Jeffrey Epstein’s former “Lolita Express” pilot detailed several high-profile individuals he recalls among the passengers on Epstein’s numerous flights around the world.
While under oath during the Ghislaine Maxwell trial on Tuesday, pilot Larry Visoski Jr. was asked to describe his experience, to which he said “I certainly remember President Trump, but not many people associated with him,” adding that he also flew Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey, violinist Itzhak Perlman, former Senator John Glenn and Prince Andrew. He said that while he was tasked with ‘cleaning up’ after one of Clinton’s flights, he ‘never saw any sexual activity’ on the plane.
Everdell: And John Glenn and George Mitchell flew on Epstein's plane, right? Visoski: Yes. Everdell: And Kevin Spacey? Visoski: Yes. [Inner City Press coverage of Spacey case @SDNYLIVE: https://t.co/kcgy5yYjUN
Trump and Epstein were known to have associated with each other in the 90s as New York City playboys and successful entrepreneurs. As the Daily Mail reports, “It was previously reported that Trump had flown on Epstein’s plane from Palm Beach, where both had homes, to Newark, in 1997. Epstein is also said to have flown on one of Trump’s private planes.”
Trump is said to have severed his relationship with Epstein and banned him from Mar-a-Lago after the pedophile was reportedly trying to recruit a towel attendant in the early 2000s – prior to his conviction for soliciting child prostitution.
This is not true and isn't news. This came out years ago. The flight was in the late 90s and was a ride from Palm Beach to NYC, not to Epstein Island. Trump later banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. https://t.co/GaENydKB8m
“Mr. Epstein brought her to the cockpit. She had piercing power blue eyes,” he said of one alleged victim – to which Maxwell’s attorney Christian Everdell asked “And beyond the striking blue eyes, you have said she had large breasts, right?”
To which Visosky replied that she was a “mature woman.”
When asked if he remembers Virginia Roberts, Visoski replied, ‘Yes. A shorter woman with dirty blonde hair.‘
‘She didn’t look young. I mean, whatever you decipher is the definition of young. But she was a woman in my category,’ he added.
Maxwell entered the Manhattan courtroom Tuesday morning wearing a cream sweater, black slacks and looked on as Visoski was questioned.
He said Maxwell ‘was the Number 2’ and that ‘Epstein was the big Number 1’ when asked about their relationship.
When asked how many other assistants Epstein had in addition to Maxwell, he replied that there were many, identifying Maxwell’s own assistants.
He specifically named Sarah Kellen – who has been accused of playing a pivotal role in Epstein’s empire: procuring girls, coaching them and acting as a ‘lieutenant’ to Maxwell. -Daily Mail
Visoski also identified parts of Epstein’s 10,000 New Mexico ranch where airplanes were parked – describing how he used to go into the main residence to pick up luggage and help install electronics, a task he said he also performed on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St. James.
He said that Epstein’s relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell was “more personal than business,” but “I wouldn’t characterize it as romantic.”
Everdell: You saw nothing in 30 years that made you think Mr. Epstein was an abuser, right? Visoski: I did not. Everdell: Nothing further. Judge Nathan: Re-direct. AUSA Maurene Comey: Did you let your 14 year old daughter massage Mr. Epstein? Visoski: I did not.
Miami Herald BY KEVIN G. HALL AND BEN WIEDER NOVEMBER 25, 2020 04:11 PM, UPDATED NOVEMBER 25, 2020 06:08 PM
A federal judge on Wednesday handed a partial victory to the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands, who is pursuing a civil racketeering complaint against the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, partially granting her access to an ongoing civil lawsuit that involves the disgraced financier and close associates.
Attorney General Denise George brought a civil enforcement action against the Epstein estate in January, calling it an ongoing criminal enterprise. She went on to identify the two executors to the estate — Epstein lawyer Darren K. Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn — as alleged co-conspirators.
Epstein, who had homes in Palm Beach, Manhattan, Paris and New Mexico, also maintained an estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands, situated on his private island. He owned a second island nearby.
George asked U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska on Sept. 1 to grant the US. territory intervenor status, allowing for confidential access to materials filed under seal with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Preska is presiding over a now-settled civil lawsuit between accused Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Although the case was settled in 2017, the Miami Herald sued for access to depositions and other records from that lawsuit, and Preska in July ruled there was a presumption of public access to these documents.
Some documents came out quickly, and others, such as lengthy depositions by Maxwell, have been the subject of wrangling since summertime. On Wednesday, Preska handed Attorney General George a partial win.
Although she didn’t give the attorney general complete access to the case files, Preska granted parts of the September request from George. She ruled that no later than Dec. 10, Giuffre’s attorneys must provide to the U.S. Virgin Islands, under seal, a copy of Epstein’s deposition in the Giuffre-Maxwell lawsuit, which began in 2015, and all exhibits that are attached to it. Attorneys must also provide to George a list of everyone who sat for depositions in the dispute.
“The USVI may use these materials solely in connection with the USVI’s pending Virgin Islands Criminally Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act enforcement action against the estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein and several Epstein-controlled entities,” read the Wednesday order from Preska, which also warned that government lawyers there “shall be subject to sanctions for any unauthorized public disclosure of the identities of Epstein’s victims.”
Underscoring the complexity of several overlapping legal battles, not the least of which is Maxwell’s federal criminal case, Preska told the Virgin Islands legal team it would receive a copy of a prior order, put in the docket under seal away, explaining why certain information was ordered disclosed to celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz. He is embroiled in a pair of competing defamation suits brought by him and against him involving Giuffre, who claims she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Dershowitz and other powerful men.
Dershowitz denies this and has aggressively pushed to release all information that pertains to him in order to clear his name. The problem for Preska is that some of the information is tied up with non-parties, who are numbered in court documents and referred to as John Doe 1, John Doe 2 and so on. These “Does” don’t want their names disclosed.
Preska’s order sought to make clear there was “a certain nonparty Doe with particularly weighty privacy interests” that needed to be protected. Dershowitz helped engineer a deal in 2008 for Epstein that avoided tough federal charges in favor of lighter treatment by state prosecutors in Florida. The Miami Herald’s Perversion of Justice series in November 2018 spotlighted the deal and brought renewed attention on Epstein. He was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex crime charges and was found dead in his jail cell the following month in an apparent suicide.
His longtime associate Maxwell was arrested in July 2020, charged with four counts of sexual trafficking of a minor and two counts of perjury. She was considered a flight risk, denied bail and held in a New York detention center awaiting trial next summer.
Maxwell’s lawyers had argued that she should be granted bail because of the risk of COVID-19, and this week federal prosecutors acknowledged that Maxwell is currently in quarantine because she was exposed to someone who tested positive.
Maxwell has, so far, tested negative, but her lawyers continued their long-running dispute with the government about the terms of Maxwell’s detention, saying that she is constantly monitored by a camera, even when she leaves her cell, and woken every 15 minutes at night to ensure that she is still breathing — presumably in response to Epstein’s death in custody. Her lawyers asked that the judge summon Warden Heriberto Tellez from Maxwell’s facility, the Metropolitan Detention Center, to address Maxwell’s conditions.
Maxwell has fought Preska’s order to release documents from the civil case, claiming they will harm her ability to defend herself in the federal case. Appellate judges have sided with Preska on the presumption of public access to the documents.
In a rare look back at the 2007-08 federal investigation into Epstein, the Justice Department earlier this month concluded that there was no corrupt intent to treat Epstein lightly but that the U.S. attorney at the time, Alexander Acosta, exercised poor judgment in reaching a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein that also spared many of his close associates legal action at the time.
L Brands plans to separate business from Bath & Body Works
Lingerie chain is trying to revamp its image as sales decline
Victoria’s Secret announced a new head of its lingerie business as the company prepares to separate from sister brand Bath & Body Works, replacing John Mehas less than two years after he took the role.
Martin Waters, who joined parent L Brands Inc. in 2008, will become chief executive officer of the lingerie operations “effective immediately,” according to a statement Wednesday. The company didn’t give a reason for the change, and Victoria’s Secret declined to comment beyond the statement.
The abrupt change, one of several executive appointments announced Wednesday, comes as Victoria’s Secret tries to restore its image following allegations of sexual misconduct and associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The company has initiated a second probe into Epstein’s involvement, according to the New York Times.
The company also said Laura Miller will take over as chief human resources officer of Victoria’s Secret, while Becky Behringer will be executive vice president of North America store sales and operations and Janie Schaffer will be chief design officer of Victoria’s Secret Lingerie. Stuart Burgdoerfer remains the interim chief of Victoria’s Secret’s overall business, which also includes store operations, e-commerce and other areas.
The shares fell 1.8% at 10:30 a.m. in New York.
Mehas, the former president of handbag label Tory Burch, joined Victoria’s Secret in February 2019 to lead a turnaround at the lingerie division, which had become stagnant as its hyper-sexualized image lost luster. Longtime marketing chief Ed Razek left last year and the tone of Victoria’s Secret ads started to shift. But Mehas and Victoria’s Secret have also come under fire after a letter signed by more than 100 people, including models Christy Turlington Burns and Edie Campbell, said the retailer didn’t protect women from abuse.
Sales at Victoria’s Secret fell 14% to $1.35 billion last quarter but surpassed analysts’ estimates, propped up by an e-commerce business that now makes up 42% of the total.
Parent L Brands, which also owns Bath & Body Works, is undergoing a cost-cutting push as it weathers economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. It eliminated about 15% of its corporate staff, or about 850 office jobs, in an effort to save as much as $400 million per year. L Brands CEO Andrew Meslow said he’s approaching the holidays with caution and expects constraints on store traffic and shipping capacity.
Epstein came to my attention when I was an investigative journalist for one of Columbus, Ohio’s alternative newsweeklies, Columbus Alive. Not many people know that the infamous Jeffrey Epstein spent a lot of time in Columbus in the 1990s and owned the second most valuable house in Franklin County (where Columbus resides), in the plush Stepford suburb known as New Albany. I investigated central Ohio billionaire Les Wexner’s and Jeff Epstein’s ties to the intelligence community more than 20 years ago. Much of this is captured in two books – The Fitrakis Files: Spooks, Nukes, and Nazisand The Fitrakis Files: Cops, Coverups, and Corruption (CICJ Books, freepress.org).
The late State of Ohio Inspector General David Sturtz, one of my sources, was gathering evidence against Les Wexner and Jeff Epstein regarding public corruption, bribery and information related to the murder of Columbus attorney Arthur Shapiro. The ghost of Arthur Shapiro—a prominent local attorney who was slain in a 1985 “mob-style murder”—continues to haunt the city of Columbus.
Columbus Alive obtained a copy of the “Shapiro Homicide Investigation: Analysis and Hypothesis” report through a public records request. The report confirms that the name of Leslie Wexner, owner of the Limited Brands (now L Brands, including Victoria’s Secret), was linked “with associates reputed to be organized crime figures.”
Shapiro was a partner in the now-defunct Columbus law firm of Schwartz, Shapiro, Kelm & Warren. The firm “represented the Limited,” according to the report, and “prior to his death, Arthur Shapiro managed this account for the law firm.” Homicide squad investigators described Shapiro as “a quiet, shy, private, secretive person” who “tended to be a ‘loner.’”
Just prior to his murder, Shapiro “was the subject of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service because he had failed to file income tax returns for some seven years prior to his death, and he had invested in some questionable tax shelters,” the report stated. His death “occurred one day prior to Shapiro’s scheduled appearance before a Grand Jury in the I.R.S. investigation, and there was some conjecture that Shapiro was in position to provide information to the Grand Jury that would have been damaging to some other party.”
Epstein was perceived by Sturtz and then-Franklin County Sheriff Earl Smith as Shapiro’s replacement.
Sturtz referred to Epstein as Wexner’s “boyfriend,” but Epstein was more than that. He was an “international man of mystery” with ties to the CIA, the royal family, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and others. And at the heart of it, he is perhaps our nation’s most well-known pedophile. Echoing Greek tragedies, Wexner, with his name on more central Ohio buildings than anyone and known for his generous philanthropy, was caught up in Epstein’s human trafficking scandal.
Epstein and Wexner reportedly met in 1985 when they were introduced by Bob Meister, an insurance mogul. Wexner and Epstein’s real estate dealings go back to at least 1989 when they jointly purchased a mansion in Manhattan described as the second largest residence in New York City.
Wexner granted Epstein durable power of attorney over all of his economic dealings in July 1991.
In 1998, business documents identified Epstein as president, along with Wexner, of the New Albany Company. Epstein owned the house on King George Drive in New Albany from 1994 until December 2007 when he gave it to Wexner with no money exchanged. Also in 1998, Wexner transferred his interest in their Manhattan property for $20 million to Epstein.
A December 1995 Architectural Digest article and a follow-up 1996 New York Times report detailed the inner sanctum of Wexner’s former Manhattan townhouse, one of the largest in the city.
“Visitors described a bathroom reminiscent of James Bond movies: hidden beneath a stairway, lined with lead to provide shelter from attack and supplied with closed-circuit television screens and a telephone, both concealed in a cabinet beneath the sink,” wrote the Times.
Epstein, who is known to have flown President Clinton several times on his jet obtained from the Limited, was usually seen in the company of Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of deceased publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell. After Maxwell fell off, or was pushed off, his yacht in 1991, it was revealed that Maxwell was working for the Israeli government and the Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence service. While Maxwell’s ties to the Mossad are well-documented, Epstein’s connections are less well known. The London Sunday Times quoted a New York social observer describing Epstein as follows: “He’s Mr. Enigmatic. Nobody knows whether he’s a concert pianist, property developer, a CIA agent, a math teacher or a member of Mossad.” New York Magazine claims Epstein is the man who moves Wexner’s billions around the globe.
Sturtz revealed files listing Epstain as person of interest in the death of Maxwell.
As the logistics man for Wexner, Epstein arranged the arrival of Southern Air Transport (SAT) to Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio. The airline, formerly Air America, was infamous as an illegal gun- and drug-running operation. SAT filed for bankruptcy in Columbus on October 1, 1998, the same day the Central Intelligence Agency Inspector General issued a report linking the cargo hauler to allegations of drug-running in connection with U.S.-backed Contra rebels in Nicaragua in the 1980s.
Once lauded as a coup for central Ohio development, landing Southern Air Transport’s business at Rickenbacker eventually turned into a nightmare, as the enterprise became mired in massive debt and was closed under a cloud of suspicion about its true activities.
How did such a notorious company come to set up shop in central Ohio? Then-Franklin County Commissioner Dorothy Teater, then a candidate running for mayor of Columbus, told Columbus Alive that she was not aware of Southern Air’s ties to the CIA. “If it’s true, that’s awful,” she said, adding the push to land SAT in Ohio came from the state Department of Development.
Edmund James, president of James and Donohew Development Services let it be known that “much of the Hong Kong-to-Rickenbacker cargo will be for The Limited.” Brian Clancy, a cargo analyst with MergeGloban Inc., was quoted in the Journal of Commerce: “Limited Inc., the nation’s largest retailer, is based in Columbus, a fact that undoubtedly contributed in large part to Southern Air’s decision.”
The full story of Southern Air Transport can be found in “Spook Air.”
Epstein also helped his mentor, Wexner, sell the war in Iraq through the Wexner Foundation. Moreover, a memo from Epstein’s sentencing in Miami back in 2007, points out that he was cooperating and providing information to the FBI.
The media obtained a leaked document from the Wexner Foundation entitled, “Wexner Analysis: Israeli Communication Priorities 2003.” The report was prepared to sell the war in Iraq and provides insight into Wexner’s relationship with the state of Israel.
Wexner’s philanthropic side is more public. In 1998, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wexner was part of the “‘Mega Group,’ a loosely organized club of 20 of the nation’s wealthiest and most influential Jewish businessmen.” The Mega Group meets purportedly to discuss “philanthropy,” but others have speculated that their charitable interests are often a cover for lobbying activities on behalf of Israel. The Wall Street Journalidentified the late Max Fisher, a Detroit financier and billionaire, as a member of the Mega Group. Fisher was used as a private Middle East diplomat by President Gerald Ford during the 1970s and is considered Wexner’s mentor.
The Wexner Analysis points out that “. . . many sympathize with the plight of the Palestinian people, [but] there is no love lost for Yassir Arafat.” So, when the Wexner Analysis report was leaked, it caused a stir but no questioning of Wexner’s little-explored relationships with Epstein and Fisher. Frank Lutz, the Republican Party pollster and spin doctor, prepared the Wexner Analysis. Lutz’s report essentially outlines a political PR campaign “as the post-war dust settles over the Iraqi desert.”
The Wexner Analysis emphasized that “now is the time to link American success in dealing with terrorism and dictators from a position of strength to Israel’s ongoing efforts to eradicate terrorism on and within its borders.”
Lutz, realizing the value of an Arab bogeymen, stresses that “‘Saddam Hussein’ are the two words that tie Israel to America and are most likely to deliver support in Congress. The day we allow Saddam to take his eventual place in the trash heap of history is the day we lose our strongest weapon in the linguistic defense of Israel.”
In the “Essential Conclusion” section of the report, Lutz offers 10 recommendations. The first is: “Iraq colors all. Saddam is your best defense, even if he is dead. For a year–a SOLID YEAR–you should be invoking the name of Saddam Hussein and how Israel was always behind American efforts to rid the world of this ruthless dictator and liberate their people.”
Sturtz believed that both Wexner and Epstein had ties to foreign intelligence.
As journalist Vicky Ward pointed out in “Jeffrey Epstein’s Sick Story Played Out For Years in Plain Sight,” Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who went light on Epstein in a 2007 deal, became the Secretary of Labor under Trump. Reportedly he told the people vetting him in the Trump administration: “I was told Epstein belonged to intelligence and to leave it alone.”
So, Jeff Epstein “committed suicide” while on suicide watch in prison. This was widely predicted, since Epstein, in part to gratify himself, was running one of the world’s most notorious “honey traps.” if you were rich or powerful and liked underage girls, Epstein was your guy. Now that Epstein’s gone, the likes of Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson can breathe easier.
Sexual blackmail is an old, tried and true technique. Usually it succeeds because the elite decision makers are protected. To end the exploitation, everything must be exposed whether you are a crowned prince or a president. The civil suit charging that current President Donald Trump raped a 13-year-old girl at Epstein’s mansion in New York could still be brought forward. Hopefully the criminal investigation on this in Manhattan will go forth despite Epstein’s unfortunate but unsurprisingly “suicide.”
This article is a compliation of Fitrakis’ past articles on Jeffrey Epstein. Bob Fitrakis has investigated Jeffrey Epstein since 1995. Fitrakis appears in the recent Netflix documentary Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.
In 2019, multiple news sources, including Town & Country reported disgraced financier & sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center from an apparent suicide. Other sources reported he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The Guardian outlined how Jeffrey Epstein’s death came directly after unsealed documents had arrived in New York. These documents contained the names of women he allegedly abused in his Palm Beach, New York, and Virgin Island homes. These names were to be used in Epstein’s upcoming trial as evidence by the prosecution.
Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, was arrested last summer in connection with Epstein’s crimes. Maxwell denied even being aware of her former boyfriend, Epstein, sexually assaulting underage women. After an investigation conducted by the FBI, Maxwell was formally charged. She awaits trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being denied bail in July.
However, some speculate whether or not Ghislaine Maxwell would have even been arrested if Jeffrey Epstein hadn’t died in custody. While the answer to that question could remain a mystery, Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement could shed some light on the answers. Here’s what we know so far.
Epstein & Maxwell’s history
The New York Times reported Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and daughter of media tycoon Robert Maxwell, moved to New York in the 1990s. After her father’s death, her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein allegedly helped her maintain a “luxurious” lifestyle. In exchange, Maxwell introduced Epstein to prominent figures in her circle, such as Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
Although many women accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexually abusing them, Ghislaine Maxwell has continued to state that she had no involvement in the matter. Back in April 2016 before Epstein’s death, CNBC confirmed Maxwell firmly said under oath: “I never saw any inappropriate underage activities with Jeffrey ever.” Her statements came from an unsealed deposition from a lawsuit between Maxwell & one of Epstein’s accusers.
The accuser, Virginia Roberts-Giuffre is adamant to prove Maxwell was as big of a sexual offender as Epstein was. From CNBC: “Giuffre said Maxwell instructed her to have sex with a number of men, including (Prince) Andrew.” Prince Andrew & Buckingham Palace emphatically deny Roberts-Giuffre’s accusations.
Other victims
Virginia Roberts-Giuffre isn’t the only woman alleging Ghislaine Maxwell abused her. The New York Times reported on other women who came forward. Maria Farmer allegedly claimed in a different civil case, Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell assaulted her when she was just a graduate student in 1996.
Maria Farmer also claimed her fifteen-year-old sister was also assaulted. In Netflix’s documentary Filthy Rich, Farmer reported Jeffrey Epstein offered her sister an opportunity to teach abroad, invited her to his New Mexico ranch for a fake orientation, and molested her there. Farmer also claimed Ghislaine Maxwell took part in the abuse.
The New York Times also referred to Sarah Ransome’s reported sexual abuse experience, and her account of Epstein’s operation. Ransome alleged Maxwell “appeared to be in charge of their activities, what they did, who they did it with, and how they were supposed to stay in line”.
The sweetheart deal
After all these allegations, how could Ghislaine Maxwell have remained a free woman after Epstein’s arrest? The eyewitness accounts from Roberts-Giuffre, the Farmers, and Ransome should have implicated Maxwell in Epstein’s crimes, prompting her arrest. However, when Jeffrey Epstein was first arrested in 2007, he cut a “sweetheart deal” to avoid prosecution, which allegedly included immunity for four unnamed associates.
The Scottish Sun reported Ghislaine Maxwell could be immune from prosecution thanks to this deal. Lawyers from Southern District of Florida lawyers claimed the language of Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement was so loose, it could apply to “any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to” the four women it named.
