By Matthew Russell Lee Patreon Periscope Song Video
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SDNY COURTHOUSE, Nov 10 – Ghislaine Maxwell, charged with sex trafficking and other charges, faces a November 29, 2021 trial.
On October 29, Maxwell and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a flurry of motions in limine, heavily redacted; the Government argued that trial exhibits are not public and will be withheld.
Inner City Press on April 2 wrote to the Court regarding access the arraignment on April 23. Inner City Press live tweeted it here and below.
On October 29, after the flurry of redacted motions, Inner City Press filed formal requests with SDNY District Judge Alison J. Nathan, now on DocumentCloud here.
On November 10, Judge Nathan presided over a Daubert hearing, of experts proposed for trial. Inner City Press live tweeted here (podcast here)
Judge Alison Nathan will be addressing which experts can testify - then will seal the courtroom.
Judge Nathan: We've had 565 prospective jurors fill out the questionnaire. Friday we'll get a hundred or so more. That will give the parties additional time to confer, on a fewer questionnaires. Alright. We'll also do Nov 15 at 9:30, pre voir dire
Judge Nathan: Then, a [final-final] final pre-trial conference. Maxwell's lawyer: When do we begin voir dire? Judge Nathan: I believe 9 am. Maxwell lawyer: One of our team has a hearing in Colorado and can't appear at the [final-final] final
Judge Nathan: So let's begin with the Daubert [expert] hearing. 1st witness, Doctor Rocchio.
Witness: I am Lisa Rocchio. AUSA Lara Pomerantz: Before your PhD, any degree? Rocchio: Masters from URI. PhD too.
AUSA Pomerantz: How much time did you spent working with patients? Rocchio: 500 to 1000 hours while getting my degree, plus a one year doctor's fellowship. 100s of patients, issues related to traumatic stress, suicidality, violence
AUSA Pomerantz: How many employees do you have? Rocchio: Seven at the present time.
AUSA Pomerantz: How old were the patients you've treated for sexual abuse when the abuse occurred? Rocchio. 13... I'm on the voluntarily faculty of Brown U
AUSA Pomerantz: Is this your C.V.? Rocchio: Yes. But it doesn't include my recent promotion. AUSA Pomerantz: We offer Exhibit 1. Maxwell's lawyer: No objection for purposes of today.
AUSA Pomerantz: How is most sexual abuse of children carried out? Rocchio: In the context of a relationship. AUSA Pomerantz: Are you familiar with grooming? Rocchio: I am.
AUSA Pomerantz: Describe grooming. Rocchio: Victim is identified then isolated. Like in a Boy Scouts troop. It's akin to what 2 adults might do in a courtship
Rocchio: They might groom an institution, like working their way up through the Boy Scouts.
AUSA Pomerantz: Some strategies? Rocchio: Gift gifting. Tickling. Massages. Talking about sex. Normalizing sexualized behaviors and gradually moving the line to abuse
AUSA: What about substantiated cases of abuse?
Rocchio: It's where it's admitted or resulted in conviction. Or young children with venereal diseases. AUSA: Gov Ex 2. Rocchio: It's an article about coercive control. Defense: No objection for purposes of today Inner City Press @innercitypress · 1h [The exhibit / article has, as one of its listed keywords, "predatory tactics."]
Judge Nathan: You cited pimp and sex worker - trauma bonding. What's the similarity? Rocchio: The pimp subjugates the sex worker, like a sex trafficker does. Judge Nathan: Thank you.
Rocchio: My patients say, He bought me sneakers. That impacts the individuals self-blame and feelings of shame. AUSA: Is the concept of grooming accepted? Rocchio: Yes.
AUSA: Who is more at risk? Rocchio: Needy, vulnerable, prior history as a victim.Rocchio: Those from single parent homes, "sexual minority children," the poor. AUSA: What is this based on? Rocchio: My education and training.
Now shown as Government Exhibit: statistical table of how child sex victims are targeted. [Note: This direct examination could have been done in writing, and get straight to the cross examination.
AUSA: The defense has argued that a victim's prior sexual experience is relevant to the concept of groom- that is, whether or not a person had prior sexual experience makes them more vulnerable. Rocchio: Even theoretically I don't understand how that could be true
AUSA: Now let's turn to grooming for other(s) Judge Nathan: Let's take a 10 minute comfort break.
The October 29 filing:
Re: US v. Maxwell, 20-cr-330 (AJN), timely opposition to blanket requests to seal portions of motions in limine, trial exhibits, public access
Dear Judge Nathan: On behalf of Inner City Press and in my personal capacity, I have been covering the above-captioned case. This concerns in the first instance the flurry of motions in limine filed earlier this evening, replete with redactions justified by a conclusory reference to Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2006).
The Government's Justifications for redaction (Docket No. 399, docketed at 10:06 pm on Friday Oct 29) cites Lugosch then says "The Government also seeks sealing of trial exhibits, which are not public." Inner City Press immediately opposes this.
