re: Ghislaine Maxwell arrested by FBI

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Is it just a coincidence that Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested only a week after Berman is fired from the SDNY?

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Techno Fog @Techno_Fog The Ghislaine Maxwell indictment - charges include: 1) Conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts 2) Conspiracy to transport minors to engage in illegal sex acts 3) Transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts 4) Perjury

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Frankly, as a criminal defense lawyer, I am surprised that Maxwell risked returning to the United States. She was believed to be living in Paris. It was well-known that the Justice Department was pursuing the case, including demands to interview Prince Andrew.

Her arrest may be unnerving for figures like Prince Andrew. She would be the ultimate cooperating witness if she decided to cooperate on broader criminal inquiries. Giuffre and others have alleged that she was the primary procurer of young girls for Epstein to abuse.

Such prosecutions are not easy given the passage of time. However, the government clearly has live witnesses like Giuffre who might have a significant impact on a jury. The government would have to show more than her mere presence at these homes or parties.

She is currently facing six counts tied to her alleged assistance to Epstein in finding girls as young as 14 years old for sexual acts back as far as 1994.

“In some instances, Maxwell was present for and participated in the sexual abuse of minor victims,” the indictment says.

One interesting twist will be the infamous deal cut. I was a vocal critic of that deal with Epstein. Despite a strong case for prosecution, Epstein’s lawyers, including Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, were able to secure a ridiculous deal with prosecutors. He was accused of abusing abused more than forty minor girls (with many between the ages of 13 and 17).

Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge of felony solicitation of underage girls in 2008 and served a 13-month jail sentence. Epstein was facing a 53-page indictment that could have resulted in life in prison in jail. However, he got the 13 month deal. Moreover, to my lasting surprise, the Senate approved the man who cut that disgraceful deal, former Miami U.S. attorney Alexander Acosta, as labor secretary. He later resigned.

That deal does not mention Maxwell but it expressly stated that federal prosecutors “will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to Sarah Kellen, Adriana Ross, Lesley Groff, or Nadia Marcinkova.” Any criminal charge linked to the Epstein case against Maxwell would seem to be a charge against a “potential co-conspirator of Epstein.”

That deal however was not lawfully executed by Acosta who did a great disservice not only to justice but more importantly these victims. Judge Kenneth A. Marra of Federal District Court in West Palm Beach found, as many of us have long argued, that the deal cut by Acosta violated federal law and allowed the infamous financier to get a disgracefully low sentence. Here is the opinion.

Thus, the improper role played by the Justice Department in the case may actually help it now with any prosecution of Maxwell.

Update:

Any problem with the Acosta deal made be avoided by not just attacking the validity of the agreement, as noted, but reliance on perjury counts stemming from depositions (which would not be impacted by the agreement even if enforceable).

LINK

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Cash purchase of 156 acre NH Property in 2019

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