However, Jeffrey Epstein’s victims most likely won’t back down. In August 2019, Virginia Roberts-Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies told The Miami Herald they’d continue to fight for all the women who were abused by Epstein, even after his death. “Jeffrey Epstein did not act, and count not have done what he did alone. Justice demands that those who acted with him also be held accountable.”
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently in custody and is scheduled to be tried in 2021. According to BBC, Maxwell could be in prison for a maximum of 35 years.
An internal review started after Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to the company were revealed has not produced any public findings. Some employees question whether workplace issues have been properly addressed.
By Sapna Maheshwari, Katherine Rosman, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and James B. Stewart
It has been more than a year since L Brands, the owner of Victoria’s Secret, said it was hiring a law firm to investigate its billionaire founder Leslie H. Wexner’s close ties to the convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, but no findings have been made public and the review has seemed to fade from view.
Maybe a new law firm will fare better.
After Mr. Epstein’s July 2019 arrest, revelations about his sweeping power over the retail magnate’s fortune and how he may have used his link to the lingerie giant to prey on women prompted the company to swiftly declare that it had hired lawyers to conduct a “thorough review” of the matter. The company enlisted Davis Polk & Wardwell, the white-shoe law firm that it had relied on for legal counsel for years, and that once employed Mr. Wexner’s wife, Abigail. But nothing about the scope of the investigation has been released since, and many former Victoria’s Secret employees, including two who had interacted with Mr. Epstein, said they were never contacted by lawyers. Now, a second inquiry has begun at the company.
A shareholder lawsuit filed in May suggested Davis Polk was too close to L Brands to be truly independent. The shareholder said they asked the board in February to replace Davis Polk or hire another firm as a “check” for its review of Mr. Wexner and Mr. Epstein’s relationship.
Last month, at least five current and former Victoria’s Secret employees were surprised to hear from a new lawyer with no affiliation to Davis Polk. Sarah K. Eddy, a partner in the litigation department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, said she was commencing a separate investigation on behalf of two independent L Brands board members: Sarah Nash, who became its chairwoman this year, and Anne Sheehan. In an email obtained by The New York Times, Ms. Eddy said her firm was investigating “allegations raised in shareholder demand letters and civil complaints concerning, among other things, connections between L Brands and Jeffrey Epstein.” The former employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity citing fear of retribution, all said they had received similar calls and emails. Shareholder complaints have also raised concerns about allegations of misconduct and a culture of harassment and misogyny at L Brands and its lingerie powerhouse, suggesting that the new investigation could be looking into those issues.
Ms. Nash, a former executive at JPMorgan Chase and chief executive of Novagard Solutions, and Ms. Sheehan, an expert in corporate governance, joined the L Brands board last year after an activist investor pushed for more diversity and fewer directors with business and social ties to the Wexners.
Ms. Eddy declined to comment. A representative for Davis Polk did not respond to requests for comment.
The new investigation is the latest jolt for L Brands and Victoria’s Secret, months after the pandemic foiled a plan to sell the lingerie brand to a private-equity firm. Even before the revelations about Mr. Epstein, Victoria’s Secret was battling a decline while facing criticism that its lingerie-clad models were out of step with current views of beauty. That put fresh attention on its management and the board of L Brands, which also owns Bath & Body Works.
Mr. Wexner, 83, has sought to distance himself from Mr. Epstein, who died in prison in August last year in what was ruled a suicide. But L Brands has also faced intense scrutiny about its workplace environment. An article by The Times in February showed that Mr. Wexner and his former chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, presided over an entrenched culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment at L Brands and Victoria’s Secret. Mr. Wexner stepped down as chief executive and chairman of L Brands in May, but nearly all of Victoria’s Secret’s remaining top leaders are men he hired or promoted, including the brand’s interim chief executive, who was appointed to that role despite an extramarital affair with a subordinate that became widely known inside the company. The scarcity of women in the highest ranks of the company has frustrated some employees.
“This year, we have amended our board governance, made significant policy changes, initiated a robust diversity and inclusion strategy, and greatly enhanced associate communication,” Ms. Nash said in a statement. “It’s truly a new day for L Brands, and I’m excited about the progress we continue to make for our associates, customers and communities we serve around the world.” She said she was proud that half of its board was now women.
Two current employees said they were cautiously optimistic that Wachtell’s independence could allow the new investigation to address the company’s workplace culture.
In May, the company’s board said Stuart Burgdoerfer, L Brands’ chief financial officer for more than a decade, would also become interim chief executive of Victoria’s Secret. Some current and former employees wondered how significantly Mr. Burgdoerfer could improve the company’s culture. Several years ago, while he was having an extramarital affair with an L Brands employee, fliers with both of their photos were placed on car windshields in a company parking lot, saying in part: “Hope you two can buy enough lingerie to make up for the damage you caused your families!!!”
News of the affair and the fliers spread through the company and even reached at least one Wall Street analyst. The matter was never addressed internally with rank-and-file staff. Mr. Burgdoerfer and the employee, who left the company this year, were recently married.
Charles McGuigan, the longtime chief operating officer of L Brands, who departed in July, was also in a serious relationship with an employee who worked in store design and construction. Five current and former employees said the situation was viewed as particularly egregious because Mr. McGuigan also oversaw human resources for a time while in the relationship.
Brooke Wilson, a company spokeswoman, said the relationships “were fully and thoroughly disclosed to the appropriate people, including the board.” She said there were no reporting relationships between the individuals or violations of company policy.
Until last year L Brands had given investors few reasons to complain. Mr. Wexner previously had a sterling reputation as the longest-serving chief executive in the S&P 500 and was a major force in shaping the American mall through L Brands, which once owned chains like Abercrombie & Fitch and Express. He and his wife are prominent in Ohio as the biggest donors to Ohio State University. (Davis Polk, the law firm the company first enlisted for its investigation, has contributed money to Ohio State’s Wexner Center for the Arts.)
But the ties to Mr. Epstein, who had unusual control over Mr. Wexner’s billions and obtained assets like a New York mansion and private plane through their connection, dented the tycoon’s legacy. Three former L Brands executives told The Times this year that Mr. Wexner was alerted in the mid-1990s about Mr. Epstein’s attempts to pitch himself as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret models, but the C.E.O. did not appear to act.
In February, L Brands announced a plan to sell a majority stake in Victoria’s Secret to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners, whittling the public company down to Bath & Body Works. Once the sale closed, Mr. Wexner planned to step down as chief executive and chairman of L Brands but remain on its board.
Then the pandemic hit, dealing an outsize blow to mall chains, especially apparel sellers, and Sycamore backed out of the deal after some legal wrangling. In May, there was a management shuffle at Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, which are still being run as separate companies within the publicly traded L Brands, and Ms. Nash replaced Mr. Wexner as board chair. Mr. Wexner and his wife remain on the board, but three directors retired, including a former Ohio State president as well as two who had served for more than three decades. Morale has been low in a difficult year that has included hundreds of layoffs in New York and Columbus, Ohio, tied to the pandemic.
While L Brands’ shares soared 92 percent this year through Monday, they remained 64 percent below a 2015 peak.
L Brands will report quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
BBC Two has announced a new three-part documentary series looking at the Maxwell family that is scheduled to air in 2021.
The three-part series, currently titled The Fall of the House of Maxwell, will look at the rise and fall of media mogul Robert Maxwell, as well as cast an eye over his daughter Ghislaine Maxwell’s alleged involvement in grooming underage victims for sexual abuse.
Robert first started life as an impoverished Holocaust survivor, who built up lavish wealth and fame as a media proprietor.
However, his jet-set lifestyle soon took a hugely dark turn as his multimillion pound media business started to collapse, with his apparently accidental death falling overboard on his yacht leading to allegations of fraud on a grand scale.
Elsewhere, daughter Ghislaine Maxwell has become an infamous figure in her own right due to her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late investment banker who stood accused of decades of sexual abuse on underage girls. The socialite, who was arrested earlier this year following an international manhunt, will face trial for her involvement in the abuse. She has denied all charges against her.
Told through intimate testimony and exclusive never-before-seen sources of archive, The Fall of the House of Maxwell is a story woven through British and American society and culture, and will offer a unique window into a world of money, sex, privacy and power across the last fifty years.
Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two, said of the upcoming series: “Building on recent successes like Once Upon a Time in Iraq, Thatcher and The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty, this series promises to combine nuanced story-telling with great filmmaking ambition. I’m delighted to commission it for BBC Two and iPlayer audiences.”
Creative Director, Factual and Factual Drama, Colin Barr, added: “It’s hard to imagine a story with a more dramatic rise or disastrous fall than the story of the Maxwell family. I
“t’s a story that is both intimate and epic and one which speaks to half a century of business, politics and celebrity. This is a true-life family drama on an extraordinary scale, and we’re incredibly privileged to be producing it for BBC Two.”
He owned an entire island in the Bahamas, bedecked with a sprawling mansion compound, with multiple separate offices, a huge sundial and a bizarre sex temple. He owned a 10,000-acre ranch in New Mexico, with a 50,000 square foot mansion situated on a hill at its center. He owned the largest single private residence in Manhattan, a seven-story castle known as the “Herbert N. Straus House.”
And apparently, the renowned pedophile and pimp for the elite, Jeffery Epstein also owned a super-chic, ski-in, ski-out, Euro-style ski chalet in Vail, Colorado. Right at the base of the mountain, in fact, near one of the most highly trafficked areas on the slopes.
If you’ve skied Vail, chances are you’ve skied right past this place.
375 Mill Creek Circle, is the epitome of alpine elegance: It sits on a private plot of land, surrounded by evergreen pines and spruce trees, pressed against the slopes and looking straight out at Golden Peak and the Riva Bahn Express. It’s got an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a jacuzzi, huge balconies, several lavish bunk rooms, and a master bedroom with a four-poster bed, fit for a Scandinavian King. The estate is valued at over $24 million dollars and sits in one of the choicest spots in the entire village.
This insanely beautiful mansion, was one of two properties that were undisclosed in the breakdown Epstein’s finances, following his arrest and death.
Who knows what kinds of dark things transpired behind the walls of this prominent Vail mansion? Who knows how often he stayed there, or skied Vail himself?
Maybe often. Maybe never. He certainly isn’t around to tell us.
Apparently, the chalet was first bought by the heiress of Johnson & Johnson, from the original owners in 1994. The heiress, Elizabeth Ross “Libet” Johnson, was one of the few clients who Epstein managed wealth for and sometime in 1998, he somehow convinced her to make him an owner of the property and she legally transferred it over to him. He did a similar thing with Les Wexner, who originally owned the Herbert N. Straus House in New York, but transferred the deed over to Epstein under mysterious circumstances.
The Vail estate sold earlier this year and no one really knows where the money went. As the trustee, Libet Johnson’s daughter, Annabell Teal may have received all or some of the funds. However, it’s unclear whether or not Epstein was also still a trustee — if he was, the other half of the $24 million would go to Epstein’s brother, Mark.
Regardless, the chalet is now under new ownership. And I doubt the realtor disclosed who it had belonged to previously…
Before he was found dead in a New York jail cell in what a coroner described as a suicide, Jeffrey Epstein was a super-rich serial sex abuser with impeccable political connections and a ruthless streak. A year after his death, Epstein haunts a criminal justice system that failed his many victims.
In 2005, the parents of a 14-year-old girl complained to the Palm Beach Police Department in Florida that Epstein had paid their daughter for a massage. The investigation led to the discovery that Epstein used personal assistants to recruit girls to provide massages for him and the massages often led to sexual abuse.
After the state attorney’s office presented its case, a grand jury indicted Epstein for a felony count solicitation of prostitution. In search of a tougher, more appropriate sentence, local law enforcement reached out to the FBI in the hope that the feds could come up with charges that better reflected Epstein’s crimes.
In 2007, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta, issued a 53-page indictment.
Enter Epstein’s dream team of lawyers, which included Alan Dershowitz of O.J. Simpson trial fame; Roy Black, who won an acquittal on a rape charge for William Kennedy Smith, JFK’s nephew; and Ken Starr, who served as special counsel against President Bill Clinton.
As Acosta later wrote, Epstein’s lawyers investigated federal prosecutors and their families “looking for personal peccadilloes,” which they tried to use to disqualify at least two prosecutors.
The prospect of putting teenage victims on the stand to testify before well-paid sharks waiting to shred their credibility — that made it easy to see that Epstein might be found not guilty.
Acosta worked on a nonprosecution agreement that required Epstein to plead guilty to felony solicitation of prostitution and procurement of minors for prostitution in state court. The deal required that Epstein register as a sex offender, pay restitution to his victims and agree to a minimum of two years behind bars — later reduced to 18 months.
It was not the harsh sentence Epstein deserved, but it beat acquittal. At least, as Acosta later argued, the arrangement “put the world on notice” that Epstein, a friend of sorts to men such as Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton and real estate developer Donald Trump, “was and is a sexual predator.”
After pleading guilty in 2008, Epstein gamed local law enforcement. He applied for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s work-release program. For no good reason, his application was approved — Epstein spent 12 hours a day six days a week at his private office.
After his time was served, Epstein returned to his lifestyle of the rich and famous. Yes, he was a registered sex offender. Still, he lived large and largely avoided the interest of the press.
Then, in 2017, Trump, now president, picked Acosta to be his labor secretary. Only then did the Miami Herald produce the 2018 series, “Perversion of Justice.”
Only after the story was hot news in 2019 did New York U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman indict Epstein for sexual exploitation with minors — between 2002 and 2005.
Acosta, the only prosecutor to put Epstein behind bars, was hounded from his job. For his troubles, Acosta got a bonus: a federal investigation into his handling of the case.
Guess what: The department found no prosecutorial misconduct, although it did say the plea deal constituted “poor judgment.” Considering what followed with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department, who can argue?
“Of course, had Secretary Acosta known then what he knows now, he certainly would have directed a different path,” Acosta reacted in a statement.
It is an outrage that Epstein was able to prey on teens for a decade after his guilty plea. But there’s something wrong with targeting the only prosecutor to put Epstein away, especially when so many in power looked the other way for a decade.
Saunders: System failed Epstein victims Las Vegas Review Journal
Lilly Ann Sanchez was a member of Epstein’s defense team in 2008
Epstein had faced a potential federal indictment and life imprisonment for sexually abusing dozens of girls
Sanchez helped secure the ‘slap on the wrist’ plea deal with the Southern District of Florida’s US Attorney’s Office for the pedophile to serve just 13 months
Sanchez had previously been in a relationship with Matthew Menchel, one of the Attorney’s Office’s prosecutors who worked on the plea deal, a source revealed
The link between the two came to light in the review by the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) finalized this week
Review concluded the probe into the office’s handling of Epstein’s case
It found Menchel should have disclosed his relationship with Sanchez
The review also said prosecutors simply exercised ‘poor judgement’ in granting the plea deal
A defense attorney for Jeffrey Epstein had previously dated one of the top prosecutors who helped secure the pedophile his 13-month sweetheart deal, it has been revealed.
Lilly Ann Sanchez was a member of Epstein’s defense team in 2008 when he was facing a potential federal indictment and life imprisonment for sexually abusing dozens of girls between 1999 and 2007.
Sanchez helped secure a deal with the Southern District of Florida’s US Attorney’s Office for Epstein to plead guilty to a lesser felony prostitution charge, register as a sex offender and serve just 13 months in a county jail where he could come and go during the day.
It has now emerged that Sanchez had previously been in a relationship with Matthew Menchel, one of the Attorney’s Office’s prosecutors who worked on the plea deal.
The link between the two came to light in the nearly 300-page review by the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) finalized this week which concluded the Attorney’s Office simply exercised ‘poor judgement’ in reaching the slap on the wrist deal with the pedophile.
The OPR had launched a probe into the actions of the Florida prosecutors several months back.
The full review has not been released, only an executive summary, with the Justice Department citing privacy laws protecting the victims involved.
A source familiar with the review told the New York Daily News the full report reveals Menchel and Sanchez dated for a few weeks back in 2003 before breaking off the relationship because they felt it wasn’t a good idea.
At the time, they were both working at the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sanchez later left the office to work in private practice and became part of Epstein’s defense team in 2007 as he was under investigation for the sexual abuse of underage girls.
When the Attorney’s Office began investigating Epstein, Menchel was the chief of its criminal division and worked on the plea deal for the pedophile.
The report says Menchel had left the office before the case into Epstein was resolved.
Menchel told Justice Department investigators during the probe that his relationship with Sanchez had no impact on his handling of the case, the report says.
However the review found that the prosecutor should have disclosed the relationship to then US Attorney Alex Acosta and ethics officials and that, if he had, he would have likely been taken off the case.
The review has faced a backlash after it cleared Acosta, Donald Trump’s former labor secretary, and his team of prosecutors of misconduct over the handling of the case, instead ruling that the attorney showed ‘poor judgement’ in granting Epstein the deal.
‘While OPR did not find that Department attorneys engaged in professional misconduct, OPR concluded that the victims were not treated with the forthrightness and sensitivity expected by the Department.
‘OPR also concluded that former U.S. Attorney Acosta exercised poor judgment by deciding to resolve the federal investigation through the non-prosecution agreement and when he failed to make certain that the state of Florida intended to and would notify victims identified through the federal investigation about the state plea hearing,’ the office said in a statement.
The office said the probe found no evidence that Acosta was swayed by ‘impermissible considerations, such as Epstein’s wealth, status, or associations’.
Senator Ben Sasse released a statement slamming the findings Thursday.
‘Letting a well-connected billionaire get away with child rape and international sex trafficking isn’t ‘poor judgment– it is a disgusting failure. Americans ought to be enraged,’ he said.
‘Jeffrey Epstein should be rotting behind bars today, but the Justice Department failed Epstein’s victims at every turn.’
Epstein first came under investigation in 2005 after police in Palm Beach received reports he had sexually abused and trafficked underage girls in his mansion there.
Following an investigation he struck the plea deal in 2008 which has been widely criticized.
The deal also protected three co-conspirators from prosecution in Palm Beach, and it was kept secret from his victims for a year.
Epstein was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan last August while awaiting trial on new sex trafficking charges.
He had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s.
His death was ruled a suicide but his attorneys and some family members claim he was murdered to stop him from sharing what he knows about other high profile, powerful people.
His alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell is now awaiting her sex trafficking trial in summer 2021.
Attorneys for an alleged victim of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contend in a new court filing that the U.S. Department of Justice failed to turn over significant documents related to Epstein’s controversial 2007 deal with federal prosecutors and concealed the existence of a nearly year-long “data gap” in the email inbox of Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. Attorney in Miami who approved the deal.
“I think it calls into doubt everything that we’ve been told about the case from the Justice Department,” said Paul Cassell, an attorney for alleged victim Courtney Wild, who sued the DOJ in 2008 over Epstein’s once-secret deal. “We’ve been told that they have all the information, that everything was fine. But now it turns out they’ve never had all the information.”
The new court filing comes in advance of a crucial court hearing in Wild’s case and on the heels of the release last week of a 350-page report on the Epstein deal by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which spent more than a year reviewing the actions of Acosta and the four former prosecutors most directly involved in the negotiations.
The review, which determined that Acosta exhibited “poor judgment” in his handling of the Epstein deal, relied substantially on internal government emails as well as communications between the prosecutors and Epstein’s team of high-profile lawyers to reach its conclusion. But the details concerning the missing Acosta emails were relegated to a brief section of an appendix to the report. The gap, which did not affect Acosta’s sent mail, was determined by OPR to be most likely due to a “technological error,” and the OPR reviewers found no evidence that there had been any intentional deletion of emails, according to the report.
The email gap coincides with a critical period from May 2007 — when the lead prosecutor prepared a 53-page draft indictment of Epstein — to April 2008, shortly before Epstein entered a guilty plea in state court that ended the federal investigation. It was during this time frame that Epstein’s defense attorneys were mounting an aggressive lobbying effort to persuade Acosta and his deputies to shelve the indictment and close the federal case.
“The gap seems to have surgically struck on exactly the time period when most of the big decisions were being made,” Cassell said. “I was stunned because you would think if there was ever a case where the Justice Department would have been very careful to make sure they had complete records and things weren’t missing, this would be the one.”
After the OPR report was made public, Cassell said that he and his co-counsel Brad Edwards began digging through their case files and discovered that some emails between the prosecutors and Epstein’s lawyers that were cited in the report had apparently not been produced to them in Wild’s case, even though a court ordered the government to turn all those communications over to them in 2013.
“In just a few minutes’ time, I identified several ‘external’ emails that appear to have been available to OPR but inexplicably never made available to Ms. Wild,” Edwards wrote in an affidavit submitted to the court on Monday.
Among the records Edwards contends the government may have improperly withheld were messages between a federal prosecutor and an Epstein attorney who was contesting a requirement that Epstein register as a sex offender, and exchanges about a government subpoena seeking to obtain computers that had been removed from Epstein’s Palm Beach home prior to the execution of a search warrant by local police. Epstein’s lawyers contested the subpoena, and it was eventually withdrawn as a condition of Epstein’s deal.
“So far as we can determine in our records, this correspondence has not been produced to us. This correspondence is significant because, had the efforts to obtain the computer continued, it is likely that the [prosecutors] would have obtained ironclad forensic evidence to charge Epstein with child pornography crimes,” Edwards wrote.
Epstein’s deal with the federal government allowed him to avoid an indictment that could have charged him with substantial crimes against 19 alleged victims. He faced a potential sentence between 14 and 17 years if convicted, according to the OPR report. Instead, he pleaded guilty to two prostitution-related crimes in state court and served 13 months of an 18-month sentence in county jail, much of it on a liberal work release program, and the federal case was closed.
Wild’s lawsuit against the DOJ alleges that Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement, which also conferred immunity on any potential co-conspirators, was reached in violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, which requires the federal government to confer with victims, keep them informed and to treat them with fairness and dignity.
