Ghislaine is the only one who happens to believe that he [Robert Maxwell] was murdered.”

He added: “And I would venture to believe that she may also think that Epstein was murdered,” he said.

Namita Singh has the story here.