By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 14 – Ghislaine Maxwell argued to be released on bail on July 14, before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Alison Nathan. Inner City Press live tweeted it:
Appearances: For Maxwell, Mark Cohen. For the government: Moe - and Maurene Comey. Maxwell greets Judge Nathan. Judge: Are you able to hear me? Maxwell: Yes. [Judge Nathan has a plain white wall behind her. The AUSAs are at a conference table, distanced.]
Judge Nathan: We are here for arraignment, initial hearing and bail hearing, remotely under Section 15002 of the CARES Act. Ms. Maxwell is accessing this by video from the MDC in Brooklyn. [This has been a routine script for months, in lower profile proceedings] Judge Nathan: Mr. Cohen, please describe how you discussed the waiver of physical presence with your client. Mark Cohen: We read it to her, and we signed on her behalf. Judge Nathan: Ms Maxwell, you had it read to you? Maxwell: That is correct, your Honor.
Judge Nathan says a separate line has been provided for victims who wish to be heard on the matter of pre-trial detention.
Judge Nathan: Let's turn to the arraignment. Ms. Moe, what is the difference between the indictments? AUSA Moe: Only fixing a typo in the perjury counts. Judge Nathan: Ms. Maxwell, have you seen the indictment? Maxwell: I saw the original indictment.
Maxwell: And I have been able to discuss it with the attorney. I waive its public reading. Judge Nathan: How do you wish to plead? Maxwell: Not guilty, your Honor Judge Nathan: Let's turn to scheduling, including discovery. AUSA Moe: We will include search warrant returns, photographs, searches of electronic devices. Also, prior investigative files from the Southern District of Florida. We'll need a protective order.
Defense lawyer Cohen has above him a ceiling fan, which ends up looking like a beanie. Maxwell's camera shows a mirror or 1-way glass, next to the gray door.] Judge Nathan: There've been issues about disclosing prior investigations.
Judge Nathan: I'm drilling down into full and timely disclosure, which has arisen in other matters. [Seems she's referring to misrepresentations made in another case of hers Inner City Press covers, US v. Nejad: http://innercitypress.com/sdny20dnathaniranbanker071320.html This could help Maxwell...]
AUSA Moe: We propose disclosure by Monday, November 9, then motions [into 2021]. Judge Nathan: Do you expect further charges or additional defendants? Moe: It's ongoing, but no, we do not expect a superseding indictment. [What about additional defendants??]
AUSA Moe: We notified victims... On July 9 we provided dial-in information. Going forward we will use an opt-in process. We will provide information on conferences on the government's victims services website. Three wish to be heard today. One, we will read out.
.Judge Nathan: If we proceed to trial, how long would it take? AUSA Moe: No more than two weeks. Three weeks, with jury selection. Judge Nathan: I set the trial to begin July 12, 2021... Initial pre trial defense motions due Dec 21, 2020.
Judge Nathan: Let's turn to the argument for bail. It is the government's motion for detention. They'll go first, then any victims who wish to be heard. Then from Mr. Cohen. AUSA Moe: This defendant poses an extreme risk of flight. There are serious red flags here
AUSA Moe: She has the ability to live beyond the reach of the US. She has a strong incentive to flee. She is charged with sexual abuse of minors. The indictment arises from defendant's role in a conspiracy to sexual exploit the vulnerable members of our community
AUSA Moe: The defendant engaged in these activities, sexualized massages partially nude. This is exceptionally serious. The pre-trial services report confirms she has been moving from place to place, to conceal her whereabouts.
Judge Nathan: The defense says she stayed in touch with pre-trial services. Did that include her whereabouts? AUSA Moe: No. We served her a subpoena in the Epstein matter. She has no incentive to stay in the US. She grew up in the UK, and travels extensively.
Moe: We have been informed that France will not extradite a French citizen. And in the UK, she would not be detained. She could live beyond extradition indefinitely. Pre-trial services says she tried to brush off financial questions. AUSA Moe: She listed a monthly income of nothing. Zero dollars. Is she being evasive? Judge Nathan: Does the government think there is income? AUSA Moe: Unclear if there is trust income. Zero is implausible, given the lifestyle she has been living.
AUSA Moe: She claimed she didn't know which corporation owned the New Hampshire property, and was just permitted to stay there. But the FBI says Scott and Jen Marshall bought it, with British accents. Inner City Press @innercitypress · 52m AUSA: The person who introduced herself as Ms. Marshall appears to be Ms. Maxwell. It appears she used an alias. Judge Nathan: Were these efforts to hide due to notoriety, for privacy from press, or to flee? How can I decide that, do you propose?
AUSA Moe: She is good at hiding; she "passes." She did a real estate transaction under a fake name. [Maxwell moves closer to her camera in her white room.]
AUSA Moe: We've learned that records with banks contain self-reported information. Her annual income is listed as $200,000 to half a million. She has a trust account in a Swiss bank. But she does not mention it to the court.