After many years of litigation, the Justice Department acknowledged that it did not inform Wild or any of the victims about the deal before it was done. But the government argues that the law did not require the victims to be notified because no federal charges were filed.
In February 2019, a federal judge in West Palm Beach ruled in Wild’s favor, deciding that the government had violated the law by not conferring with Wild and other alleged victims before they made the deal. But before the judge could determine if Epstein’s deal should be torn up, Epstein was arrested again in New York and then died in prison. The case was dismissed but she has appealed the decision.
Early next month, Wild’s case is scheduled for oral argument before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Her lawyers are now urging the court to consider the newly discovered information about Acosta’s missing emails and to order the government to turn over the allegedly undisclosed records and all the materials the OPR considered for its report.
“Unfortunately, [the appeals court judges] don’t have in front of them right now all of the information about the case. A lot of new information came out last week when the Justice Department finally released its internal emails and other information. And we want all of that information in front of the judges when they make a ruling,” Cassell said.
According to Cassell’s filing, the government has indicated that it opposes his requests.
Following the release of the OPR review, an attorney for Acosta, Gordon Todd, released a statement contending that the report “fully debunks allegations” that Acosta “improperly cut Epstein a ‘sweetheart deal’ or purposefully avoided investigating potential wrongdoing by various prominent individuals.”
“OPR’s investigation confirmed the evidentiary and legal challenges that would have faced any attempted federal prosecution of Epstein based on information available at the time,” Todd wrote.
The late heiress Libet Johnson named him to her trust before her death.
Jeffrey Epstein had a massive real estate empire that included an apartment in Paris, two islands in the Caribbean, a Palm Beach mansion, a massive New York townhouse and a ranch in New Mexico. But OK! has obtained paperwork revealing these were not his only properties. One thing he kept secret was another — never-before-disclosed — sex chalet!
In 1997, Epstein became an owner of a ski chalet in Vail, Colo., that just sold this past July — for $24 million.
Documents show that the property was purchased in 1994 by Elizabeth Ross “Libet” Johnson, the great-granddaughter of the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. She is one of those rare individuals who was known to be a client of Epstein, and a few years into their professional relationship, Epstein got Libet to make him an owner of her property.
A 1998 property transfer that is dated May 13 and signed by both Johnson and Epstein transfers the property from the heiress to a trust set up in her name by the pedophile. That document is only signed by those two individuals, along with the appropriate notaries and clerks, but none of Libet’s heirs. Her six children did have a claim to the house, as she was one of the two grantees in that 1998 agreement, with the other being Epstein. Upon her death, they inherited her share.
The document states that Epstein can “convey, encumber, lease or otherwise deal with interest” in the property. That gave him the same rights to the chalet as Libet. There was never a change to that trust before the house sold this year, and the deed references the owner as being the trust as created in the May 1998 document. The deed for the property was signed by Libet’s daughter, Annabel Teal, in her capacity as a trustee of the estate.
It is unclear if Epstein then received half of the sale from this home, or if he had listed himself as a grantee to run some sort of financial scheme. It is similar to what he had done with Les Wexner when he inherited his Upper East townhouse from the L Brands founder. If he was in fact still an owner of the chalet, then the money would go to his brother Mark Epstein, but the government does not seem to be aware of the property. It is one of two Epstein properties not listed in the breakdown of his assets provided by his executors to the courts.
It is also worth noting that it was not sold during Libet’s lifetime despite the fact that she stopped going to Vail. She became increasingly reclusive, as she battled Alzheimer’s towards the end of her life — though, prior to that, did occasionally appear at social functions, sometimes on the arm of one-time boyfriend and Epstein pal Frédéric Fekkai.
As for the property, The Stockton Group described the chalet as such:
A homesite chosen by the original investors of Vail for its unparalleled access to the ski slopes, unobstructed views of the Gore Range and pristine natural surroundings. This home combines timeless luxury with impeccable craftsmanship while absorbing the incredible history of this premier ski-in/ski-out location. Off the backyard, is the Golden Peak base area and Riva Bahn high-speed quad. A legacy property with unmatched privacy and proximity to the ski mountain.
The 7,738-square-foot home is located on half-an-acre of land and has seven bedrooms, seven full bathrooms, multiple fireplaces, an elevator and a pool.
Jeffrey Epstein shared “agreeable memories” about Donald Trump and Bill Clinton with inmates at his Manhattan prison before his death, a new book claims.
Prison companion William “Dollar Bill” Mersey says the New York financier told him the current president wanted to show off his Atlantic City casino to a “French girl.”
And convicted pedophile Epstein also reportedly discussed former President Clinton’s “days as a lothario”, but said such days were over, due to heart surgery.
The account of Epstein’s final weeks in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre, in Manhattan, emerged in new book The Spider, published by Crown, which is released today.
The sex offender died after apparently taking his own life while awaiting trial on new trafficking charges, in August last year.
Author Barry Levine interviewed Mersey, who talked to Epstein through a counsellor scheme run by fellow inmates.
Levine writes: “Talk of Trump brought back agreeable memories to the financier and he began telling Mersey stories.”
Mersey is quoted as saying: “One time, we’re flying in my private plane and I was with this French girl.
“And Trump said to me, ‘Why don’t we land in Atlantic City and I can show your friend my casino?’
“I told Trump, ‘I’m not landing in Atlantic City, all you have is white trash down there.’
“The girl I was with, because she was French, asked me, ‘What does white trash mean?’
“Donald Trump told her, ‘That would be me without money’.”
Levine writes that Epstein “volunteered how Clinton’s days as a lothario were a thing of the past” during the discussion with Mersey, who said: “He [Epstein] went on unsolicited about Bill Clinton.” Mersey added: “He told me ‘he can’t do anything like that now because he’s had a couple of heart surgeries’.”
The revelations will be embarrassing to both current and former president who have been linked to Epstein in the past. Both deny any wrongdoing.
Artist Andres Serrano is no stranger to inciting controversy with his work—and his latest outing, “Infamous” at New York’s Fotografiska, is no exception. The exhibition includes a portrait of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, shot just months before the disgraced financier’s apparent suicide while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
The portrait wasn’t initially taken for inclusion in the show, which focuses on a new series of photographers of racist memorabilia and other historic depictions of race that Serrano has purchased on eBay and other online auctions.
“After he died, I decided I had to put Jeffrey Epstein’s portrait in ‘Infamous’ because there’s no one more infamous than Jeffrey,” Serrano told Artnet News in a recent interview.
The portrait of a smiling, distinguished-looking Epstein speaks eloquently to one of the show’s core themes: the banality of evil and the rotten core at the heart of our nation, built on the backs of slave labor.
Artifacts that Serrano purchased for “Infamous” include an 1822 bill of sale for a young boy name Joshua and a 1910 postcard with a photograph of a lynching. Days before the show’s opening, however, curators at Fotografiska made the decision to pull five of the most disturbing images from the show, including the lynching postcard.
As an artist who has made it his mission to provoke viewers, Serrano felt ambivalent about the move. “I was very surprised—it was unexpected,” Serrano said of the late-in-the-game change. “The times are changing and people, they’re cautious… I’m okay with that.”
(A Fotografiska spokesperson said the works’ removal was a curatorial decision based on wall space, cohesiveness of the show, and lack of further context on select images. “It was important to the museum that the images were properly contextualized,” the spokesperson said. “These decisions were not made to censor the work.”)
When the museum gave Serrano the opportunity to present the works on Instagram instead, where they could be proceeded by content warnings, he took it.
“America might think it’s lily-white and innocent, but it’s not,” Serrano said. “I love America, but let’s be clear about America. America was born of blood. It was founded with the blood of the Native American people who were murdered for their land.”
The Story Behind That Epstein Image
The show offers plenty in the way of haunting imagery, including the Epstein portrait, which comes with a stranger-than-fiction backstory. Serrano agreed to shoot Epstein’s photograph in exchange for a 16th-century statue of the Madonna.
Serrano, who collects Medieval and Renaissance art, had tried to purchase the sculpture and a matching statue of St. John from an antique shop in 1995—only to learn that a man called Epstein had beaten him to the punch, splitting up the pair.
Epstein soon learned that he owned a work of art Serrano coveted, and they met several times over the years to discuss it. (Serrano clarified these were business meetings attended by the artist’s wife, Irina Movmyga, and never involved dinner, parties, or Epstein’s infamous private jet or island.)
Fueled by an overwhelming desire to reunite the two religious statues, Serrano agreed in 2018 to a trade: Epstein’s portrait for the Madonna. The financier followed up—improbably, three months before his arrest in July 2019 and four months before his death—to secure his half of the deal.
“I have no doubt that Jeffrey Epstein was a monster and pedophile,” Serrano added. “I would have dealt with the the devil himself for that Madonna. And apparently, I did.”
Epstein’s portrait appears in the exhibition alongside a 2004 photograph of Donald Trump that artist shot for his “America” series, highlighting the president’s ties to the disgraced financier.
“Infamous” grew out of Serrano’s last exhibition “The Game: All Things Trump,” featuring $200,000 worth of Trump memorabilia he purchased at auction. (A book about the project was released last month.)
With everything from the flight manual for the short-lived Trump Shuttle to a tiny cake given as a favor at his wedding to Melania Trump, the installation speaks to Trump’s efforts to dominate the American consciousness—and his ultimate success.
“I liked to think that Donald Trump used the flag so much, he embraced America so much, that finally he made her his,” Serrano said. Focusing so closely on the president was far from a pleasant experience—aside from the rush from his auction victories.
“A second Trump term is a free-for-all—he’ll go for broke,” the artist said. “You’re not even going to recognize America.”
He has reservations—albeit much less dramatic ones—about Joe Biden, too. “Biden is a nice guy. He’s regular Joe,” Serrano said. “But I worry that Biden will be an appeaser who will try to go to the middle.” He is more excited about the potential vice president, Kamala Harris, who he photographed for the New Yorker.
Still, a potential Biden presidency would be far better for the country, he says—although less artistically fruitful. “I don’t think Biden inspires art,” Serrano said. “The thing about Donald Trump is if you hate him, he inspires you to do some anti-Trump work.”
A onetime target of the Culture Wars, Serrano is concerned about the future of the US art scene, but doesn’t necessarily blame the president for the current state of affairs. He is more worried about artists and arts workers growing gun-shy of engaging with controversial subjects.
After throwing himself into Trump imagery, Serrano took a similar approach to an even more bracing subject for his latest series on view in “Infamous.” Many of the objects he photographed are overtly racist, designed for mass consumption such as advertising.
The project was completed last year, before the murder of George Floyd and the nationwide protests it sparked, which Serrano described as “an awareness and awakening that has been long overdue.”
“Although we don’t have lynchings anymore, we do have killings of Black people by the police on a regular basis,” he said.
The objects in his photographs “basically had one intent, and that was to dehumanize Black and Brown people, to make fun of them and turn them into caricatures,” said Serrano.
He maintains it is important to see these images, and to realize how the attitudes that led to their creation still persist in some swaths of US society. To understand our current state of racial discord, we can’t look away from this ugly history.
Indeed, even after delving into racist imagery for months on end and confronting the removal of his own work from his exhibition, Serrano isn’t sure if there’s ever a place for censorship in art. “That’s a tough question,” he said. “I don’t know where the line is, but that’s the reason that I’m an artist.”
“Andres Serrano: Infamous” is on view at Fotografiska, 281 Park Ave South, New York, October 23, 2020–March 14, 2021.
Editor’s note: My take on this article is it’s just outright propaganda written on behalf of Prince Andrew. No fact-checking, no pushback. The italicized passages are what I consider to be just drivel. Feel free to disagree; I’m not saying my opinion is the only opinion.
Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein destroyed his royal role but the exact circumstances of their first meeting remain unclear.
The Duke of York claims he first met the New York financier in 1999 after being introduced by Epstein’s then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
During a detailed interview with the BBC in November, he was dismissive of the friendship and suggested it was really the British socialite who he was close to.
Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre says she was trafficked to London, New York, and the Virgin Islands to have sex with Prince Andrew aged just 17. Andrew denies a sexual relationship.
Andrew told the BBC: “Well I met [Epstein] through his girlfriend back in 1999 and I’d known her since she was at university in the UK.
“It would be, to some extent, a stretch to say that, as it were, we were close friends.
“I mean we were friends because of other people and I had a lot of [opportunities] to go to the United States but I didn’t have much time with him.
“I suppose I saw him once or twice a year, perhaps, maybe maximum of three times a year and quite often if I was in the United States and doing things and if he wasn’t there, he would say ‘well, why don’t you come and use my houses?’
“So I said ‘that’s very kind, thank you very much indeed’.”
In 1999, Prince Andrew’s name appeared on flight logs for trips to Epstein’s private island, Little St James, for the first known time.
He boarded the Gulfstream jet nicknamed the “Lolita Express” in February 1999, according to flight logs, the Sunday Times reported.
However, Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson is referenced on a flight manifest for one of Epstein’s trips to Little St James, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in April 1998, a year earlier.
The Duchess of York and daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, then aged nine and eight, made their own way there but the Daily Telegraph reports the log states: “Met Princess Sarah Ferguson & kids on the ground.”
The situation is further complicated by a letter sent to U.K. newspaper The Times by Prince Andrew’s former private secretary in 2011.
Alastair Watson wrote: “There has been widespread comment on the Duke’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Duke has known (the pedophile) Epstein since being introduced to him in the early 1990s.
“The insinuations and innuendos that have been made in relation to the Duke arewithout foundation.”
Maxwell’s 17-page indictment details allegations she trafficked young girls for Epstein between 1994 and 1997.
She also faces an allegation of perjury relating to a 2016 deposition she gave during a defamation lawsuit brought by Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre.
The D.O.J. submitted a formal request for Prince Andrew’s testimony via the U.K.
Home Office and became locked in a public standoff with him over the summer.
Andrew’s lawyers, Blackfords, say he is not a target of the F.B.I. investigation and deny any wrongdoing.
In a June statement, they said: “As the public record indicates the DOJ has been actively investigating Mr Epstein and other targets for more than 16 years, yet the first time they requested the Duke’s help was on 2nd January 2020.
“Importantly, the DOJ advised us that the Duke is not and has never been a ‘target’ of their criminal investigations into Epstein and that they sought his confidential, voluntary cooperation.”
The New York native was a high school student when Epstein started abusing her.
Jennifer Araoz is the first of Jeffrey Epstein‘s many victims to have acknowledged receiving a settlement from the estate. OK! has obtained court filings which confirm that she dropped her civil suit against Epstein’s estate after being compensated for the damages inflicted upon her by the deceased pedophile.
OK! broke the news that the estate had started paying out dozens of women in late October from a $25 million Victim Fund. There were suggestions that Araoz was one of the victims who had received compensation, especially after she dropped her ongoing civil cases against Ghislaine Maxwell and the estate of Jeffrey Epstein in New York Supreme Court earlier this month without providing a formal explanation. A condition of the settlement was that victims could not pursue any more legal claims against Epstein or Epstein employees.
This was confirmed however in a Dismissal of Claim for Unliquidated and Unsecured Damages that was filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands this week. In that two-page document — which was sent to lawyers for Epstein’s estate and the other victims who had filed suit in the Virgin Islands — Araoz’s lawyer, Douglas B. Chanco, wrote that the defendant “has satisfactorily resolved [Araoz’s] claim.”
The actual amount that was paid to Araoz is not known, as that information was filed under seal. She is free to share that information if she so desires. Her lawyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The estate has quietly been paying out millions of dollars to dozens of the pedophile’s victims. OK! learned that these settlements were distributed last month to these women after obtaining a copy of an Administration of Testamentary Estates that was filed in the case.
These settlements were handled by a Victim Compensation Fund that operated separately from the Epstein estate. Their claims were assessed, and a payout was issued within 90 days. In some cases, the payouts took a little longer given the unforeseen challenges presented by the COVID pandemic.
Araoz stated in her New York filing that she was a 14-year-old student at the Talent Unlimited High School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side when she was “approached by a brunette woman, who appeared to be in her early 20s, on the sidewalk in front of her school.” A few weeks later that woman had persuaded her to meet Epstein, who in turn spent over a month giving her hundreds of dollars and gifts like a camera while purporting to be an AIDS activist, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint stated that the money and gifts were lorded over the teen when Epstein requested she provide him with a naked massage a few weeks after her first visit to the mansion, which ended with him performing a manual sex act on himself until completion.
These sexual assaults became increasingly depraved over the next year, according to the complaint, and allegedly ended when Araoz was raped by Epstein. She feared ever seeing him again or being near the home after her assault, which began a downward spiral that ended with her dropping out of school. Araoz had been seeking damages for the emotional anguish brought about by Epstein’s sexual abuse.
She detailed her assault in that complaint, stating: “Epstein masturbated, as Ms. Araoz rubbed his chest. Then, all of a sudden, without giving Ms. Araoz any notice, Epstein forced his penis (which already had massage oils on it) inside her vagina and proceeded to have sex with her. Araoz was petrified, felt trapped, and didn’t know what to do, so she just did as she was told. Epstein held her tightly and forcibly raped her.”
It was also noted that “Epstein did not use a condom” when he sexually assaulted the high school student. When it was over, he told Araoz that “she was amazing, that she felt amazing, and that she did nothing wrong.”
Araoz had to sign a four-page contract that states she will not file legal action against the Epstein estate and co-executors Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn. She is also now unable to file suit against “any entities or individuals who are or have ever been engaged by (whether as independent contractors or otherwise), employed by, worked in any capacity for, or provided any services to Mr. Epstein, the Epstein Entities or the Epstein Estate.”
The Fund does allow the women to remain anonymous if they desire, and also allows them to speak about their compensation and Epstein. Araoz bravely chose to go public with her story, however, back in 2019 by appearing on Today, shortly after Epstein’s arrest.
The now-dead pedophile used to approach random beautiful women and try to get them to “date” his powerful friends — including Prince Andrew, according to a report.
An unidentified woman listed in Epstein’s notorious black book told Mother Jones magazine that the moneyman made the direct approach when she was at an art fair in Palm Beach, Florida.
“He came up to me and said, ‘Would you like a date with Prince Andrew?’” she recalled. No date was given for the incident, and it was unclear whether Epstein’s direct approach worked.
Another woman in the black book, identified by the pseudonym Julie, told the outlet it was Epstein’s typical technique for finding girls.
“He’d take some rich guy and introduce him to a girl,” she said, claiming that the late pedophile set her up for an “incredibly awkward” meeting with Victoria’s Secret founder Leslie Wexner.
“Wexner was this super-successful guy who didn’t really have any life, and Jeff described him to me as completely socially inept,” Julie told Mother Jones.
“Jeffrey told me, ‘This guy [Wexner] has everything in the world, but he doesn’t have anyone to share it with,’ and Jeffrey knew all the girls in the world,” Julie told the mag.
Mother Jones writer Leland Nally said he spent a year contacting all 1,571 people in the “gargantuan” black book after finding a copy in the “dark corners of the internet” days after 66-year-old Epstein’s suicide in August 2019.
Some in the book told the author it may have actually been accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s list, with many only having connections to her and not Epstein.
His calls led to “a lot of panicked hangups” — saying he “spoke to billionaires, CEOs, bankers, models, celebrities, scientists, a Kennedy, and some of Epstein’s closest friends and confidants.”
“Everyone has to feel enormous regret from the advantage that was taken of so many young women,” Wexner said last year. “That’s just unexplainable, abhorrent behavior and clearly something we all would condemn.”
Alleged sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell lost an appeal in her criminal case late Monday afternoon.
“We have reviewed all of the arguments raised by Defendant-Appellant Maxwell on appeal and find them to be without merit,” Second Circuit Clerk Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe wrote in the court’s summary order. “[T]he appeal is DISMISSED and the motion to consolidate is DENIED as moot.”
The upshot here is somewhat picayune: Maxwell filed her original request to file documents under seal so none of the details of that request are currently public knowledge. Additionally, her request would only have impacted documents that were never likely to become public in the first–or really any–instance. Finally, the appeals court’s denial of the request maintains the wall of judicial secrecy around what, exactly, Maxwell was attempting to put on the record.
Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator unsuccessfully requested a court order modifying the overarching protective order in her criminal case in late August of this year.
U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Alison J. Nathan denied Maxwell’s letter motion in a five-page opinion and order issued early September.
Specifically, Maxwell requested the judge to allow her to file secret documents under seal in “certain civil cases materials that she received in discovery” from the government in her ongoing criminal case on sex trafficking, conspiracy and perjury charges. She also requested the ability to “reference, but not file” additional discovery material produced by the government to her criminal defense team.
“Upon receipt of some of the discovery, [Maxwell] filed the instant request, which seeks modification of the protective order in order to use documents produced in the criminal case in other civil proceedings,” the court’s September order explains. “She bases her request on the premise that disclosure of the documents to the relevant judicial officers is allegedly necessary to ensure the fair adjudication of issues being litigated in those civil matters.”
Judge Nathan went on to rubbish Maxwell’s arguments:
But after fourteen single-spaced pages of heated rhetoric, the Defendant proffers no more than vague, speculative, and conclusory assertions as to why that is the case. She provides no coherent explanation of what argument she intends to make before those courts that requires the presentation of the materials received in discovery in this criminal matter under the existing terms of the protective order in this case. And she furnishes no substantive explanation regarding the relevance of the documents to decisions to be made in those matters, let alone any explanation of why modifying the protective order in order to allow such disclosure is necessary to ensure the fair adjudication of those matters. In sum, the arguments [Maxwell] presents to the court plainly fail to establish good cause. The Defendant’s request is DENIED on this basis.
Maxwell appealed the court’s order two days later–filing a notice of appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
That appeal was shuttered by the appellate court in Monday’s summary order–which has no precedential effect because it is a determination that doesn’t contain a technical legal opinion. The three-judge panel did, however, take the time out to briefly dispense with some of Maxwell’s legal arguments.
