Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, the accused accomplice of infamous pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein, asked a federal judge on Tuesday to let their client out of jail on bond as she awaits trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Two previous bond requests for Maxwell were denied by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who reasoned that the highly-connected multi-millionaire posed too great a flight risk to be released. Nathan specifically noted that, in addition to being a U.S. citizen, Maxwell holds citizenship in France and the United Kingdom, neither of which extradite citizens to the U.S. very often.
In her third motion seeking release on bail, Maxwell argued that she had no desire to leave the U.S., stating that after living in the U.S. for more than 30 years she had “strong family ties and the support of friends and family residing in this country.” She also agreed to renounce her French and British citizenship “to eliminate any opportunity for her to seek refuge in those countries.”
Maxwell also agreed to have her and her spouse’s assets sequestered in a new account that would be monitored by a retired district court judge and former federal prosecutor who will function as “asset monitors” with co-signing authority over the account.
“The former condition goes well beyond the extradition waivers that the Court deemed insufficient and should satisfy any concerns the Court may have that Ms. Maxwell may try to seek a safe haven in France or the United Kingdom,” Maxwell’s attorneys wrote. “As a non-citizen, Ms. Maxwell will not be able to avail herself of any protections against extradition that may apply to citizens of those countries. The latter condition will restrain Ms. Maxwell’s assets so they cannot be used for flight or harboring her outside of the jurisdiction of this Court. This should satisfy the Court’s concern that the proposed bond was not fully secured and left assets unrestrained that could be used for such purposes.”
Additionally, Maxwell’s attorneys reiterated that they had submitted 12 pretrial motions which, they contend, “raise substantial legal and factual issues that may result in the dismissal of some or all of the charges against her.”
Those motions, filed last month in the Southern District of New York, argued that the government had deprived Maxwell of a fair trial by alleging only vague criminal conduct and obtaining her indictment in violation of the Sixth Amendment.
“Ms. Maxwell has already been denied a fair chance in the court of public opinion. She has been maligned by the media, which has perpetuated a false narrative about her that has poisoned any open-mindedness and impartiality of a potential jury,” the motion stated. “She has been relentlessly attacked with vicious slurs, persistent lies, and blatant inaccuracies by spokespeople who have neither met nor spoken to her. She has been depicted as a cartoon-character villain in an attempt to turn her into a substitute replacement for Jeffrey Epstein. Yet, Ms. Maxwell is determined – and welcomes the opportunity – to face her accusers at trial and clear her name.”
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to six charges accusing her of grooming and abusing Epstein’s victims and lying about it under oath.
Read the full motion below:
Maxwell Third Bond Motion by Law&Crime on Scribd
[image via Mark Mainz/Getty Images]
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