Moe: She provides no information about co-signers. She proposes to stay in a luxury hotel in Manhattan, for an indefinite person. She is the very definition of a flight risk. [Defense lawyer Cohen seems to be smiling, under his ceiling fan / beanie]
Judge Nathan: You are not citing danger to the community at all, correct? AUSA Moe: That is correct, Your Honor. Judge Nathan: Let's turn to victims, written statement first.
Moe: This victim prefers to be known as Jane Doe. "I knew Ghislaine Maxell... She delivered me into the hands of Jeffrey Epstein. She used emotional manipulation. She abused my trust. She would have done anything to satisfy Mr. Epstein.
AUSA Moe [reading]: "When I was listed as a witness in the civil action against Maxwell, I received a call, a threat. I know what she has done. She will never admit what she has done. If she is out, I need to be protected.
Now a victim is speaking by phone: "She is a sexual predator. She has never shown any remorse. She has lied under oath. She has demonstrated contempt for our legal system. We may never know how many were victimized by Ghislaine Maxwell."
Nathan: Any other victims who are entitled and wish to be heard? AUSA Moe: No your Honor. Judge Nathan: Just be clear, you are not citing danger to the community? AUSA Moe: That is correct. Judge Nathan: Mr. Cohen, you may proceed.
Cohen: She ought to be released on a bail package, to defend a case like this during the COVID crisis. [Many, many defendants are in Federal custody.] Cohen: She is the target of media spin which the government has picked up, as rootless and sinister
Cohen: She's not the monster made out by the government. She's from a large and close family, with extensive professional relationship. [Inner City Press: including at the United Nations, UNexplained: Cohen cites an Eastern District of NY case that trafficking victims' rights shoudn't trump the right to release on bail. Then: "Turning to the statutory factors... The government has not met its burden." Inner City Press @innercitypress Cohen seems to be saying - he sounds like he's under water - that Maxwell would put up property for bail if her privacy could be assured. Judge Nathan: You cite Madoff & other cases- did that involve international connection? Cohen: No. So US is counting passports
Replying to @innercitypress Cohen: Travel is something the court should address in the bail conditions, not be denying bail. He cites a case of slavers, who were given bail in 2004. "A Swiss citizen, Switzerland would not extradite." Does than mean no Swiss, or French, should get bail? Inner City Press @innercitypress · 23m Cohen: Mattis and Rahman were given bail after throwing a Molotov cocktail.
Cohen: One of those who spoke today is seeking millions of dollars in a lawsuit. Judge Nathan: Did you ask for the opportunity for voluntary surrender? Cohen: There was no doubt that we represented her.
Cohen: Let me turn to the reply brief. They say the agents breached the gate, & saw her quickly shut the door. It's spin. She was in her pajamas. There was one security guard. The front door was unlocked. The windows were open. [Now Cohen is pixelating on video]
Cohen: They say she's trying to flee because she changed her phone number and email address. It's because the 2d Circuit ordered documents released. Some were not redacted. Her phone was hacked. So she changed it.
Cohen: Is she a person of means? Yes. But that should not impact the analysis. They chosen to arrest her around a Federal holiday to hold her longer in New Hampshire. This bail hearing should not turn into an investigation of our client's finances.
Cohen: Did she sell a property for $15 million? Sure. Those records are out there. But she didn't clear that. They say she has 15 bank accounts. "She had a not for profit for nearly a decade, closed because of the fire storm." [That's Terramar, partner with UN]
AUSA Alison Moe takes a swig of water as Cohen continues. Maurene Comey and Alex Rossmiller masked up at back of AUSA conference table. Judge Nathan with pen in her hand - ready to rule? Note: In these months Inner City Press has not heard a longer bail argument]
Cohen: Given government's representation they are not going to supersede, we believe it may not survive. We're not going to litigate here the reach of the NPA [Non-Prosecution Agreement]. [In MDC, Maxwell scratches her head, then her chin.]
Cohen: My client has her lights on all the time in MDC. She wasn't allowed to shower. Judge Nathan: Are you claiming her current detention is to prevent you from providing a picture of her finances? Cohen: It's been hard to pull the information together.
Judge Nathan: Whether defendants are detained on risk of flight or danger to the community, they still have the right to legal representation. Cohen: We ask that she be released today or that you us more time to provide info AUSA Moe: She was living in hiding
AUSA Moe: There was not offer of self-surrender.... Judge Berman detained Jeffrey Epstein, and he was not a foreign citizenJudge Nathan: I am prepared to make my ruling. A finding that a defendant is flight risk must be by a preponderance of the evidence. The government does not argue for danger to the community. Judge Nathan: The factors here weigh in favor of detention. She is 58 and faces up to 35 years. The government's evidence appears strong.
Judge Nathan: Ms Maxwell has substantial ties abroad. She is a citizen of France, which will not extradite its citizens. She had not provided a complete financial picture. There is motive and opportunity.· The government has met its burden. Even the strongest conditions would be insufficient. The court finds that no combination of conditions could assure her presence in court. Unlike Madoff [for example] she has significant foreign connectionsThe court is concerned about COVID19. But Ms. Maxwell has not argued about her age or conditions make her more in danger. I order the defendant detained pending trial.
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