The appeals court noted that they are bound by the final judgment rule which limits their jurisdiction to the “final decisions of the district courts.” And, because Maxwell’s criminal case is currently ongoing, there are “just four circumstances in criminal cases that come within” Supreme Court-issued exemptions to the final judgment rule.
“We decline to exercise jurisdiction where we have none, and accordingly dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction,” the court’s order notes.
The circuit judges also dismissed Maxwell’s argument seeking a writ of mandamus forcing the district court to modify the protective order.
“Here, Maxwell failed to demonstrate that such exceptional circumstances exist and that the district court usurped its power or abused its discretion,” the Second Circuit noted. “Accordingly, we decline to issue a writ modifying the protective order.”
Maxwell, the alleged primary enabler of a years-long global child sex conspiracy also requested that her criminal case be consolidated with the ongoing civil case initiated by Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre. The court quickly binned that request based on mootness due to their lack of jurisdiction but went on to characterize some of the defendant’s legal arguments.
“Here, the parties, judges, and legal issues presented in these appeals lack common identity,” the Second Circuit concluded. “The criminal appeal concerns a denial of Maxwell’s motion to modify a protective order while the civil appeal concerns an unsealing order. Further, as the district court correctly noted, Maxwell ‘provide[s] no coherent explanation’ connecting the discovery materials at issue in the criminal case to the civil litigation.”
The FBI wanted to arrest Jeffrey Epstein while he was judging a beauty pageant in the Virgin Islands seven months before he signed a non-prosecution deal that shielded him from federal sex crime charges, a Justice Department report says. The 347-page report obtained by NBC News expands on an executive summary released Thursday of a probe into a more than decade-old sex abuse investigation of Epstein. The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility found that former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who oversaw the case when he was a top federal prosecutor in Florida in the mid-2000s, exercised “poor judgment” but did not engage in misconduct.
The full report quotes one prosecutor as telling a colleague that the FBI had “wanted to arrest [Epstein] in [the] Virgin Islands during a beauty pageant…where he is a judge.”
“The case agent recalled that she and her co-case agent were disappointed” about being denied the opportunity to make the arrest in May 2007, the report says, and an FBI supervisor overseeing the case was “extremely upset” about it.
It wasn’t until a year later, in 2008, that Epstein surrendered to authorities after signing a plea deal. That the FBI wanted to bring charges against Epstein in 2007 was already known but the agency’s interest in arresting him at a beauty pageant in the Virgin Island has not been previously reported.
The politically-connected financier had been accused of sexually abusing dozens of teenage girls in his West Palm Beach mansion. But he eventually pleaded guilty to state charges involving a single victim in a deal that spared him from serving a long prison sentence.
Epstein ultimately spent 13 months in jail and was allowed to leave almost every day through a work release program. He died by suicide inside a federal prison last year while awaiting trial on new sex trafficking charges.
The report says the federal investigation began when Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Villafaña told Acosta that she was willing to invest the time and the FBI was willing to invest the money to investigate Epstein.
“But I didn’t want to get to the end and then have the [U.S. Attorney’s Office] be intimidated by the high-powered lawyers” for Epstein, she said in an email included in the report. “I was assured that that would not happen.”
Villafaña wrote in July 2007, nearly two months after the FBI wanted to arrest Epstein at the beauty pageant, “now I feel like there is a glass ceiling that prevents me from moving forward while evidence suggests that Epstein is continuing to engage in this criminal behavior.”
The report describes a year of back and forth communications between a cadre of Epstein attorneys, Villafaña, Villafaña’s immediate supervisors, and Acosta himself, some of which have previously been detailed in court filings. It includes summarizations of interviews with FBI agents, emails, and written documentation about the case.
Villafaña told the Justice Department that she believed Acosta “was influenced by the stature of Epstein’s attorneys.” “[O]ne of the issues in the case was the . . . defense’s ability to describe the case or characterize the case as being legally complex,” Villafaña told investigators, the report says. “It was not as legally complex as they made it out to be.”
But the report says “neither Villafaña nor any of the other individuals OPR interviewed identified any specific evidence suggesting that Acosta, or any of the other subjects, extended an improper favor or benefit to Epstein because of a personal relationship with defense counsel.”
In a statement released Thursday, Acosta said the report “fully debunks allegations that the USAO improperly cut Epstein a ‘sweet-heart deal’ or purposefully avoided investigating potential wrongdoing by various prominent individuals.”
The report also raises new questions about what federal prosecutors thought was going on with the original case investigated by local prosecutors in Palm Beach.
“The state intentionally torpedoed it in the grand jury so it was brought to us,” one of Villafaña’s supervisors wrote as federal prosecutors were weighing charges in 2007.
Federal prosecutors had concerns about the state prosecutor at the time, Barry Krischer, the report shows.
In an email, Acosta asked one of the supervisors of the case if it would be appropriate to give a heads up to Krischer on how they were going to proceed with the investigation. The supervisor advised Krischer, “no for fear that it will be leaked straight to Epstein,” the report says.
As the non-prosecution agreement was still being negotiated, Villafaña wrote an email to Acosta describing the pain of three alleged victims who were recently interviewed by investigators. “One girl broke down sobbing so that we had to stop the interview twice within a 20 minute span,” she wrote. “She regained her composure enough to continue a short time, but she said that she was having nightmares about Epstein coming after her and she started to break down again, so we stopped the interview.”
“These girls deserve so much better than they have received so far, and I hate feeling that there is nothing I can do to help them,” Villafaña added.
Epstein’s attorney Ken Starr wrote a final email to Acosta when the case was concluded. “While I am obviously very unhappy at what I believe is the government’s treatment of my client [Epstein], a man whom I have come to deeply admire, I recognize that we have filed and argued our ‘appellate motions’ and lost,” Starr said.
He concluded saying, “I would like to have . . . some closure with you on this matter so that in the years to come, neither of us will harbor any ill will over the matter.”
EXCLUSIVE: Mystery ‘recruiter’ for Jeffrey Epstein speaks out for first time to admit she brought three girls to the pedophile and went shopping with victim Virginia Roberts for a sexy schoolgirl outfit, but denies taking part in the abuse
Who exactly Rina Oh is has been a mystery since she was described as an Epstein recruiter in Virginia Roberts’ draft memoir, published last year in court papers
Roberts claimed Oh ‘loved bondage, whipping, hitting and cutting her sex partner with little sharp knives until they subdued (sic) to her punishment’
Speaking for the first time in the podcast Broken: Seeking Justice, Rina Oh, a 41-year-old artist from New Jersey, said that she dated Epstein
He asked her to bring attractive friends to him, among Marijke Chartouni, a former model who he sexually abused
Oh denied claims by Chartouni and fellow accuser Virginia Roberts that she participated in the sexual abuse they endured
However, she admitted buying a schoolgirl outfit for Roberts
A previously unknown alleged recruiter for Jeffrey Epstein has admitted to bringing three women to him but denied taking part in the abuse.
In an interview with the podcast Broken: Seeking Justice, Rina Oh said that she dated Epstein and thought of him as a rich older boyfriend.
He asked her to bring attractive friends to him including Marijke Chartouni, a former model who he sexually assaulted.
But in the podcast, Oh vehemently denied claims by Chartouni and fellow accuser Virginia Roberts that she participated in the sexual abuse they endured. She did admit to buying a schoolgirl outfit for Roberts.
Details about Oh, a 41-year-old artist from New jersey, have been a mystery since she was named in Roberts’ draft manuscript of her memoir which was made public last August as part of a cache of court documents.
It described in graphic detail some of the most shocking abuse the pedophile was responsible for.
In the manuscript, Roberts claimed that Oh ‘loved bondage, whipping, hitting and cutting her sex partner with little sharp knives until they subdued (sic) to her punishment in agonizing pain’.
The book described how Epstein met Oh at an art gallery where some of her own work was on display which he bought – she is now a sculptor and painter.
Roberts wrote that Oh had a ‘bubbly persona’ and ‘fit into the subservient category’ that he liked his girls to fall under.
At the time Roberts, now a 37-year-old mother-of-three who lives in Australia and goes by her married name Virginia Giuffre, was 17.
Oh, now 41, would have been around 21.
She wrote that Epstein asked Oh to help Roberts massage him, the first of a number of sexual encounters they had.
Oh would supposedly use whips and toys on Roberts and Epstein was ‘absurdly taken’ with watching the two of them together.
According to the manuscript, Epstein liked Oh so much that he rented an apartment for her and sent her and Roberts out shopping to seedy sex stores to bring back ‘sexy outfits, sex toys and bondage material’.
The interview with Oh came about after Chartouni found her: she has become the unofficial private investigator for Epstein’s victims and has helped to find their recruiters.
Through intensive online research Chartouni tracked Oh down to her home in New Jersey and she agreed to speak.
She said her reason for talking is that her husband is Vincent Amen who worked for Michael Jackson and lived on the Neverland ranch.
Amen was named as one of the five alleged unindicted co-conspirators in the unsuccessful 2005 prosecution against Jackson for molesting minors –
Amen denied the allegations.
Amen told Oh that getting his story out there saved his reputation and she decided to do the same.
In her interview Oh flatly denied the description in Roberts’ memoir.
She said: ‘I’m just letting you know that what she accused me of doing is a complete fabricated lie.
‘And I was nothing but nice to this girl (Roberts). And I actually wanted to hang out with her and she declined to hang out with me. So we actually never spent any significant amount of time together except for that one shopping adventure’.
The shopping trip in question involved Oh being called and being asked: ‘Can you take Virginia shopping for a little school girl outfit?’
Podcast host Tara Palmeri asked why Oh didn’t think it was odd Epstein was dressing up a 17-year-old girl in a schoolgirl outfit.
Oh said: ‘I wasn’t asking questions. I just did as I was told’.
Oh became evasive when pressed about why she didn’t raise the alarm.
She said: ‘And you’re asking me, well, what was she doing? I was like, well, she was there to serve a purpose. She was brought in to serve a purpose. Like she was groomed to do this……at an early age’.
Oh said that she remembered Chartouni but denied taking in her abuse.
She said: ‘I’ve brought three people to, to that place (Epstein’s New York mansion). Period. And when I’m, ready to talk about it, I’m gonna I talk about it’.
She added:’My side of the story is: I did not abuse anyone, period. People that knew about him wanted to meet him. And I brought those people there, period.
‘She (Chartouni) was one of them. And I met her very briefly. We didn’t really know each other too well. And I brought her because he kept asking me to bring your friends. So I brought her once’.
During a follow up interview with the podcast, Oh changed her story and she said: ‘I was in the room when Marijke and I were both victimized by Epstein’.
Oh has asked lawyer Brad Edwards to help her apply for compensation for the Epstein’s victims’ fund, which will be paid for from his $640m estate.
In Oh’s studio she showed the podcast producers some of her work including a painting of Prince Andrew – who Roberts claims she was forced to have sex with – as Bacchus, the god of wine.
Another painting was of Epstein’s alleged chief recruiter Ghislaine Maxwell nude in the Garden of Sin, holding a forbidden fruit in her hand like Eve.
On Oh’s Instagram page are more bizarre works including frescos of Andrew and Bill Clinton, who flew multiple times on Epstein’s planes.
Maxwell denies the allegations and is due to stand trial next July.
Ghislaine Maxwell is in New York jail facing trial on child sex trafficking charges
Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged madam Maxwell was also questioned in July 2016
Transcript from British socialite’s first interview was published last Thursday
Lawyers for Maxwell are now expected to fight to keep the second one private
Prince Andrew came under further pressure today over a second deposition given by Ghislaine Maxwell, the alleged madam for his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein.
The British socialite, who is jail in New York awaiting trial on child sex trafficking and perjury charges, was questioned three months after being grilled for seven hours.
The transcript from that first interview was published last Thursday, and lawyers for Maxwell are now expected to fight to keep the second one from July 2016 private.
But the 58-year-old’s team will face a battle with lawyers for Epstein’s victim Virginia Roberts who are expected to argue it should be published in full, reported The Sun.
Ms Roberts, now known as Virginia Giuffre, claims she had sex with the Duke of York three times when she was aged 17, but he strenuously denies the allegations.
A source close to the case told the Sun that Maxwell was asked to answer questions she did not answer in the first interview in the April, and that Andrew ‘did come up’.
But a source close to the 60-year-old Duke told MailOnline: ‘The Duke has done nothing unlawful and therefore has nothing to fear from the unsealing of any documents from any court case at any time. The truth will out, and soon.’
Documents from the first interview released last Thursday revealed Andrew repeatedly labelled Ms Giuffre ‘a liar’, claiming ‘everything she said is a lie’.
The exchange was in a phone call between the two as scandal swirled around them when Ms Giuffre made bombshell claims she was forced to sleep with the prince.
It came out in the 465-page deposition that Maxwell had fought tooth and nail to keep under wraps before a court ordered it be released.
The names of all of those in Epstein’s circle, including Prince Andrew, were redacted but previous accounts given by Epstein victims, plus an index at the back of the papers, allow them to be identified.
Maxwell was questioned in 2016 as she defended herself in a defamation claim, having called Miss Roberts a liar. The case was later settled out of court.
Over seven hours, the British socialite was quizzed extensively about her relationship with Epstein, her knowledge of ‘sexual trafficking’, sex with minors, non-consensual sex and sex involving Miss Roberts.
She was also asked questions about whether she recruited girls for Epstein to have sex with, ‘sex toys’ and dressing up, explicit images, ‘orgies’ and nudity at Epstein’s homes.
Her lawyer Jeffrey Pagliuca jumped in to object to the questions 435 times, but Maxwell, daughter of disgraced media tycoon Robert, never once asserted her right not to self-incriminate.
Maxwell’s most personal account to date is one she hoped would never see the light of day as she sits in prison awaiting trial on child sex trafficking and perjury charges. Her lawyers argued releasing it now would condemn her before she goes before a jury next year.
Maxwell insisted she and her friends were innocent of the accusations against them – even as she did her utmost to avoid actually answering the questions of lawyers.
She spent the interview, a sworn testimony, obfuscating, evading and positing outraged denials.
As she seeks to defend herself from charges that she was heavily involved in the abuse, the new revelations of her determination to protect Epstein and destroy his main accuser could have a crucial bearing on her forthcoming trial.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s “TerraMar” organization linked to the Clintons and Rothschilds
by ASR July 10, 2020
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell operated a mysterious organization called TerraMar that pushed the UN to issue passports for the ocean, listed as a base at a Manhattan property owned by the Rothschilds and was funded by the Clinton Foundation.
Ownership links and underwater operations are not typical and a frantic quest for the UN to issue “ocean passports” is simply bizarre. Her family history alone places her in a league above most other international elites. The mysterious TerraMar business of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which closed its doors for good just six days after Epstein’s arrest, seems to link much of these two companies.
Property ties and submarine operations are not typical, and a frenzied quest for the UN to issue “ocean passports” is just plain bizarre. Her family history alone places her in a league above most other international elites.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s mysterious TerraMar business, which closed for good just six days after Epstein’s arrest, appears to link much of the two businesses.
After his arrest this month for crimes of child sex trafficking, several complainants linked him to highly sophisticated pedophilia and human trafficking networks. After the death of her father, Robert Maxwell, in 1991, she moved to a Manhattan property owned by Lynn Foreseter de Rothschild, whose husband is British mega-banker Evelyn Robert de Rothschild. The property is also listed as a TerraMar base.
The TerraMar Project is a non-profit organization that Ghislaine Maxwell created in 2012. Jeffrey Epstein and various other high profile financiers have funded the company.
The company described itself as an ocean conservation group, but it closed in 2019 due to sex trafficking crimes stemming from Epstein’s arrest. It wasn’t until six days after Jeffrey Epstein was taken into custody that the company announced its final closure.
TerraMar did not last long, but its short life was filled with suspicious activity.
The company received immediate support from globalist organizations, including the Clinton Foundation. Maxwell has participated in many United Nations (UN) meetings and even addressed the board as the founder of TerraMar. Ghislaine and fellow company board member Scott Borgerson spoke in Washington DC at a special event sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ghislaine Maxwell has 7 living siblings. Two twin sisters, Christine and Isabelle Maxwell, also have an important supporting role in the US government. It is suspected that they also have ties to the Mossad. The family dynasty of Robert Maxwell, who was a media empire and a very corrupt British MP, seems to have people everywhere.
The twin sisters are the source of various software deals across all CIA, DIA and DEA intelligence databases. It was called Magellan, but was later purchased and renamed Excite. They created software used to identify money laundering and trafficking. The financial information of private companies is at risk. Foreign powers should not be allowed to have oversight over critical data. The software takes multi-format data sources and connects to the National Counterterrorism Center and compares with the Department of Homeland Security, CIA, NSA, and the Pentagon. It is impossible to know if there are any back doors or vulnerabilities built into the program.
After the Magellan adventure, Isabel became CEO of Commtouch, a high-tech courier company based in Israel. She remained involved in the world of software development. Commtouch sought Isabel for her embodiment of Israeli corporate culture, according to company comments. Isabel described the company in these terms: “It is cohesive, innovative, disciplined. “
The public has spoken out against prosecutors who neglected to take Maxwell into custody earlier. Maxwell’s crimes are well known to the public, but the United States Court for the Southern District of New York did not press charges. A recent reshuffle forced Geoffrey Berman to step down as district attorney. Geoffrey refused to quit his post for some time before finally being fired by Attorney General Bill Barr. Berman is believed to have protected Maxwell and slowed down the Epstein case.
Epstein “committed suicide” in August 2019. His death was highly suspicious. Many claim he was murdered to protect those he tainted. The cell he was in had his security cameras malfunctioning and the guards neglected to monitor him even after hearing screams. It was only days after he was brutally attacked by a barely surviving fellow inmate. The prison system failed to prevent this attack and even appears to have allowed it to happen.
EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell has two cameras trained on her in her 9ft by 6ft prison cell and is woken up every three hours and searched to ensure she does not meet the same fate as Jeffrey Epstein
Ghislaine Maxwell has two cameras trained on her at all times inside her cell to ensure her safety, a friend of her family has revealed to DailyMail.com
The 58-year-old, who is accused of recruiting 14-year-old girls for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
The disgraced British socialite has one camera on the ceiling of her 9ft by 6ft cell – and another 4ft away from her
She is woken up every three hours and searched to ensure she does not meet the same fate as Epstein, who was found dead in his cell while awaiting trial
And after three months in prison, Maxwell has finally been given a bra so she can exercise
Brian Basham, a British PR veteran who offered to help get Maxwell out of prison, believes her family will be submitting a formal application for bail soon
He told DailyMail.com: ‘She is on her own floor and has a very small cell but doesn’t have a table to put her computer on’
Basham said that Maxwell’s family, the children of British newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, are ‘completely, utterly and totally’ convinced she is innocent
Ghislaine Maxwell has two cameras trained on her inside her prison cell at all times to ensure her safety, a friend of her family has revealed to DailyMail.com.
The British socialite, who is accused of recruiting 14-year-old girls for Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, has one camera on the ceiling of her 9ft by 6ft cell – and another 4ft away from her.
Maxwell is being woken up every three hours and searched to ensure she does not meet the same fate as Epstein, who was found dead in his cell while awaiting trial.
After three months in the grim Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Maxwell has finally been given a bra so she can exercise.
Previously she was denied one because she was deemed a suicide risk according to Brian Basham, a British PR veteran who has offered to help get Maxwell out of prison.
He is part of what her family have called ‘Operation GGO’, or Get Ghislaine Out, and Basham believes they will be submitting a formal application for bail soon.
Maxwell is charged with recruiting girls for Epstein between 1994 and 1997 and is due to stand trial next July – she denies the allegations.
She was arrested this July at her $1 million home in New Hampshire where she had been living in secret and has been locked up ever since.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Basham said that Maxwell had been ‘singled out’ and her human rights were being breached because of the conditions inside the MDC.
Basham said that Maxwell’s family, the children of disgraced British newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, are ‘completely, utterly and totally’ convinced that she is innocent.
They are ‘lined up behind her’ in support including for her multi-million dollar legal fees.
Basham said that Maxwell’s sisters Isabel and Christine, who live in the US, are ‘trying to work hard to muster up the evidence’ to prove her innocence.
Their main concern are her prison conditions which he called ‘macabre’.
Basham said: ‘The good thing is she now has a bra which is quite important because she’s a very fit woman. She couldn’t really do any aerobic exercise before.
‘She is on her own floor and has a very small cell but doesn’t have a table to put her computer on.
‘I’m told by the family that she has a camera in the ceiling and another camera that is 4ft away from her and they adjust it when she moves about.
‘They were waking her up every three hours to search her and the noise outside her cell with the guards laughing and joking and yelling to each other is very disturbing, so she hasn’t got much sleep. It is bizarre’.
The extreme levels of surveillance are a sharp difference from Epstein’s cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
He was able to kill himself after the guards didn’t check on him all night and the camera outside his cell – there was not one inside – was not working.
Epstein’s death led to a raft of conspiracy theories and intense pressure on the Bureau of Prisons to ensure Maxwell’s stays alive
At Manhattan’s Federal Court in July, Judge Alison Nathan ruled that Maxwell was a flight risk because she was facing a lengthy jail term, the prosecution had a strong case and because she had ‘substantial financial resources’.
Prosecutors had pointed toward Maxwell owning 15 different bank accounts which held balances up to more than $20m as a sign of how she could flee easily.
Basham however said that Maxwell ‘patently’ isn’t a flight risk because she could have left the US any time after Epstein was arrested but she didn’t.
As to why Maxwell stayed in America, he said: ‘She has family there, it’s her home, she regards herself as completely innocent so just kept a low profile’.
Basham pointed to high profile cases like Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of rape and sexual assault and was allowed out on bail.
He said: ‘If you look at Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein you could argue they were an existent threat to women.
‘Nobody could argue Ghislaine is an existing threat to women. She patently isn’t. It’s a complete mystery to me as to why Ghislaine should be singled out in this way, and quite wrong too’.