As one example within this motions of limine, the Government has redacted the entirety of its Argument X, even the title and the page number. And as to trial exhibits, see for example Judge Jed S. Rakoff's order in US v. Weigand, 20-cr-188 (JSR), here.
There, Judge Rakoff ordered the US Attorney's Office to make trial exhibit available to the public at large. While this was done, belatedly, in US v. Parnas, it was refused in the current US v. Cole. It cannot be refused in this case. Also, Inner City Press understands that the listen-only call-in telephone lines available so far in the case, there may be an attempt to discontinue them. The Court should take judicial notice of continuing COVID-19 issues, including people's understandable concerns about congregating even in so-called overflow rooms. Be aware that the District for the District of Columbia still allows public phone access to all criminal proceedings, even those held in-person. That should happen here. The loss of First Amendment freedoms, even for a short period of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury. Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976).
For further example, in Docket No. 387, all exhibits are withheld and the expected testimony of already anonymized Minor Victim-3 is redacted. In Docket No. 382, Exhibits A through D, F, H and I are all withheld in full, and large portions of even the table of contests are redacted. How is the public to access the basis for withholding, when even the titles / subjects are withheld?
Inner City Press will cover the trial, and all the comes before and after it; #CourtCaseCast and song
Maxwell wanted to keep prospective juror questioning - voir dire - and selection even more sealed from the public and Press.
On October 18 the US Attorney's Office opposed the request, saying the the voir dire questions should be asked by Judge Nathan, and that there should only be sidebars on "sensitive questions such as those that relate to sexual abuse and media exposure." Full letter on Patreon here.
RCFP rightly submitted opposition, and Inner City Press and others in SDNY joined the opposition. And in a conference on October 21 on that as scheduling issues, Judge Nathan denied the request to seal. Inner City Press live tweeted it here (podcast here)
On October 22 the draft jury questionnaire was unsealed and Inner City Press has immediately published it on its DocumentCloud here, including "Have you or a family member ever supported, lobbied, petitioned, protested, or worked in any other manner for or against any laws, regulations, or organizations relating to sex trafficking, sex crimes against minors, sex abuse or sexual harassment?" Photo here.
After the death of Jeffrey Epstein in the MCC prison, on July 2 Acting US Attorney for the SDNY Audrey Strauss announced and unsealed in indictment of Maxwell on charges including sex trafficking and perjury.
Inner City Press went to her press conference at the US Attorney's Office and asked, Doesn't charging Maxwell with perjury undercut any ability to use testimony from her against other, bigger wrong-doers? Periscope here at 23:07.
Strauss replied that it is not impossible to use a perjurer's testimony. But how often does it work?
At 3:30 pm on July 2 Maxwell appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampsire, before Magistriate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone. Inner City Press live tweeted it here.
(Also live tweeted bail denial of July 14, here.)
In the July 3 media coverage of Maxwell, media all of the world used a video and stills from it of Maxwell speaking in front of a blue curtain, like here.
What they did not mention is something Inner City Press has been asking the UN about, as under UNSG Antonio Guterres with his own sexual exploitation issues (exclusive video and audio) it got roughed up and banned from the UN: Ghislaine Maxwell had a ghoulish United Nations press conference, under the banner of the "Terramar Project," here.
On July 5, after some crowd-sourcing, Inner City Press reported on another Ghislaine Maxwell use of the United Nations, facilitated by Italy's Permanent Representative to the UN, UN official Nikhil Seth and Amir Dossal, who also let into the UN and in one case took money from convicted UN briber Ng Lap Seng, and Patrick Ho of CEFC China Energy, also linked to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
At the Ghislaine Maxwell UN event, the UN Deputy Secretary General was directly involved.
List of (some of) the participants on Patreon here.
Inner City Press has published a phone of Maxwell in the UN with Dossal, here. But the connection runs deeper: Dossal with "25 years of UN involvement" was on Terrarmar's board of directors, one of only five directors, only three not related to Maxwell by blood and name.
The directors: Ghislaine Maxwell, Christine Malina-Maxwell, Steven Haft, Christine Dennison and... Amir Dossal. Inner City Press is publishing this full 990 on Patreon here.
Dossal has operated through the UN Office of Partnership, with Antonio Guterres and his deputy Amina J. Mohammed, here.
And the links to the world of UN bribery, including Antonio Guterres through the Gulbenkian Foundation, runs deeper. More to follow.
Antonio Guterres claims he has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, but covers it up and even participate in it. He should be forced to resign - and/or have immunity waived.
Terramar has been dissolved, even though Maxwell's former fundraiser / director of development Brian Yurasits still lists the URL on his (protected) Twitter profile, also here.
But now Inner City Press has begun to inquire into Ghislaine Maxwell's other United Nations connections, starting with this photograph of another day's (or at least another outfit's) presentation in the UN, here. While co-conspirator Antonio Guterres has had Inner City Press banned from any entry into the UN for two years and a day, this appears to be in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) chamber. We'll have more on this, and on Epstein and the UN. Watch this site.
The case is US v. Maxwell, 20-cr-330 (Nathan).
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