A newly unsealed transcript of a deposition given by Jeffrey Epstein’s close friend and associate Ghislaine Maxwell includes partially-redacted questions and testimony about unfavorable press coverage.
Maxwell, who is accused of “recruiting” underage girls into Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring, is awaiting trial on six federal charges. The deposition, given in 2016, is connected to a defamation lawsuit brought by one of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Guiffre.
The transcript is heavily redacted, particularly in passages where Epstein’s associates and possible co-conspirators are named. Maxwell often evades questions or claims she does not have a memory of a particular incident, and her attorney repeatedly voices objections.
At one point, an attorney for the plaintiff asks Maxwell about an email thread that dated January 21, 2015. Describing the email, the lawyer says that Epstein first sent the email, “forwarding the Guardian,” presumably in reference to a news article.
“I would like you to look at the chain of emails so you understand the — have an appreciation for who is on this,” the plaintiff attorney says. “It’s a three-page document. The bottom of the email appears to be a message from, there is a — at the very bottom there is the signature block for [redacted], [redacted] and above that there is a message from a [redacted].”
“Do you know who [redacted] is?” the lawyers asks.
“I do not,” Maxwell replies.
The lawyer continues:
“Above that there is a message from [redacted] and you and it ays, so this isn’t getting better, latest from our chums at the Guardian and above that you will see on January 21 an email from you where you wrote, See below. And right above that chain you will see Jeffrey Epstein to you on January 21 and his statement to you is, This will now end but I think a dismissive statement is okay.”
“What did he mean by his statement, this will end now,” the lawyer asks.
“I have no idea,” Maxwell says.
On January 21, 2015, the Guardian published an article about court filings that had recently been submitted by Guiffre’s lawyers, alleging that she had sex with Prince Andrew three times when she was 17 years old, and that Epstein paid her $15,000 “to keep [her] mouth shut about ‘working’ with the Prince.”
The digital file of the Guardian article retrieved on Thursday (October 22, 2020) shows an updated date of January 22, 2015, but an expanded timestamp shows that it was originally published on January 21, 2015.
The Guardian published several articles about the Epstein allegations in January 2015, as did other news outlets in the U.S. and the UK.
Based on the deposition transcript alone, CrimeOnline cannot confirm any news article that may have been referenced in the January 2015 email thread.
Read the full deposition transcript here:
Ghislaine Maxwell Depositio… by EKilloran
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[Feature image: Corredor99/MediaPunch /IPX via AP]