Maxwell’s victims however have called her Epstein’s right hand woman and described how she prowled the streets looking for underage girls for him to abuse.
During a press conference announcing her charges, Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss said: ‘As alleged, Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, and then delivered them into the trap that she and Jeffrey Epstein had set. She pretended to be a woman they could trust.
‘All the while, she was setting them up to be abused sexually by Epstein and, in some cases, Maxwell herself’.
In a previous interview Basham revealed that Maxwell has lost 25lbs in weight because the prison was unable to accommodate her vegan diet.
When she complained the prison authorities took away the scale so she couldn’t weigh herself any more.
She was forced to wear paper clothes and letters from her family have not reached her – while the guards have stopped talking to her.
Maxwell suffered fresh humiliation last week when a 460-page deposition she gave in a defamation case brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre was made public.
The transcript showed Maxwell apologizing for smashing her fist on the table in frustration as she was interrogated about her sex life.
Private equity billionaire Leon Black revealed other past financial clients of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein (without naming names) during a Thursday earnings call for his firm, Apollo Global Management, long after Epstein’s only other known client was former L Brands CEO and chairman Les Wexner, and shedding some light on who likely paid Epstein for his financial advice.
KEY FACTS
According to Black, Epstein’s other clients included: a U.S. Treasury secretary, heads of state, Nobel laureates and prominent philanthropists, but he did not reveal anyone by name.
Black, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $7.5 billion, repeated some of his previous statements on Epstein, including that he “deeply regret[s] having any involvement with him” and that Apollo never did any business with Epstein.
Black more recently came under fire for revelations first reported October 12 by the New York Times that he paid Epstein $50 million from, as Black said Thursday, 2012 to 2017, for estate planning, tax, philanthropic and other personal financial advice.
The private equity tycoon has faced questions about his Epstein dealings since the financier was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.
Black said Thursday he chose to work with Epstein following his 2009 release from a Florida county jail on a single prostitution charge, saying, “I decided to give Epstein a second chance, this was a terrible mistake.”
Apollo’s stock price has dropped about 16% since the October 12 New York Times story, and was down a little over one percent following Thursday’s earnings call.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“Let me be clear. There has never been an allegation by anyone that I engaged in any wrongdoing, because I did not,” Black said Thursday. “Any suggestion of blackmail or anything else of Epstein’s reprehensible conduct is untrue.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Black reiterated on the call that Apollo’s board hired an outside law firm to review and report on his business dealings with Epstein, and would not comment further on the investigation Thursday. For years, Epstein’s only other known client was L Brands’ Wexner, the “Merlin of the mall” who stepped down as chief executive and chairman in May amid his own firestorm of scrutiny for working with the disgraced financier. Wexner previously accused Epstein of “misappropriating vast sums” of his fortune in August 2019, shortly before Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan lockup.
“Letting a well-connected billionaire get away with child rape and international sex trafficking isn’t ‘poor judgment’ – it is a disgusting failure,” said Sen. Ben Sasse.
A Justice Department investigation found that federal prosecutors who oversaw a controversial non-prosecution deal with Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 exercised “poor judgment” but did not break the law, according to an executive summary released Thursday.
The investigation by the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility focused on the conduct of former federal government lawyers, including ex-Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.
“Letting a well-connected billionaire get away with child rape and international sex trafficking isn’t ‘poor judgment’ – it is a disgusting failure,” said Ben Sasse, R-Neb. “Americans ought to be enraged.”
A spokesperson for the FBI, which investigated the case, declined comment.
Prosecutors looked into allegations that Epstein abused dozens of teenage girls in his West Palm Beach mansion in the early 2000s. He eventually pleaded guilty to state charges involving a single victim in a deal that ended the federal sex crimes investigation and spared Epstein the prospect of serving several years in prison.
Acosta was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida at the time. He resigned as President Trump’s labor secretary last year amid renewed scrutiny of the case.
Epstein ultimately served 13 months in jail and was allowed to leave almost every day through a work release program. The politically-connected financier died by suicide inside a federal prison last year while awaiting trial on new sex trafficking charges.
In a 13-page executive summary of the investigation’s findings, the Office of Professional Responsibility said it was Acosta who “made the pivotal decision to resolve the federal investigation of Epstein through a state-based plea and either developed or approved the terms of the initial offer to the defense that set the beginning point for the subsequent negotiations that led to the” non-prosecution agreement.
“The NPA was a flawed mechanism for satisfying the federal interest that caused the government to open its investigation of Epstein,” the report says.
In the course of the review, the office said members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office had concerns about “legal issues, witness credibility, and the impact of a trial on the victims” that led them to ultimately go for the non-prosecution agreement and avoid trial.
As a result, “OPR does not find that Acosta engaged in professional misconduct by resolving the federal investigation of Epstein in the way he did or that the other subjects committed professional misconduct through their implementation of Acosta’s decisions.”
The report also says that Acosta’s decision to bring charges against Epstein through the state led to a lack of transparency and left victims “feeling confused and ill-treated by the government.”
“In sum, OPR concludes that the victims were not treated with the forthrightness and sensitivity expected by the department.”
Acosta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Early Thursday, Justice Department officials briefed several Epstein victims on the investigation’s findings in a meeting in Miami, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Two other federal investigations connected to Epstein remain ongoing.
New York federal prosecutors are still probing Epstein’s sex trafficking network. His longtime confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been charged with recruiting and grooming girls as young as 14 for Epstein to abuse.
The Justice Department’s inspector general is investigating the circumstances of Epstein’s death inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
Steve Wright says Duke of York told him the puppet had been bought by a friend
Mr Wright was one of 600 guests at a 2003 reception at Buckingham Palace
It’s alleged Andrew used puppet to ‘grope’ Virginia Roberts and Johanna Sjoberg
Prince Andrew recalled seeing a Spitting Image puppet of himself at the home of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein during a function at Buckingham Palace, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Steve Wright, an award-winning puppeteer, says the Duke of York told him at the 2003 reception that his own puppet from the satirical TV show had been bought by a friend in New York and how it had been used to play a prank on him.
The puppeteer was one of 600 guests and had been nominated to attend because of his contribution to education.
The exchange appears to at least partly verify claims that socialite Ghislaine Maxwell presented the Prince with the puppet in April 2001 in Epstein’s New York home.
It is alleged Andrew used the puppet to ‘grope’ Virginia Roberts, then aged 17, and Johanna Sjoberg, one of Epstein’s former sex slaves, then 21, in the mansion’s study.
In an unpublished book, Ms Roberts – who claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions – wrote that ‘when Andrew cupped my breast with a doll made in his image, I only giggled away’.
Ms Sjoberg testified to the alleged incident in a 2016 legal deposition, describing how Andrew and Ms Roberts – who now goes by her married surname Giuffre – were sitting on a couch with the puppet.
‘And so then I sat on Andrew’s lap – and I believe on my own volition – and they took the puppet’s hands and put it on Virginia’s breast, and so Andrew put his on mine,’ she added. The Duke has always strenuously denied having sex with Ms Roberts and any other wrongdoing.
Mr Wright, 55, who uses puppet characters to teach young people about issues including sexual health, recalled how the Prince became animated when he told him about his work.
He said: ‘I told him I was a puppeteer and how I just started making puppet shows and that people really liked them.
‘Then I showed him a picture of one of my puppets and he had a clear facial reaction… the story literally exploded out of him. He said, “Oh my God, puppets! Spitting Image – do you know that my friend bought my Spitting Image puppet and you’ll never believe it, he played a trick on me.”
‘He told me he went to an apartment in New York and saw the “bloody thing” sitting up on the sofa and that he “nearly had a bloody heart attack” as he was there looking at himself.’
Mr Wright, from Huddersfield, said he learnt of the allegations about the Spitting Image puppet earlier this year. ‘Why would she [Ms Roberts] make up a story about puppets? It all just clicked,’ he said.
Last night, a spokesman for the Duke declined to comment.
On Wednesday evening, the anonymous figure known as “Q” took to the fringe message board 8kun to issue one of his signature prophecies: “BOOMS EN_ROUTE TOMORROW. This is not a drill. Q.”
Such vague and ominous forecasts have become a regular feature of the ever-evolving online scripture on which the cult-like conspiracy movement known as QAnon is based. For the past three years, Q — whom disciples believe to be a high-ranking military or intelligence officer or group of officials with access to classified information — has posted thousands of these cryptic messages, known as “Q drops,” for followers to try to decipher.
Very few, if any, of Q’s predictions, starting with the first Q drop posted to 4chan on Oct. 28, 2017, which warned of Hillary Clinton’s imminent arrest and a violent nationwide uprising, have come true. A scan through some of the responses to Q’s latest promise of forthcoming “Booms” indicate a mix of excitement and skepticism from followers who’ve clearly been disappointed in the past.
However, a couple of other drops from earlier that night seemed to offer a clue as to what Q’s latest prediction might be about. The first included an image with faint text displayed over a heavily saturated photo of Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, and his girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. A message read: “A deep dark world is being exposed. The truth won’t be for everyone. Have faith in Humanity.”
Another Q drop posted roughly an hour later read: “Dearest Virginia -We stand with you. Now and always. Find peace through prayer. Never give up the good fight. God bless you. Q.” The post included a link to a tweet from an account apparently belonging to Virginia Giuffre, who says she was abused for years by Epstein, Maxwell and prominent figures in their orbit starting when she was a teenager.
Giuffre had tweeted to express satisfaction with a ruling by a federal judge in New York ordering the immediate release of a deposition given by Maxwell in 2016, in a defamation lawsuit brought against her by Giuffre in 2015. Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting her as a teenager to become part of a sex-trafficking ring run by Epstein, who committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial for federal sex-trafficking charges last year. (He had previously served time after pleading guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution.) Giuffre has alleged that Epstein and Maxwell directed her to have sex with other men, including prominent figures in politics and academia.
The civil case was settled in 2017, but the depositions gained new relevance after Maxwell was arrested this summer on federal criminal charges of conspiring with Epstein to sexually exploit minors. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska had ordered the partially redacted depositions unsealed as soon as possible.
“This journey to justice has taken decades for my fellow abuse survivors and me, including years in which our voices were ignored,” Giuffre tweeted. “Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein did not act alone.” Among the thousands of retweets Giuffre’s post received was one from a QAnon account, which encouraged followers to “RETWEET/SHARE” Giuffre’s news. Giuffre then retweeted that post, which included the popular QAnon hashtags #WWG1WGA and #TheGreatAwakening, adding her own variations of other QAnon-related slogans such as #SaveTheKids and #TheGreatAwakeningWorldWide.
Epstein’s long history of sexual misconduct, on private islands, in his Florida mansion, aboard yachts and and his private jet with a who’s who of powerful elites including former President Bill Clinton (who denies having had a close relationship with Epstein or any knowledge of his crimes), is probably the closest real-world analogue of the global sex-trafficking ring at the core of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
And yet, the unsealing of Maxwell’s 2016 deposition — a significant development in the case against Epstein and, potentially, other high-profile associates — received no mention from Q after it was released on Thursday. Instead, the shadowy leader behind the growing pro-Trump conspiracy movement spent most of the day posting about Hunter Biden’s emails.
Marc-André Argentino, a PhD candidate at Canada’s Concordia University who has closely studied QAnon, said that the Epstein scandal is definitely a big story for adherents of the movement “in the sense that it fits squarely within the QAnon narrative,” in which members of the Clinton family, in particular, are among the biggest villains.
However, Argentino said that is somewhat complicated by the fact that “the elites” whose names have been linked to Epstein come from both sides of the political spectrum, and that among them is Donald Trump.
Though Trump has claimed not to know much about the case against Epstein and Maxwell, he has acknowledged knowing the pair, who socialized with him in Palm Beach, Fla., where Trump’s private club, Mar-a-Lago, is located.
Trump has been photographed with Epstein, and in 2002 he spoke to New York magazine about his friend: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
After Maxwell’s arrest in July, Trump acknowledged to reporters that he knew her well. “I’ve met her numerous times over the years,” he said. “I just wish her well, frankly.”
In her earlier defamation suit against Maxwell, Giuffre claimed to have met the British socialite at Mar-a-Lago when she was 17. Trump is not named in the recently released deposition, and Giuffre has not accused Trump of any wrongdoing.
Still, that apparently friendly connection creates “a very precarious balancing act” for a movement that sees Trump as the hero in a secret war against a satanic cabal of Democratic pedophiles.
While Argentino admits that “it’s weird” for Q not to highlight newly released material from the Maxwell case, since it “already fits into the QAnon ethos,” he also noted that the deposition is over 400 pages “and Q is generally lazy, so I doubt the person behind that account has read the deposition.”
He suspected that Q is likely “waiting for someone in the QAnon community to start posting about what’s in there” so that he can point to it and say “this is the ‘boom’ I was talking about.”
“That happens regularly,” he said, adding, “That’s the whole point of Q. It puts concepts out there, but it’s also about ‘do your own research ’cause I’m too lazy to tell you what to think.’”
However, Argentino said that QAnon has made it increasingly difficult for those who want to “do their own research” to access legitimate information about the Epstein case.
“If you don’t trust the mainstream media, alternative media sources are just flooded with the narratives from groups like QAnon because that’s what has taken over the Epstein conversation on the right,” he said, adding this is just one example of how QAnon has “muddied the waters” on the issue of child trafficking in general, by spreading misinformation that threatens to undermine the work of legitimate organizations.
This week, a coalition of more than 100 organizations dedicated to fighting human trafficking published an open letter to “candidates, the Media, Political Parties, and Policymakers” about the dangers posed by QAnon conspiracy theories.
“Anybody — political committee, public office holder, candidate, or media outlet — who lends any credibility to QAnon conspiracies related to human trafficking actively harms the fight against human trafficking,” the letter states. “Indeed, any political committee, candidate, public office holder or media that does not expressly condemn QAnon and actively debunk the lies should be held accountable.”
“Though they pretend to care about children, in reality, QAnon doesn’t,” said Argentino. “They just care about portraying a specific group as part of this child-trafficking ring.”
Former U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta used “poor judgment” when he chose not to prosecute Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein on federal sex-trafficking charges and instead let him plead guilty to a state offense of soliciting young girls for sex, the Justice Department said Thursday. The department’s Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that Acosta, who served as labor secretary in the Trump administration until the scandal over his mishandling of the Epstein case forced him to resign in July 2019, committed no professional wrongdoing and violated no ethics standards. The non-prosecution agreement was signed over 10 years earlier when Acosta was U.S. attorney for South Florida.
“Acosta’s decision to decline to initiate a federal prosecution of Epstein was within the scope of his authority, and OPR did not find evidence that his decision was based on corruption or other impermissible considerations, such as Epstein’s wealth, status, or associations,” a 13-page executive summary of OPR’s report says.
After the executive summary was released, Acosta, who had long refused to answer the Miami Herald’s questions about his actions, issued a two-page statement saying it “fully debunks allegations that the [United States Attorney’s Office in South Florida] improperly cut Epstein a ‘sweetheart deal’ or purposefully avoided investigating potential wrongdoing by various prominent individuals.” The Republican senator who requested the review after a Miami Herald investigative series saw it differently.
“Letting a well-connected billionaire get away with child rape and international sex trafficking isn’t ‘poor judgment’ — it is a disgusting failure. Americans ought to be enraged,” Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee, said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Jeffrey Epstein should be rotting behind bars today, but the Justice Department failed Epstein’s victims at every turn.
“The DOJ’s crooked deal with Epstein effectively shut down investigations into his child sex trafficking ring and protected his co-conspirators in other states. Justice has not been served,” Sasse said. “The full report needs to be released to the public. OPR might have finished its report, but we have an obligation to make sure this never happens again.”
Sasse, who had pressed the Justice Department for more than three years to investigate the handling of Epstein’s charges, demanded that the agency release the report. Although the department didn’t do so, the Miami Herald and its parent company, McClatchy, obtained a copy on their own.
In the full report, OPR concluded that “Acosta exercised poor judgment when he failed to make certain that the state intended to and would notify victims identified through the federal investigation about the state plea hearing. His decision left victims uninformed about an important proceeding that resolved the federal investigation, an investigation about which the [United States Attorney’s Office] had communicated with victims for months. It also ultimately created the misimpression that the [Justice] Department intentionally sought to silence the victims.”
The report also contains an intriguing mention of former President Bill Clinton and how his friendship with Epstein might have affected the prosecution. It also paints celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz in unflattering terms.
The summary said the Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates allegations of misconduct by federal prosecutors, had reviewed “hundreds of thousands of records,” including emails, letters, memos and investigative materials, and conducted “more than 60 interviews of witnesses,” from FBI case agents to a former deputy attorney general of the Justice Department. In a statement, the Justice Department said it shared the executive summary of the report with victims on Thursday and the full report with a congressional committee.
“While OPR did not find that Department attorneys engaged in professional misconduct, OPR concluded that the victims were not treated with the forthrightness and sensitivity expected by the Department,” the statement said.
Among the federal prosecutors who avoided being targeted for criticism in the executive summary were Acosta’s former top assistant, Jeffrey Sloman; ex-criminal chief Matthew Menchel; former case prosecutor Marie Villafaña, who had prepared a sex-trafficking indictment against Epstein that was not filed; and her boss, Andrew Lourie. They and their actions, however, are detailed in the full, unreleased report.
“I am pleased that OPR finally has completed its investigation but am disappointed that it has not released the full report so the victims and the public can have a fuller accounting of the depth of interference [by the U.S. Attorney’s Office management and Epstein’s lawyers] that led to the patently unjust outcome in the Epstein case,” Villafaña, who resigned as a federal prosecutor last year but had remained silent on the matter, said in a statement. “That injustice, I believe, was the result of deep, implicit institutional biases that prevented me and the FBI agents who worked diligently on this case from holding Mr. Epstein accountable for his crimes.”
Sloman, who served as Acosta’s first assistant during the Epstein prosecution, declined to comment. In an op-ed piece published last year in the Miami Herald, Sloman acknowledged that “Epstein deserved harsher punishment than he ended up getting.”
At the time, Sloman defended Acosta’s integrity in handling the case. “Our priorities were to make sure Epstein could not hurt anyone else and to compensate Epstein’s victims without retraumatizing them,” Sloman wrote in February 2019, apparently referring to a short term Epstein served in the Palm Beach jail and settlements paid to some of Epstein’s victims.
The op-ed was published months before Acosta resigned as labor secretary. The OPR investigation was prompted by the 2018 Miami Herald series Perversion of Justice, which renewed interest in the non-prosecution agreement.
The executive summary mentions the Miami Herald’s reporting numerous times as the reason for the intense public interest. It mentioned a breakfast meeting between Acosta and one of Epstein’s lawyers, Jay Lefkowitz, in October 2007 that was highlighted in the Herald’s series.
“OPR did not find evidence establishing that Acosta’s ‘breakfast meeting’ with one of Epstein’s defense counsel in October 2007 led to the NPA, which had been signed weeks earlier, or to any other significant decision that benefited Epstein,” the report said. Acosta, in his statement, pointed to this as evidence he acted properly and that the Herald’s reporting, which described the meeting as unusual, was flawed.
The Herald’s series, however, described how in the months after the meeting Epstein’s legal team peppered Acosta and his subordinates with emails demanding modifications to the arrangement, citing assurances given at the meeting. Emails examined by the Herald show the lawyers wanted victims not to be informed of the status of negotiations — contrary to the Crime Victims Rights Act — apparently to ensure there was no interference in the shaping of the deal. Emails and other communications showed they also pushed to have the arrangement sealed by a judge so it could not be examined by the victims or the public. All of that occurred, although the agreement was eventually unsealed.
The report also provides answers to who knew about the deal at DOJ headquarters. It outlines how just after the original deal was hammered out Epstein attorneys began going over Acosta’s head to lobby headquarters.
In a May 2008 letter to Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip, two of the prominent members of Epstein’s legal team, former Solicitor General Kenneth Starr and former U.S. Attorney Joe Whitley, suggested that the federal investigation into Epstein was politically motivated because of his close ties to former President Clinton. There was “little doubt,” they wrote, that Acosta’s office “never would have contemplated a prosecution in this case if Mr. Epstein were just another ‘John.’ ” Starr, ironically, is best known for his dogged pursuit of Clinton during his impeachment for lying about his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky. Despite those efforts to sway senior Justice Department officials, the report suggests that then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey had no role in the Epstein case. The report notes that Mukasey had lunch in Miami with Acosta and other senior managers in the U.S. Attorney’s Office a little over a month before Epstein ultimately pleaded guilty in state court, but that Epstein’s case was not discussed at that time.
The Office of Professional Responsibility is a nonpartisan division of the Justice Department, formed in 1975 in response to the Watergate scandal and run by career prosecutors. It investigates allegations of professional misconduct by DOJ prosecutors and immigration judges. As the Herald previously reported, and as was acknowledged in its report, the Office of Professional Responsibility previously declined to investigate complaints about the handling of the Epstein case in 2010, citing ongoing litigation involving the victims.
The OPR’s summary said that Epstein’s victims and their attorneys were among those interviewed for the internal investigation, a detail confirmed by one of the lawyers, Spencer Kuvin. The Justice Department’s questions, he cautioned, were narrowly focused on the sexual assault laws in Florida at the time the crimes were committed. It was a time when the law did not prescribe serious punishment for those who inappropriately touched victims under the age of consent, which is 18 in Florida.
“Merely touching was punished differently than full intercourse,” Kuvin said. “In the case of my clients, there was no penetration. That law has since been changed.”
Kuvin also questioned why the FBI did not dig deeper.
“They had interviewed enough people to know that Epstein was traveling between New York and New Mexico so any decent investigator would have looked into whether he was doing this in other states,” he said, citing two other locales where Epstein maintained homes. “I don’t believe the FBI didn’t do that. I think the U.S. attorney made a conscious decision to shut the investigation down quickly and that was Acosta’s decision.’‘
Epstein’s victims are mentioned in another passage in the full report, concerning Epstein attorney Alan Dershowitz. In it, former Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer recalled that Epstein’s defense team had brought “voluminous material” seeking to discredit Epstein’s accusers in pushing for the state to allow Epstein to plead no contest, rather than guilty to possible sex charges.
Krischer told OPR that he remembered Dershowitz as “overly aggressive,” adding that Dershowitz had threatened, “We’re going to destroy your witnesses; don’t go to court because we’re going to destroy those girls.” Dershowitz and Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre are currently suing each other for defamation.
Dershowitz didn’t deny raising issues about the credibility of Epstein’s accusers in conversation with Krischer but did deny using that language. “In 55 years of practice, I can say that I have never threatened to destroy a witness,” Dershowitz said. “ I told him that his witnesses — there were only a handful at the time — had credibility issues and that it was our duty, as defense lawyers, to challenge their credibility.”
Dershowitz, who has dueling slander lawsuits with one of Epstein’s victims who accused him of sexual misconduct, said that he wasn’t contacted by the authors of the Justice Department report. The famed lawyer has denied the woman’s claim that he had sex with her.
In the wake of the Herald’s series about Acosta’s handling of the Epstein case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York filed sex-trafficking charges against Epstein and arrested him in July 2019 — making the same federal case that Acosta’s office could have made a decade earlier against the New Yorker, who owned a townhouse mansion in Manhattan. The revived case, however, took a shocking detour when the 66-year-old was found hanging in his cell in August 2019 under mysterious circumstances. His death was ruled a suicide. The original investigation more than 10 years ago found that Epstein paid dozens of girls, many of them underage, cash to engage in nude massages, masturbation, oral sex and intercourse in his palatial mansion in Palm Beach. The encounters were scheduled by members of his staff.
As a result of his plea in state court, Epstein registered as a sex offender in Florida and agreed to pay damages to 40 female victims ranging in age from 13 to 17. As part of the plea agreement negotiated by Acosta’s office, Epstein wouldn’t be charged in federal court — even though the feds had drawn up a proposed 53-page indictment that carried potential punishment ranging from a mandatory 10 years in prison to a life sentence. Acosta’s “non-prosecution agreement” was signed by the financier and his lawyers in September 2007 and amended through the end of that year. The deal also immunized several of his alleged co-conspirators from federal prosecution. The DOJ report criticizes the non-prosecution agreement as a “flawed mechanism” that removed federal control over the case to state authorities.
Epstein ended up serving just over a year in a Palm Beach County stockade — while local authorities allowed him during his incarceration to go to work or do whatever he wanted for six days out of every week, returning to the stockade only at night.
David Lightman in Washington contributed to this report.
Two eyewitnesses say former White House lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler was at Epstein’s arraignment in July 2019—and that the two had a “professional relationship.”
But while the press focused on Epstein, one high-profile spectator apparently went unnoticed—at least, unnoticed by most. Two eyewitnesses say former White House lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler was at Epstein’s court appearance that day in his support, The Daily Beast has learned.
Two people who separately attended the hearing said Ruemmler—who served as White House counsel during the Clinton and Obama administrations—had a “professional relationship” with Epstein and was seated behind his defense team.
At the time, Ruemmler was a partner at Latham & Watkins and global co-chair of the law firm’s white-collar defense and investigations practice.
“Epstein knew her,” one source with knowledge told The Daily Beast of her appearance in court in July 2019. “He had a professional relationship with her. I think he may have reached out to her to be involved in the case.” The source said Ruemmler’s appearance was “probably just a show of support.”
“She worked for a large, prominent firm,” the person said. “There was some exploration of her joining the [defense] team, but it wasn’t going to happen.”
Ruemmler did not return messages seeking comment. A spokeswoman for Latham & Watkins said neither the law firm nor Ruemmler represented Epstein; she did not return follow-up emails from The Daily Beast.
Martin Weinberg, a lawyer for Epstein since 2008, said Ruemmler didn’t represent the financier and wasn’t a member of the defense team led by himself and Reid Weingarten. “I can state with certainty that Kathy Ruemmler did not represent Mr. Epstein and did not appear at any hearing at any time on his behalf,” Weinberg said in an email.
She left Latham & Watkins in April to become global head of regulatory affairs at Goldman Sachs. After the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last month, Fox News reported Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden possibly put Ruemmler on the short list of nominees to fill a future SCOTUS seat.
Indeed, Ruemmler and other Obama-era officials hosted a D.C. event for Biden last November as his fundraising waned before the primaries. According to the Washington Examiner, Ruemmler told the crowd the 2020 election came down to “character,” and “there is no one who has the strength and the quality of character, no one like Joe Biden.”
Ruemmler has long traveled the revolving door between public service and Latham & Watkins, whose phalanx of former high-ranking government lawyers inspired a Wall Street Journal blog to call the firm “the DOJ’s home away from home.”
At Latham, Ruemmler defended companies in high-stakes litigation, led internal probes into misconduct, and averted indictments through Department of Justice “declinations,” or decisions not to prosecute which are similar to non-prosecution agreements. (She did, however, secure a non-prosecution agreement for Microsoft Hungary, which last year paid $8.7 million in penalties to resolve a foreign bribery case.)
Her career began with a clerkship under a federal appeals judge, followed by a job at litigation boutique Zuckerman Spaeder in Washington, D.C., before she was hired as a lawyer for President Clinton from 2000 to 2001.
She then moved to the Department of Justice, where she made headlines as a lead prosecutor in the Enron financial fraud trial. (Weingarten, one of Epstein’s D.C.-based legal eagles, faced off with Ruemmler when he represented Richard Causey, Enron’s former chief accounting officer who pleaded guilty to securities fraud.)
In 2007, she left government for Latham & Watkins. She joined the Obama administration two years later as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ. Ruemmler replaced her mentor, Bob Bauer, as White House counsel in 2011 and became one of President Obama’s closest confidantes. When she announced her resignation in 2014, Obama said, “Kathy has become one of my most trusted advisers over the past few years. I deeply value her smarts, her judgment, and her wit—but most importantly her uncanny ability to see around the corners that nobody else anticipates.”
Later asked in an interview how she’d like to be remembered, Ruemmler paraphrased Bauer: “She told it like it was; she never put even light icing on the cake.”
After the Obama White House, Ruemmler returned to Latham but was soon in the running to replace Attorney General Eric Holder. But she withdrew her name from consideration—reportedly because she feared her closeness to Obama, and her handling of matters including the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and the Secret Service prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia, would make for a difficult confirmation process.
“She felt very strongly that it would not serve the department well, and that it certainly wouldn’t serve the president well, to have the confirmation process be a series of partisan attacks on the president rather than a reasoned approach to what the Department of Justice really needs right now,” one source told Politico.
Under the Clinton administration, Ruemmler defended the White House in congressional investigations and “independent counsel issues, including those related to former Pentagon worker Linda Tripp, who famously taped colleague Monica Lewinsky,” according to one Washington Post profile on Enron prosecutors.
But Ruemmler’s ties to the Clintons didn’t end with Bill’s presidency. She’s mentioned in emails published on WikiLeaks, including those belonging to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chair John Podesta. One email attachment listed Ruemmler under a March 2016 list of possible campaign “vetters,” while several other emails indicated Ruemmler was a participant in more than one “Biweekly Hill Strategy Call.”
In August 2016, Ruemmler was identified as “the Clinton Foundation’s principal lawyer” when Reuters, as well as the New York Post, reported the organization hired a security firm in the wake of suspected hacking. It’s unclear how long she represented the Clinton family charity or what other work she’s done for them.
Ruemmler also recently defended the Democratic National Committee and Perkins Coie—the law firm representing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign—in a defamation suit filed by Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Donald Trump.
Page claimed the parties developed the Steele dossier, which was “replete with falsehoods about numerous individuals associated with the Trump campaign,” leading the feds to “wrongfully and covertly” surveil Page as an agent of Russia. (A federal judge in Chicago tossed Page’s suit in August, saying the court lacked jurisdiction; Page filed a similar suit in Oklahoma in 2018 but it was dismissed for the same reason.)
Several Clinton staffers are listed in Epstein’s infamous rolodex, including Cheryl Mills, who was deputy White House counsel for Clinton during his 1999 impeachment trial. Mills was an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential run and chief of staff when Clinton became Secretary of State. Along with Podesta, Mills oversaw Clinton’s search for a running mate in 2016 and was included in emails with Ruemmler.
In years past, both Epstein and Maxwell donated thousands to the Clinton Foundation and “Clinton Library.” When Epstein’s lawyers secretly negotiated a plea deal for his abuse of minors in Florida in 2007, they plugged his friendship with former President Clinton and claimed he helped to create the Clinton Global Initiative.
edited: added 2 words missing from original copy+paste.
Billionaire investor Leon Black denies he was blackmailed by Jeffrey Epstein after ‘he paid up to $75million to the disgraced financier for professional services’
Financier veteran Leon Black denied that he was blackmailed for millions of dollars by Jeffrey Epstein
Black called the allegations ‘categorically untrue’ and admitted his relationship with Epstein was a ‘terrible mistake’
The Apollo Global Management Inc. CEO has come under fire after it was reported he transferred up to $75million to Epstein for ‘professional services’
He made the payments after the late financier had been convicted of child sex offenses in 2008
The company’s stock share has declined and one of the biggest US public pension funds has already frozen new investments with Apollo
Black addressed the allegations during a call with concerned investors
Billionaire investor Leon Black denied allegations that Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed him for millions of dollars over the last decade, saying such claims were ‘categorically untrue.’
The Apollo Global Management, Inc. CEO both acknowledged and defended himself against the accusations on Thursday, when he gave his most comprehensive account to date of his ties with Epstein during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
The company’s stock plummeted $500million this month after it was revealed that Black reportedly transferred between $50 million and $75 million to Epstein for ‘professional services.’
Several investors in Apollo’s funds expressed concerns as much of the payments to Epstein came after his 2008 conviction for procuring an underage girl for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute.
One of the biggest US public pension funds froze new investments in the firm in light of the revelation, and stock shares have yet to make a significant rebound.
‘Let me be clear, there has never been an allegation by anyone that I engaged in any wrongdoing, because I did not,’ said Black.
‘Any suggestion of blackmail, or any other connection to Epstein’s reprehensible conduct, is categorically untrue.’
Financial documents showed Wall Street executive Black gave $10 million to one of Epstein’s foundations alone, the New York Times reported.
Black said he first met Epstein two decades ago, when the latter was advising prominent clients, including several heads of state, Nobel laureates, and even a U.S. treasury secretary.
The 69-year-old private equity veteran said he was not aware of Epstein’s criminal conduct until media reports surfaced in late 2006 of U.S. and Florida investigations into Epstein.
Black said that in 2012, three years after Epstein got out of jail following his prostitution conviction, he retained Epstein for ‘personal estate planning, tax structuring and philanthropic advice’ because of ‘misplaced comfort’ in the ‘distinguished reputations’ of the individuals in high society that Epstein continued to associate with.
‘This was a terrible mistake. Had I known any of the facts about Epstein’s sickening and repulsive conduct, which I learned in late 2018, more than a year after I stopped working with them I never would have had anything to do with him,’ Black said.
Epstein was awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center jail in New York City when he committed suicide by hanging inside his jail cell in August 2019.
He was held on sex trafficking charges of minors in Florida and New York from 2002 to 2005. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained his innocence until the end.
His alleged ‘madam,’ Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently detained in a Brooklyn prison cell awaiting trial for six federal crimes, including enticement of minors and sex trafficking.
Recently, Maxwell’s family launched a campaign to get her out of jail, claiming she’s lost considerable weight and her human rights were violated.
The figures Black reportedly transferred help shed some light on how Epstein died with a net worth estimated at $634million despite his imprisonment. But it is not clear exactly what role Epstein played to receive such large sums of money; he had no formal legal or tax training.
In January, U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George sued the estate, seeking claims on behalf of victims he raped and trafficked on a private Caribbean island.
Black has said he intends to cooperate with the U.S. Virgin Islands inquiry and any other investigation.
Apollo said that Epstein never did any work for the New York-based firm and announced last week that three board directors tasked with probing Black’s ties to Epstein had retained law firm Dechert LLP to launch a full review.
Apollo Chief Financial Officer Martin Kelly said on Thursday the review would include going though emails and interviewing people.
He said he hoped it would be concluded by the end of the year.
As news of Black’s financial transactions with Epstein emerged, Apollo took an immediate hit, forcing the CEO to send a letter to investors in which he confirmed paying Epstein ‘millions of dollars annually for his work’.
In article images show letter to Apollo investors Black is understood to have sent addressing his relationship with Epstein
He also confirmed a family picnic in 2012 with the disgraced financier on his private island residence in the U.S. Virgin Islands, dubbed Pedophile Island.
As concerns over the pair’s involvement grew, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System halted investments with the $414 billion private equity group.
Black and two other Apollo co-founders, Joshua Harris and Marc Rowan, control 52.9 percent of the private equity firm through six intermediate holding companies, according to regulatory filings.
Apollo co-founder and Senior Managing Director Josh Harris, seen as Black’s likely successor were he to step down, said the firm expected fundraising would slow down in the near term, as some investors waited for the review’s findings.
Kelly added that only 3 percent of the investor money Apollo manages could be withdrawn in the next two years, and that the firm’s big insurance investment portfolio buttressed its income from a slowdown in fundraising.
Apollo Global Management Inc.’s stock shares were down 17 per cent at $36.86 for the month of October after the market closed Friday afternoon.
Over a five-day period, the company was down 10.43 per cent as shares continued to tilt downwards.
In article images of stock shares for Apollo Global Management Inc
Distributable earnings (DE) – the cash available for paying dividends to shareholders – fell to $205.1 million from $222.5 million a year earlier, as a big rise in profit in Apollo’s credit businesses was not enough to offset a steep drop in its private equity and real estate divisions.
That translated to DE per share of 47 cents, under-performing Wall Street analysts’ average forecast of 49 cents, according to data from Refinitiv.
Apollo said the value of its credit funds appreciated 3.7 percent in aggregate in the third quarter, with its private equity portfolio rising 8 percent. Its real estate, principal finance and infrastructure funds climbed 3.4 percent in aggregate.
Apollo said total assets under management rose to $433.1 billion as of the end of September, up from $414 billion three months earlier.
It ended the quarter with $45.8 billion in unspent capital and said it would pay a quarterly dividend of 51 cents a share.
Epstein and Black are said to have known each other since at least 1996 and they are reported to have regularly met up for lunches and dinners.
Under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor and another similar prostitution charge.
That allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
In 2018, Black and Epstein are said to have cut ties over ‘a fee dispute’.
In 2019, following Epstein’s arrest for sex trafficking, Black, who is the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), said he had a ‘limited relationship’ with the disgraced financier.
Epstein was known for hobnobbing with the rich, famous and influential, including presidents and a prince.
He owned a private island in the Caribbean, homes in Paris and New York City, a New Mexico ranch, and a fleet of high-price cars. His friends had once included Britain’s Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump.
In article “Leon Black’s Monday letter to Apollo investors in full” text.
A local real-estate developer, who says he’s in contract to buy the waterfront estate, is planning to knock it down and build a new home
By Katherine Clarke Nov. 2, 2020
Todd Michael Glaser, a Florida real-estate developer, said he has signed a contract to buy a Palm Beach waterfront property from the estate of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Epstein house came on the market in July for $21.995 million.
Mr. Glaser said that the deal is slated to close in December, after which he plans to tear the property down and replace it with a 14,000-square-foot Art Moderne home. Mr. Glaser is known for building elaborate spec mansions, such as a home on Miami’s Star Island that recently sold for about $49.5 million. He was also one of the developers of the One Thousand Museum tower designed by the late Zaha Hadid in downtown Miami.
“Palm Beach is going to be very happy that it’s gone,” he said of Mr. Epstein’s home. Mr. Glaser declined to comment on what he and his partners are paying for the house beyond stating that they received a discount. Another person close to the deal said the price was close to $18 million.
The compound is in a pricey part of Palm Beach, roughly a mile from Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club, and just a few streets from the Everglades Golf Course.
The property has roughly 170 feet of water frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway, with space for a dock and views of Tarpon and Everglades islands, listing agent Kerry Warwick of the Corcoran Group told The Wall Street Journal when the property came on the market. The six-bedroom, roughly 14,000-square-foot house was designed by architect John Volk in West Indies style.
Mr. Epstein bought the house for $2.5 million in 1990, records show. In addition to his lavish townhouse in New York, it played a central role in his alleged sex-trafficking schemes, according to prosecutors. He allegedly enticed and recruited underage girls to the property to engage in sex acts.
A spokesman for Mr. Epstein’s estate wasn’t immediately available for comment. The New York townhouse is still on the market, asking $88 million, according to the website of the listing agent, Adam Modlin of Modlin Group.
Write to Katherine Clarke at katherine.clarke@wsj.com
OP edit: headline should read JEAN-LUC BRUNEL, ACCUSED OF GIFTING JEFFREY EPSTEIN UNDERAGE TRIPLETS, SUBPOENAED < apologies! I missed the important word when copying.
Brunel must turn over information along with his agencies Source and Identity Models.
Jean-Luc Brunel has been subpoenaed by the attorneys prosecuting Jeffrey Epstein in the Virgin Islands. The French model scout, 74, was accused by Virginia Roberts of flying 12-year-old triplets to Epstein’s home in the Virgin Islands as a birthday gift.
“Jeffrey bragged after he met them that they were 12-year-olds and flown over from France because they’re really poor over there, and their parents needed the money or whatever the case is and they were absolutely free to stay and flew out,” said Roberts in court documents filed in her 2016 case against Ghislaine Maxwell.
In addition to Brunel, two of the modeling agencies he has been tied to in recent years were also ordered to turn over information. The Source Models and Identity Models have both been accused of helping lure in young girls for Epstein, allegations that both agencies have denied in the past.
The actual contents of these subpoenas have not been released to the public so it in unclear what information is being demanded. It is very likely, however, that the subpoenas look very similar to the one issued last week to MC2 Models, the agency Epstein founded with Brunl.
That subpoena requested:
REQUEST NO 1 Any and all Documents, in electronic or paper form, reflecting or relating to any relationship between YOU and [redacted], [redacted],[redacted],[redacted],[redacted], and [redacted] including but not limited to any financial arrangements and ownership interests among each
REQUEST NO 2 Any and all documents or materials, in electronic or paper form, reflecting or referring to any financial transaction made to, by or between YOU and Jeffrey Epstein and/or any Epstein Agent or Epstein Entity
REQUEST NO 3 Documents sufficient to Identify YOUR employees, owners, principals, and agents
REQUEST NO 4 Any and all Documents or materials reflecting or referring to travel of any individual associated with and/or employed by YOU to the Virgin Islands at any time from 2000 to present
REQUEST NO 5 Any and all Communications with Jeffrey Epstein and/or any Epstein Agent or Epstein Entity, whether it be written, electronic, telephone or otherwise
REQUEST NO 6 Epstein Any and all or agreements between or among YOU, [redacted], Jeffrey Epstein and/or any Epstein entity or agent
REQUEST NO 7 Documents sufficient to identify any and all properties or offices utilized by YOU for the operation of YOUR business including the address of each property or office and the owner or lessor of such properties and offices
REQUEST NO 8 Any and all photos and/or videos of any property owned by Jeffrey Epstein or an Epstein entity
REQUEST NO 9 All documents and communications involving Epstein including but not limited to Documents and Communications regarding females sought by or provided to Epstein
REQUEST NO 10 All documents and/or materials reflecting any and all Communications regarding any of the following individuals: [redacted],[redacted],[redacted],[redacted], [redacted],[redacted],[redacted],[redacted], and/or [redacted]
There were also notices of intent to serve that were reissued for Charles Schwab Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, and Silicon Valley Bank.
Last week, a 418-page deposition that Ghislaine Maxwell took in 2016 was unsealed.
In it, Maxwell endures seven hours of questioning about her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and allegations that they trafficked and sexually abused young girls.
Cynthia Calkins, a forensic psychologist and a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Insider that Maxwell’s answers could indicate that she has something to hide.
Maxwell’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s blockbuster 418-page deposition — taken in 2016 and made public last week — shows the Jeffrey Epstein associate “bristling” and appearing “easily provoked” at key moments, according to a forensic psychologist.
Cynthia Calkins, a clinical forensic psychologist and an associate psychology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, told Insider that, for someone who had years to prepare with her lawyers, Maxwell appeared surprisingly irritable at some of the questions she received.
“There’s a surprising amount of snappishness,” Calkins told Insider. “She appears to be easily provoked in a way that I don’t think I would — if I had the money, or if our lives were on the line.”
The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who has accused both Maxwell and Epstein of abusing her in a wide-ranging sex-trafficking ring.
Calkins, who has also written a number of books and scholarly works on sexual abuse, cautioned that we can’t read into Maxwell’s guilt based on how she appears in the deposition transcript alone.
“These are highly charged circumstances, and it’s not unusual that anybody in this situation comes off as irritable and defensive and guarded and careful when you’ve got attorneys trying to pick apart your words like that,” she said. “You or I, or anybody who’s sitting there for seven hours, is probably going to show some irritability, some defensiveness, some carefulness.”
At the same time, Calkins said, Maxwell’s defensiveness made it seem like she had something to hide.
“My own read of it — she does seem to be hiding something,” she said. “What she’s hiding — who knows?”
Maxwell seems like she doesn’t think she should be questioned at all, according to Calkins
Maxwell is currently in a federal jail in Brooklyn, under indictment on sex-trafficking charges, as well as a perjury charge for answers she gave in the deposition.
The deposition was at one point scheduled to take place in 2009 but had been delayed for another seven years. Calkins pointed out that it was surprising to see Maxwell lose her cool, given that she had so much time to prepare with her lawyers.
“It’s certainly possible that she’s feeling rather entitled or doesn’t think she should be subjected to these questions at all,” Calkins said. “She’s coming from a very privileged background that she’s probably not had to deal with a lot of people challenging in her throughout her life in this way, and has probably been used to getting what she wants.”
In much of the deposition, Maxwell calls Giuffre a liar, categorically denying she took part in any inappropriate sexual relationships.
She “bristled” in responses to questions about recruiting girls for massages, Calkins said. Giuffre and federal prosecutors allege Maxwell used those massages as a segue for sexual abuse.
Jeffrey Pagliuca and Laura Menninger, the two Maxwell attorneys who represented her in the deposition, didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Maxwell was also questioned at length about her relationship with Epstein, with whom she closely associated between the early 1990s until some point in the mid-2000s. In the deposition, Giuffre’s lawyer asked Maxwell whether she considered herself Epstein’s girlfriend.
“That’s a tricky question,” Maxwell answered. “I would have liked to think of myself as his girlfriend.”
Calkins said her response suggests Maxwell may be “bitter” about how her relationship with Epstein ended.
“It implies that, that maybe she wasn’t [his girlfriend], or maybe he thought of this differently,” she said. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but … if it was clear from both sides that they were girlfriend and boyfriend, and that was without question, she would not have responded in that way.”
“It seems like she’s kind of bristling about something in that response,” Calkins added. “Whether it’s because she wanted to be his girlfriend and she wasn’t at least by lack of his desire, or whether she’s feeling a little snarky about this or bitter over something that ended.”
Two Jeffrey Epstein victims have separately dropped their cases against the dead pedophile’s estate and his alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, new court papers show.
Jennifer Araoz sued the British socialite in September for allegedly helping recruit her as a sex slave at the age of 14.
But Araoz dropped the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit on Monday, a brief court filing indicates.
Similarly, a woman who anonymously sued Epstein’s estate in December, alongside eight other accusers, has also dropped her claims, court papers from Friday show.
The victim — who filed under the name Jane Doe VII — claimed in the lawsuit that she was sexually abused by Epstein in 2007 when she was 22 years old.
The fact that the two women have dropped their claims could indicate that they were awarded money under a victims compensation fund set up for Epstein’s accusers.
Araoz — who launched a foundation last week to help other victims of sexual abuse — filed a separate lawsuit against Epstein’s estate, claiming that he raped her when she was just 15. That case is still pending.
📷–– ADVERTISEMENT ––
Lawyers for both women didn’t return requests for comment.
The modelling agency owned by Brunel and Epstein is being dragged into the case.
Jean-Luc Brunel has been dragged into the Jeffrey Epstein case in the Virgin Islands after prosecutors issued a subpoena for the Miami modeling agency he helped found with the deceased pedophile, MC2. OK! has exclusively obtained the subpoena, which is quite heavily redacted unlike the other documents filed in the case.
The most interesting of the requests may be the ninth, which involves any knowledge, proof or evidence about Epstein’s procuring young girls to abuse. Of all the stories that have been told about Epstein, few are as chilling as the tale of three French girls flown over to the Virgin Islands for his birthday. They were allegedly a gift from Brunel and just 12 years old, according to Virginia Roberts.
In the past two years, multiple models have come forward and alleged that they were sexually assaulted by Brunel after being brought on by the agency.
The other requests are below.
REQUEST NO 1 Any and all Documents, in electronic or paper form, reflecting or relating to any relationship between YOU and [redacted], [redacted],[redacted],[redacted],[redacted], and [redacted] including but not limited to any financial arrangements and ownership interests among each
REQUEST NO 2 Any and all documents or materials, in electronic or paper form, reflecting or referring to any financial transaction made to, by or between YOU and Jeffrey Epstein and/or any Epstein Agent or Epstein Entity
REQUEST NO 3 Documents sufficient to Identify YOUR employees, owners, principals, and agents
REQUEST NO 4 Any and all Documents or materials reflecting or referring to travel of any individual associated with and/or employed by YOU to the Virgin Islands at any time from 2000 to present
REQUEST NO 5 Any and all Communications with Jeffrey Epstein and/or any Epstein Agent or Epstein Entity, whether it be written, electronic, telephone or otherwise
REQUEST NO 6 Epstein Any and all or agreements between or among YOU, [redacted], Jeffrey Epstein and/or any Epstein entity or agent
REQUEST NO 7 Documents sufficient to identify any and all properties or offices utilized by YOU for the operation of YOUR business including the address of each property or office and the owner or lessor of such properties and offices
REQUEST NO 8 Any and all photos and/or videos of any property owned by Jeffrey Epstein or an Epstein entity
REQUEST NO 9 All documents and communications involving Epstein including but not limited to Documents and Communications regarding females sought by or provided to Epstein
REQUEST NO 10 All documents and/or materials reflecting any and all Communications regarding any of the following individuals: [redacted],[redacted],[redacted],[redacted], [redacted],[redacted],[redacted],[redacted], and/or [redacted]
EXCLUSIVE: French officials probing dead paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein over rape and abuse of minors and Paris are also investigating his socialite pal
French prosecutors have launched an investigation into Ghislaine Maxwell.
Officials investigating Jeffrey Epstein over rape and abuse of minors in Paris are looking at the British ex-socialite over accusations she too was involved in his offending.
A source told the Mirror: “Both Epstein and Maxwell have a long history and many connections to France.
“As detectives dug further into allegations against him and after receiving information from US investigators, they launched their own probe into Maxwell. It is ongoing.”
Maxwell was born on the outskirts of the French capital and holds citizenship there as well as in the UK and the US.
Before her arrest by the FBI in July on suspicion of grooming and abusing three underage girls, she was thought to be hiding in France, where her family have homes.
Under French law, the country does not extradite its own citizens, fuelling speculation as to why the Brit could have been staying there.
Maxwell was born in the affluent Maisons-Laffitte suburb of western Paris.
She was said to be close to Jean-Luc Brunel, staying at Epstein’s properties together as they both appeared on the billionaire’s private jet’s flight logs and in his book of contacts.
Model agent Brunel allegedly once gifted the late paedophile, who had a home in Paris, three French 12-year-old girls for his birthday one year.
Brunel, 74, has been accused of raping and procuring under-age girls. He has denied such allegations in the past.
He said: “I strongly deny having committed any illicit act or any wrongdoing in the course of my work as a scouter or model agencies manager.”
Brunel has been in hiding ever since. Maxwell, 58, the daughter of crooked media tycoon Robert Maxwell, was arrested by the FBI in New Hampshire, USA, in July.
She has been indicted on four charges that relate to 1994 to 1997 in which she is accused of grooming, trafficking and helping Epstein abuse three girls under 18.
According to the indictment she was among Epstein’s closest associates and in an “intimate relationship” with him.
She faces two other charges of perjury concerning a 2016 civil defamation case. If found guilty, she faces up to 35 years in prison.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty and is due for trial in New York in July 2021.
Epstein, 66, committed suicide in his prison cell last year as he awaited trial for underage sex trafficking.
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI’s investigation are expected to detail arrests of people who enabled Epstein’s abuse of girls. It will be shared tomorrow as victims will meet US government lawyers
The FBI will share the findings of its probe into Jeffrey Epstein with the paedophile’s victims tomorrow.
They are said to include details of all those linked with the late billionaire – including the Duke of York.
And further arrests of people who enabled Epstein’s abuse of dozens of girls are expected.
Victims will meet US government lawyers ahead of a public announcement and congressional committee hearing next week.
Victims’ lawyer Jack Scarola said: “I am aware the Attorney’s Office is meeting Epstein survivors to announce results.
“The process has been painfully slow but clearly is progressing, so my attitude is one of cautious optimism.”
In June, we revealed the FBI was closing in on Epstein’s enablers.
Agents were said to have built cases against “at least six” of the financier’s inner circle who they believe Prince Andrew, 60, met or could have had contact with during his friendship with the pervert.
One alleged victim said last night: “I have waited 18 years since Epstein first abused me.
“For so long, all of us have been robbed of justice. Hopefully now those who helped him are finally brought to answer.”
Virginia Giuffre, 37, claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke in 2001, aged 17, after being trafficked by Epstein and his and Andrew’s pal Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew vehemently denies all her allegations. He also denies claims he has snubbed US authorities over the probe.
Epstein committed suicide last year, aged 66, while awaiting trial.
Maxwell, 58, denies grooming and abusing three girls under 18.
Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, alleged co-conspirator in disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, filed an objection late Thursday seeking to block release of a controversial, sexually charged deposition in a settled civil lawsuit.
The objection was filed as part of a broader objection to the proposed timeline for unsealing additional documents as required in a July ruling by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in a records-release lawsuit brought by the Miami Herald.
The Thursday filing seeks to block release of a July 2016 deposition given by Maxwell in a civil lawsuit involving Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Preska last month released a long transcript of a Maxwell deposition from April 2016 in which the British socialite with three passports was obstructive and refused to answer questions about her sexual behavior and that of Jeffrey Epstein. Her refusal to answer the questions, which stemmed from allegations of Epstein victims, led a judge to order Maxwell to sit months later for the follow-up deposition.
Maxwell was arrested this summer on federal sex abuse charges in connection to her association with Epstein, a multi-millionaire with palatial homes in Palm Beach, the Virgin Islands, New Mexico and Manhattan. Releasing the second deposition, something that was expected in the next two weeks, would damage Maxwell’s chances at a fair trial, her lawyers said.
“There can be no doubt that matters concerning Ms. Maxwell’s case have been excessively and extensively reported. The press, the government, and plaintiff have made every effort to try Ms. Maxwell as a proxy for the now deceased Mr. Epstein,” said the Thursday filing by Laura A. Menninger. “The prejudice caused by the flood of coverage that comes with every new unsealing event in this case cannot be overstated.”
Those same arguments were made unsuccessfully to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York when Maxwell challenged Preska’s decision to unseal the depositions. Appellate judges held that Preska did not violate any judicial norms in reaching her decision that there was a presumption of public access to court documents. The lawsuit was fueled by public interest in Epstein following the Miami Herald’s Perversion of Justice series.
In another new wrinkle, Maxwell’s lawyers asked Preska not to release depositions from two non-parties, referenced only as Doe 1 and Doe 2. Lawyers for these two non-parties objected to their names being released but did not raise any further objections before a Nov. 4 deadline.
“Although they did not thereafter submit any objection, this Court has already ruled that ‘an objection by Does 1 and 2 to the release of their names is itself an objection to unsealing,’ ” the filing said, seemingly challenging the unsealing orders already settled by Preska and later the appeals court.
Maxwell remains in a New York jail awaiting federal trial. She was arrested on July 2 in New Hampshire on four counts of sexual trafficking of a minor and two counts of perjury, the latter stemming from testimony she gave in the civil lawsuit involving Giuffre, which was settled in 2017. The criminal charges involve alleged recruiting and grooming of underage girls for Epstein from 1994 to 1997. She is alleged to have participated in the abuse of one of the girls.
Maxwell’s attorneys indicated in the Thursday filing that they plan to challenge how federal prosecutors came into possession of the depositions from the civil lawsuit in the first place.
Maxwell’s lawyers previously suggested without any evidence that Giuffre’s attorneys might have turned over the depositions in violation of a protective order in the civil suit. That was disputed by federal prosecutors, who indicated that they obtained the depositions after asking two courts for access — one of which complied.
.Maxwell has sued Epstein’s estate, which is being settled in the U.S. Virgin Islands, claiming Epstein promised to pay her legal bills and did so up until the day he died in August 2019. The estate holds that no such deal was ever made.
Menninger’s filing on behalf of Maxwell also repeated earlier arguments that the information should be kept under seal because it could be relevant to Maxwell’s criminal trial.
“The Sealed Items contain information relevant to the Criminal Action that may or may not later be determined inadmissible in that trial” she said.
Bradley Edwards — an attorney who helped bring down Jeffrey Epstein — is being honored by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Edwards was legal counsel for many survivors of child sex trafficking perpetrated by the billionaire pedophile and author of the book, “Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein.”
He will be honored Wednesday night during a virtual gala hosted by ABC’s Deborah Roberts and comic Ali Wentworth, with wine tasting by Testarossa winery.
In April, Page Six reported that Epstein threatened Edwards, allegedly telling the lawyer, “I have friends in high places … Somebody’s going to get hurt” and putting the lawyer’s family under surveillance.
Edwards said he held a string of meetings with Epstein at Starbucks in Boca Raton, Florida, where the financier allegedly told him, “Brad, if you keep prosecuting me in this way, somebody’s going to get hurt.”
He revealed: “He put my family under surveillance, when I called him on it and said, ‘Hey, you put my family under surveillance, you told me you weren’t a bad guy,’ he said, ‘No, no, I just took you off the surveillance — I didn’t realize I had done that. I have a bunch of people who work for me, so see I’m the good guy, I’ll treat you fairly, let’s settle this case.’”
Edwards refused to settle, and Epstein, who died in jail in August 2019, was finally forced to make a full apology in a letter read in court in 2018.
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his prison cell on August 10 last year – he was facing sex trafficking charges.
Jeffrey Epstein was the wheeler dealer financier who lived the high life – cosying up to presidents, politicians and even royalty.
But the wealthy businessman was hiding a dark and horrifying secret. He was a sex offender who targeted the vulnerable and the young in a reign of terror that spanned years.
He was also accused of being at the centre of an international sex trafficking scandal.
Epstein was finally arrested in 2019 and was found dead in his prison cell just a month later – but the repurcussions of his horrifying actions are still being felt.
He built a formidable reputation as one of the world’s most mysterious financiers, specialising in clients with assets worth in excess of $1billion.
Now, for the first time, Epstein’s words and actions are put under the microscope in brand new documentary special Prince Andrew, Maxwell and Epstein.
In the one-hour special, experts in body language, linguistics and forensic psychology analyse video footage of Epstein’s pre-hearing deposition for a series of alleged sex crimes, and pinpoint the ‘smile of enjoyment’ and a ‘reddening face’ that exposed him as a liar.
Epstein first met socialite Ghislaine Maxwell in the 1990s.
As their relationship developed, Maxwell brought Epstein into her inner circle, introducing him to those at the very top of British society, including her close friend Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.
But underneath the surface, Maxwell soon became part of Epstein’s sordid world, allegedly procuring underage girls for him to sexually abuse.
Forensic Psychologist Kerry Daynes said: “American prosecutors allege that Ghislaine was absolutely instrumental in finding these girls.
“She introduced them to Epstein and then together they started to sexually abuse these girls.”
In July 2020, Maxwell was officially charged in the US for assisting Epstein’s abuse of minors, which she has always denied..
Epstein was jailed in 2008 after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution.
Kerry explained: “What that actually means is he had sex with a 14-year-old girl, that’s the rape of a child.”
After serving just 13 months, Epstein was released from jail. But soon after he was faced with a series of civil actions from other women who claimed he had abused them.
Analysing footage of Epstein’s deposition for these alleged crimes, body language expert Cliff Lansley pinpoints the moment’s Epstein’s body betrays him.
Sat down, Epstein looks to his lawyers, and whispers ‘nope’ as the charges he’s faced with are read out by the prosecutors, claiming how he procured underage girls for sex as a birthday present.
But for Cliff, Epstein’s behaviour contradicts his denial.
He explained: “At the point the three 12-year-old girls are mentioned we see a head turn away from the interviewer, an eye closure, and the right lip lifts.
“This is contempt; It’s moving the corner of the mouth towards the centre of the cheek, contempt towards the question.”
The expert also highlights a micro-handroll and shake of the head that signpost Epstein’s fakery even further.
He said: “If you look at his sleeve on the left-hand side of the screen, under his left hand, you’ll see the arm raising. But the clues from the shirt here are that we’re getting a single-sided hand shrug.
“That is strong evidence that the body and the thinking and the feeling is contradicting the response. So, this tells us that there’s no confidence in his head shake ‘no.’”
Analysing Epstein’s language and movements in the footage, Professor of Linguistics Dawn Archer pinpoints the moment he lets the mask of deception slip.
He reveals his guilt with a ‘smirk of enjoyment’ as he evades questions from the prosecutors.
She said: “He’s smiling throughout and he’s nodding his head throughout, and you can almost hear the ‘but’ is coming, but in this case he decides to use a ‘however’.
“He’s hiding behind the amendments. He has no intention of answering the question. We even see him smiling as he gives his first ‘I would like to answer that question, I really would’.’
“It’s an odd thing to be enjoying though, isn’t it when you think about what he’s facing? And it’s a very odd thing to be enjoying if you’re facing the kind of allegations as he was, including that minor girls should be offered as a birthday present.”
As the deposition continues, Cliff underlines how Epstein becomes anxious when posed further questions, epitomised by a ‘reddening face,’ again indicating deception is at play.
He explained: “We get a look away and we get a movement across the nose; the stress of not being able to respond is creating an increase in blood flow.
“When blood pressure increases not only does it show with the redness, but you can feel it. You’ll see an increase in redness from the left picture, which is base line skin tone from earlier on in the deposition, to the hot spot now where we’re being queried on 14-year-old girls.
“This is not embarrassment or a blushing, this is a redness that’s created by stress.”
But while stressed under the interview conditions, Epstein fights back when questioned about his relationship with Virginia Roberts, allegedly one of his most high-profile victims.
Cliff explains how Epstein’s arrogant response exposes his dishonesty.
He said: “The first thing we notice is a combination of an in-breath and the crease between his brows. We also see some rapid blinking. This is a good indication of cognitive load or thinking hard.
“He buys himself 24 seconds with some ridiculous questions that he knows the answers to. He’s attacking the questioner by repeating his question to him.”
Epstein’s unconscious behaviours back him into a corner.
He said: “He’s known Virginia Roberts for 10 years, he took her to London 10 years ago on that now famous trip.
“The two words ‘Virginia Roberts’ are not difficult to spell. So, when you combine this anxiety with the other indicators, this would suggest that he’s faking it.”
While the Epstein sex trafficking scandal continues to rumble on, for the fiancier it all came to a dramatic end on August 10 last year 2019, just five weeks after he was arrested for sex trafficking charges.
He was found dead in his New York prison cell and the cause of death was officially ruled as suicide.
The world’s focus now switches to Ghislaine Maxwell, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prince Andrew, Maxwell & Epstein is available to stream now on discovery+
EXCLUSIVE: How sloppy federal prosecutors who agreed to Jeffrey Epstein’s sweetheart plea deal were played so well by the pedophile’s lawyers they didn’t even realize they were giving immunity to Ghislaine Maxwell, new report claims
An explosive new report reveals that the prosecutors from Florida thought they were only giving legal protection to four female Epstein associates
They later admitted that it ‘never dawned’ on them the immunity clause was also designed to protect alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell
Epstein’s lawyers persuaded them to use language so loose it could also apply to the British socialite, who allegedly procured girls as young as 14 for him
An attorney working for Epstein had a prior relationship with one of the prosecutors and told him to ‘do us a solid (favor)’ to let Epstein off easy in 2007
The stunning blunder features in a report by the Department of Justice’s internal watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility
It reveals in unprecedented detail the errors that led to Epstein serving just 15 months in jail in 2007 despite the FBI identifying dozens of potential victims
Federal prosecutors who agreed to Jeffrey Epstein’s sweetheart plea deal were played so well by the pedophile’s lawyers they didn’t even realize they were giving immunity to Ghislaine Maxwell.
An explosive new report reveals that the prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida (SDFL) thought they were only giving legal protection to four female Epstein associates.
They later admitted that it ‘never dawned’ on them the immunity clause was also designed to protect Maxwell, who is accused of being Epstein’s chief recruiter.
Epstein’s lawyers persuaded them to use language so loose it could also apply to the British socialite, who is due to stand trial next year for allegedly procuring girls as young as 14 for him.
The stunning blunder features in a report by the Department of Justice’s internal watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) which has not been released in full but DailyMail.com has seen a copy.
It reveals in unprecedented detail the errors that led to Epstein serving just 15 months in jail in 2007 despite the FBI identifying dozens of potential victims.
Among the other revelations is that the SDFL failed to obtain Epstein’s computers and surveillance tapes from inside his houses even though they could have proved he was in possession of child pornography.
The prosecutor in charge of the case thought that the material ‘would have put this case completely to bed’ and given them evidence to put Epstein away for years.
An attorney working for Epstein had a prior relationship with one of the prosecutors and told him to ‘do us a solid (favor)’ and get his boss to suggest giving Epstein just two years in jail, the report says.
A senior prosecutor was so cozy with Epstein lawyer Jay Lefkowitz he told him he ‘enjoyed’ working with him and that ‘Mr Epstein was fortunate to have such excellent representation’.
The OPR report was commissioned by Attorney General William Barr in early 2019 after the Miami Herald’s devastating investigation into Epstein’s plea deal, called Perversion of Justice.
Journalists began their inquiries after the US Attorney who signed off on Epstein’s agreement, Alex Acosta, was appointed by Donald Trump as his Labor Secretary meaning he would be in charge of US government policy on human trafficking.
The series of stories helped lead to Epstein’s arrest in August last year and he hanged himself in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges – Acosta was forced to resign.
The OPR report was designed to look into whether or not any of the prosecutors engaged in corruption or professional misconduct.
The report concludes that did not happen, partly because the bar was that prosecutors ‘intentionally or recklessly violated a clear and unambiguous standard’.
However over 350 pages it digs up profound and disturbing questions about the handling of the case.
The most troubling is the handling of the immunity clause in the non prosecution agreement (NPA), the deal Epstein signed to make federal charges disappear.
Instead he would plead guilty in state court to two felony prostitution charges, be sentenced to 18 months in jail and register as a sex offender.
Under the immunity clause, which was suggested by Epstein’s lawyers who haggled repeatedly over the language, four women were also given protection from prosecution.
They were Sarah Kellen, who was allegedly one of his main recruiters, Nadia Marcinkova, an alleged sex slave, Adriana Ross, one of his associates, and Lesley Groff, who is said to have been his New York based assistant.
All the women have subsequently denied any wrongdoing and some have said they are victims.
The final language of the immunity clause was: ‘The United States agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein, including but not limited to (the four women)’.
The wording was loose enough that it applied to Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend who his victims have claimed ran his sex trafficking operation – she has denied the allegations against her.
Yet Jeffrey Sloman, the First Assistant US Attorney in the SDFL, told the OPR that it ‘never occurred to him that the reference to potential co-conspirators was directed toward any of the high-profile individuals who were at the time or subsequently linked’.
Ann Marie Villafaña, the Assistant US Attorney who was in charge of the case, said that apart from the four named women they had not much evidence on ‘any other potential co-conspirators’.
She said: ‘So, we wouldn’t be prosecuting anybody else, so why not include it?….I just didn’t think that there was anybody that it would cover’.
She conceded to OPR that she ‘did not catch the fact that it could be read as broadly as people have since read it’.
Villafaña said that at the time she told a colleague: ‘I don’t think it hurts us’.
Villafaña told the OPR that Epstein’s lawyers told her that he wanted to ‘make sure that he’s the only one who takes the blame for what happened’.
Villafaña and her colleagues believed Epstein’s conduct was his own ‘dirty little secret’ and appear to have missed the fact that Maxwell was his alleged top lieutenant.
Her reasoning is clouded by the fact that she admits the FBI were ‘aware of Epstein’s longtime relationship with a close female friend who was a well-known socialite’, which appears to mean Maxwell.
Villafaña said they ‘didn’t have any specific evidence against her’ but they had already spoken to one victim who ‘implicated’ her but the conduct was not in Florida.
Villafaña told OPR: ‘(We) considered Epstein to be the top of the food chain, and we wouldn’t have been interested in prosecuting anyone else’.
The report says: ‘She did not consider the possibility that Epstein might be trying to protect other, unnamed individuals, and no one, including the FBI case agents, raised that concern’.
Solman agreed and in retrospect ‘understood the non-prosecution provision was designed to protect Epstein’s four assistants, and it ‘never dawned’ on him that it was intended to shield anyone else’, the report said.
The horrible irony of this is that not only did Maxwell slip through the net, but she could use the very same NPA for her defense in her upcoming trial.
Before Epstein killed himself his lawyers argued that the deal with the SDFL was part of a ‘global’ agreement with the US government and that he couldn’t be prosecuted twice.
Maxwell may well do the same.
Among the other details in the report is the extraordinary revelation that the prosecution failed to obtain the computers removed from Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion prior to them being raided by the Palm Beach Police Department.
Mysteriously all the computers including those with records of surveillance cameras had been removed by the time officers arrived.
The report says that Villafaña knew who had possession of the computer equipment and the tapes – it does not say who.
They could have provided additional victims and given ‘powerful visual evidence’ of a ‘large number of girls’ Epstein victimized’, the report says.
Villafaña made repeated efforts to get the computers from Epstein’s lawyers but they blocked her and her superiors did not pursue this.
The report says that this evidence was ‘relevant and potentially critical’ and says that it could have led to evidence of Epstein transmitting child pornography images across state lines, a serious federal crime.
Villafaña told the OPR: ‘(If) the evidence had been what we suspected it was…(it) would have put this case completely to bed. It also would have completely defeated all of these arguments about interstate nexus’.
In its most withering section, the report says: ‘It was clear Epstein did not want the contents of his computers disclosed. Nothing in the available record reveals that the USAO (prosecution) benefited from abandoning pursuit of this evidence when they did.
‘Instead, the USAO agreed to postpone and ultimately to abandon its efforts to obtain evidence that could have significantly changed Acosta’s decision to resolve the federal investigation with a state guilty plea or led to additional significant federal charges.
‘By agreeing to postpone the litigation, the USAO gave away leverage that might have caused the defense to come to an agreement much earlier and on terms more favorable to the government.
‘The USAO ultimately agreed to a term in the (plea deal) that permanently ended the government’s ability to obtain possible evidence of significant crimes and did so with apparently little serious consideration of the potential cost’,
The issue with the computers was not the only instance where Villafaña felt blocked by her male superiors.
The report paints her as one of the few voices within the department calling for Epstien to be arrested as soon as possible.
She told OPR that she was in a hurry to lock up Epstein ‘because child sex offenders don’t stop until they’re behind bars’.
But she butted heads with Matthew Menchel, the chief of the criminal division for SDFL.
In a blunt email to her, he said: ‘If you want to work major cases in the district you must understand and accept the fact that there is a chain of command – something you disregard with great regularity’.
When Epstein signed the plea deal, one of Villafaña’s colleagues told her: ‘This case only resolved with the filthy rich bad guy going to jail because of your dedication and determination’.
She said: ‘After all the hell they put me through, I don’t feel like celebrating 18 months. He should be spending 18 years in jail’.
While Villafaña maintained a combative stance with Epstein’s attorneys when she could, some of her male colleagues were far cosier with them.
Andrew Lourie, deputy chief of the criminal division at the time, appeared to get on well with Lefkowitz, one of Epstein’s ‘dream team’ of lawyers which also included Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, who wrote the impeachment investigation of Bill Clinton.
When Lefkowitz emailed Lourie to ask for his help to stop details about their negotiations being leaked, he told him: ‘I have enjoyed working with you on this matter’.
Lourie replied: ‘I enjoyed it as well. Mr Epstein was fortunate to have such excellent representation’.
That was not the only such connection between the prosecution and the defense and Epstein’s lawyer Lilly Ann Sanchez briefly had a relationship with Menchel in 2003 when they both worked at the SDFL.
The report says that in 2018 Villafaña claimed that the idea of Epstein serving a two year jail sentence was done as a favor to Sanchez.
She wrote in an email: ‘Months (or possibly years) later, I asked former First Assistant Jeff Sloman where the two-year figure came from. He said that Lily [sic] Ann Sanchez asked Mr. Menchel to ‘do her a solid’ and convince Mr. Acosta to offer two years’.
Sloman told OPR that he could not recall making such a remark.
Menchel said he couldn’t recall how the two year figure came about and said his prior relationship with Sanchez played no part in his decision making.
Despite turning up fresh evidence about the investigation the OPR was still unable to explain why Acosta decided on such a lenient sentence for Epstein.
The report says he appeared to be trying to find a middle ground between what Epstein would have got if the case was handled by federal prosecutors from the start, potentially decades in jail, and what he would be getting in state court, which amounted to a slap on the wrists.
In a scathing passage, the report says that Acosta’s reasoning was ‘untethered to any articulable, reasonable basis’.
As a result he drew up a plea deal that was ‘too difficult to administer, leaving Epstein free to manipulate the conditions of his sentence to his own advantage’.
Article ends with a “TIMELINE OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S LEGAL TROUBLES” which I’ve not copied in, so please see the main link above for this.
The deceased American financier [PEDOPHILE], and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell were Israeli spies who used underage girls to blackmail politicians into giving information to Israel, according to their alleged Mossad handler.
The couple reportedly ran a “honey-trap” operation in which they provided young girls to prominent politicians from around the world for sex, and then used the incidents to blackmail them in order to attain information for Israeli intelligence.
The claims are being made by the alleged former Israeli spy Ari Ben-Menashe in a soon-to-be-released book “Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales” in which he said that he was the handler of Ghislaine’s father Robert Maxwell, who was also an Israeli espionage agent and was the one who introduced his daughter and Epstein to Mossad.
“See, fking around is not a crime. It could be embarrassing, but it’s not a crime,” Menashe wrote in the book. “But fking a fourteen-year-old girl is a crime. And he was taking photos of politicians f**king fourteen-year-old girls—if you want to get it straight…They [Epstein and Maxwell] would just blackmail people like that.”
The handler Ben-Menashe, himself an Iran-born Israeli businessman who says he worked for Mossad from 1977 to 1987, is a mysterious figure who was arrested in 1989 in the US on charges of arms dealing. He was acquitted in 1990, however, only after a jury accepted that he was acting on behalf of the Israeli state. Israel then denied that Menashe has any links with its intelligence services and attempted to distance itself from him, despite the fact that other news reports both in the US and Israel confirmed he was acting on the country’s behalf.
The new book, which also speculates that Maxwell may have worked for other governments as a double or triple agent, says that despite reports Epstein and Ghislaine met in the early 1990s in New York, they in fact met earlier through her father who introduced Epstein to Mossad before Ghislaine joined in the activities later.
Jeffrey Epstein, who was facing charges for sex trafficking minors, was found dead in his New York prison cell on 10 August. According to official reports he committed suicide, but there has been much speculation and evidence put forward that he was in fact killed, with many stating he may have been assassinated due to his knowledge of the figures he blackmailed and the acts they committed.
The statements made by Ben-Menashe are so far unsubstantiated, but if proven true they would provide significant evidence of Israel being involved in the blackmail of senior and prominent politicians and figures in the US.
This would only add to the state’s already-revealed track record of manipulating Western nations’ political systems, as was seen in the revelations of the Israeli lobby’s attempt to “take down” British and US politicians revealed in the past few years.
Nearly a year of emails in Alex Acosta’s email inbox while he oversaw the case against Jeffrey Epstein are missing, the Justice Department has revealed to victims’ lawyers during a meeting Thursday.
Federal officials attributed the gap from May 26, 2007 to April 2, 2008 to a “technical glitch” that wasn’t limited to the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, two sources familiar with the Justice Department review of Epstein’s sweetheart deal told the Daily News.
The review made public Thursday found that Acosta exercised “poor judgment” but committed no misconduct when he allowed Epstein to plead guilty to state prostitution charges rather than face a federal case. The serial pervert served 13 months in Palm Beach County jail despite evidence he ran an underage sex trafficking scheme.
Epstein hanged himself last year in a Manhattan federal jail after being slapped with new sex trafficking charges.
Investigators with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility said they were able to reconstruct much of Acosta’s inbox by examining his sent folder, as well as other staffers’ emails.
But many questions remained.
The email gap came during a critical period in the Florida Epstein case when the sex offender’s powerhouse legal team aggressively negotiated with Acosta and his prosecutors. Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement with Acosta’s office, which covered named and unnamed co-conspirators, was executed in September 2007 — an unprecedented deal in Justice Department history, officials said during the meeting, according to attendees.
In October 2007, Acosta had an unusual “breakfast meeting” at a Miami hotel with Epstein’s lawyer Jay Lefkowitz.
The gap was also just revealed Thursday — despite more than 10 years of litigation over prosecutors’ handling of the case.
“Yesterday we were told that OPR was unable to recover months of emails from Alex Acosta, who was the U.S. Attorney and the person ultimately in charge of this deal. That raises numerous questions about what the defense attorneys were telling Mr. Acosta and why he continually exercised influence to give a sweeter and sweeter deal for Epstein,” said Epstein victims’ attorney Paul Cassell. “We intend to purse this issue through all possible venues to determine why these emails were missing and why were never told about it until yesterday.”
The email gap is further fodder for conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein, a multimillionaire who palled around with the rich and powerful while surrounding himself with underage girls.
“I am a firm believer that there are no coincidences,” Epstein victims’ lawyer Jack Scarola said.
“There are a lot of strange things that went on with regards to this case — a lot of questions that remain unanswered and not yet adequately investigated.”
The Dive with Jackson Hinkle is a populist-left perspective on news & politics which airs daily. On today’s episode, we discuss news that the FBI wanted to arrest Epstein in early 2007, fearing he was actively preying on minors — but two senior federal prosecutors in Miami overruled them.
FBI Was Stopped From Arresting Jeffrey Epstein In 2007 (Alexander Acosta)
#279 Joe Biden’s Brother Owns Island Next To Epstein’s. Also, Ghislaine Maxwell Connection To FBI.
There are many important revelations here. The most shocking one is that James Biden, brother of Joe, owns an island that is in close proximity to the infamous Epstein Island. It’s no surprise that Biden is connected to this. Hell, if anyone is hiding in plain sight as a child-predator, it’s Creepy Joe. If the authorities were inclined to press charges against him they could build a compelling jury case just from the video footage of how handsy he is with young girls. It’s truly disgusting.
Then there are the Tara Reade allegations, which come to think of it, has now been swept under the rug by the MSM. And not unrelated are the weird statement that Dementia Joe has uttered about kids feeling up his legs. There may not be much clarity in mental decline, but there is honesty. Lastly, there is Hunter Biden’s corruption in Ukraine, China, and with a certain Arkansas stripper. No, we are not surprised with the Biden’s being involved, even if we have not heard that name connected with Epstein Island… yet.
But the most significant revelation might be the Maxwell connection to the FBI and Mossad. Once again, we are not surprised, but it is shocking nevertheless. I already knew she was a Mossad asset, I just didn’t know it was the family business.The Deep State is a nebulous term, but the more investigation one does the more concrete it’s foundations become. It’s almost like seeing a glimmer of a spider web, but upon looking closer, you can see the multitudinous strands that compose it.
Between the government connection to the land as military bases, the deep state members owning or leasing the various islands, Maxwell owing the Terramar submarine company, the alleged construction of tunnels and underwater facilities via Terramar, the Maxwell family access to both US and Israeli intelligence… we can begin to visualize how this all went down. Epstein Island was the way of initiating people into “Taking the ticket.” Yes, the elites indulged in their wicked behavior, but the latent purpose was gathering information for blackmail in order to control people. But not blackmail as in candid camera. It’s more blackmail in the strain of “You know we are, what we do, and how powerful we are. If you want to be a god in this world, come with us. This is how you become one of us.” In other words, it does not feel as if initiates were being conned as much as extended offers. And yes, we can make the very reasonable speculation given the many known associations between Maxwell/Epstein to Israel that this scheme was used to make US interests to align with Israel’s.
For me, taking all of this in requires a certain conceptual shift in how I view our government officials. I tend to view them too atomistically. They do not simply collude together to accomplish some goal or piece of legislation, it goes much deeper than that. When people speak of a Cabal they are describing accurately. This is a massively incestuous group of people who are a part of a world that we normal people have difficulty imagining. These Deep State officials may have gone into politics a long time ago with certain noble goals in mind, but if they remain now, and if we know their names, chances are that they took the ticket a longgg time ago. And even harder for me to fathom is that many of these officials never entered their careers with ideals in mind. Many were either recruited or groomed. For many, this is evil is the family business.
Tracing the Eugenicists’ technofascist takeover from World War 2 until present day by looking at the role of Ghislaine Maxwell’s two leading men: her father Robert Maxwell and her ‘business partner’ Jeffrey Epstein. In the first part I go through some fascinating history to set the stage, and then I get to more & more recent events to show that SCIENCE was co-opted to direct humanity into our current, near devastating condition. Topics covered: US Army’s “Project RUSTY”, NASA & JPL, Chinese studies of Population Control, Cybernetics, Wuhan connection, Qian Xeusen (who?) and more.
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Did you know Joe Biden owned a private island too? It’s right across from Jeffrey Epstein’s island and the old submarine base used to smuggle in kids to Epstein island aboard Ghislaine Maxwell’s private submarine.
Alec let’s rip in respects of QAnon, referring to them as “QAnon trash”. This kind of approach is always concerning, specially when a group who’s basic intention is to protect people, comes under attack like this. Yet when you see the way he replies to a commenter on one of his posts, it really shows that wealth does not equal intelligence, and obviously “class” either.
Now there is a big elephant in the room in respects of QAnon, and that’s its direct link to Trump. Understandably, some really don’t like the fact that QAnon has pretty strong links to Trump, which is interesting considering the lengthy friendship Trump has had with Epstein over the years. They even co-hosted a model swimsuit contest at Trumps Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, so this association doesn’t necessarily fit. Yet the sentiment is there, and that’s a growing passion to stop the objectification of other humans.
Now back to darling Alec, which honestly, watching him talk, makes me feel like I need to send him back to school with a lunchbox a swift kick up the arse. It’s obvious his wealth has done nothing to enhance him as a human, rather just mask the empty vessel he operates with smart suits, flash cars and expensive liquor – yet even that is a bit of a push. Why so harsh you ask? Well after watching his Instagram post, you will hear the sweet whimpers of denial fluffing from his cheeks. It’s just a little insulting don’t you think? Specially when we consider this…
That’s right, you heard that correct. Word on the street is, Epstein and Mr Baldwin are quite the little buzzom buddies they are. Yet of course, this is all speculation as Alec has not confessed to anything and there is no proof except his name being on the flight logs and in Jeffrey’s little black book. Alec’s response has done nothing to sway the rumours, and if anything, has enflamed them. Do you think he is guilty, and if so… of what crime?
And oh, before you go, I suggest you critically analyse this video and tell me what you see and hear…
Midget Gems, the colorful and chewy candy, have been enjoyed for generations as a delicious treat. But did you know that the beef gelatine used to make them can provide a range of health benefits? That’s right, this ingredient can do more than just make the candy chewy – it can also support healthy joints, … Continue reading The Power of Midget Gems: Health Benefits You Need to Know→
The Nazi book burnings of 1933 marked a turning point in the history of free speech and intellectual freedom. As part of a broader campaign of censorship and repression, the Nazi regime sought to eradicate any ideas that were deemed threatening to its ideology and authority. By burning books and destroying the works of countless … Continue reading When Words Become a Threat: The Significance of the Nazi Book Burnings→
Human trafficking is a pervasive global issue that affects millions of people every year, regardless of their age, gender, or sexual orientation. However, within the larger population of trafficking survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals face unique and often compounded challenges. The stigma and discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in society can exacerbate the trauma of trafficking, making … Continue reading Trafficked and Stigmatized: Addressing the Unique Challenges Faced by LGBTQ+ Human Trafficking Survivors→
Human trafficking is a global problem that affects millions of people, particularly women and children, every year. This heinous crime involves the exploitation of vulnerable individuals for the purpose of forced labor, sexual exploitation, or domestic servitude, and generates billions of dollars in illegal profits for traffickers. To combat human trafficking effectively, a multifaceted approach … Continue reading Preventing Human Trafficking: Strategies for Raising Awareness and Empowering Communities→
For millennia, the concept of reincarnation has been an integral part of various spiritual and religious traditions around the world. However, the idea of the soul transmigrating from one body to another after death has often been met with skepticism and deemed unscientific. Carl Sagan, the renowned astrophysicist, author, and science communicator, was one of … Continue reading Reincarnation as a Scientific Possibility: Carl Sagan’s Contemplation on Life’s Continuum→
Bill Clinton’s code name in Epstein’s black book “no.42 do not use”
I stumbled into a bit of a rabbit hole and came across all the names within the black book. One name / entry randomly stuck out and upon doing some research, it’s links back to Bill Clinton.
Clearly there was a good phone number and a bad phone number for Clinton and Epstein to talk on. The “do not use” was Clinton’s office number at his CHILDREN’S foundation in Harlem.
Hope someone else finds this as interesting as I did.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has become the subject of an internal investigation by WarnerMedia following numerous accounts of workplace problems on the long-running daytime series, Variety has learned.
Executives from show producer Telepictures and distributor Warner Bros. Television sent a memo to staffers last week saying they have engaged WBTV-owner WarnerMedia’s employee relations group and a third party firm, who will interview current and former staffers about their experiences on set, said sources.
A Warner Bros. Television spokesperson declined to comment on the matter. A rep for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
The memo comes on the heels of recent unflattering reports about working conditions at the show. In April, Variety reported on the treatment of legacy crew members during the coronavirus lockdown. In mid-July, BuzzFeed published a report alleging racism and intimidation on the show. The memo came from the desks of Telepictures executive vice president Donna Redier Linsk and WBTV vice president of human resources Donna Hancock Husband.
The name of the third party consultant was not immediately clear. Both companies underscored their commitment to providing an environment where employees can flourish, said one of the individuals familiar with the document.
BuzzFeed’s story contained a spectrum of accused racist behavior, from microagressions to jokes about mistaking two Black female employees with the same hairstyle, as well as criticism of statements allegedly made to another staffer by executive producer Ed Glavin. Glavin and fellow executive producers Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly addressed the allegations in a joint statement to Buzzfeed.
“We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience. It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us,” the group said.
“For the record, the day to day responsibility of the Ellen show is completely on us. We take all of this very seriously and we realize, as many in the world are learning, that we need to do better, are committed to do better, and we will do better.”
In April, Variety reported about distress and outrage among DeGeneres’ production crew, who were subjected to poor communication and told to expect reduced compensation during initial coronavirus shutdowns — even as the series hired nonunion crews to mount a quarantined production from the host’s Los Angeles home. The crew was restored to full pay prior to the publication of Variety‘s report.
At the time, a Warner Bros. spokesperson acknowledged that communication could have been better but cited complications due to the chaos caused by COVID-19. WarnerMedia has, like all other studios, been under pressure in recent years to investigate all claims of workplace hostility in response to increased focus on misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Alan Dershowitz has been named on the flight logs of Jeffrey Epstein’s Lolita Express.
The central witness in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation — the person relied on by Netflix in its documentary series “Filthy Rich” — is a 50-year-old woman named Maria Farmer.
It now turns out that she may have been motivated by the anti-Semitic attitudes she has long harbored, to falsely accuse prominent Jews of sexual misconduct. This is some of the bigotry Maria Farmer spewed during a recorded two-hour interview that can be heard online, such as:
“I had a hard time with all Jewish people.”
“I think it’s all the Jews.”
“They think Jewish DNA is better than the rest of us.”
“These people truly believe they are chosenevery one of them.”
“All the Jewish people I met are pedophiles that run the world economy.”
“They are ‘Jewish supremacists'” and they are “all connected” through a mysterious organization called MEGA, which is run by Leslie Wexner who is “the head of the snake.”
Farmer claimed to have evidence that the Israeli Mossad hired Jeffrey Epstein to video tape prominent American political leaders committing acts of pedophilia so that Israel could blackmail them into doing their bidding, and that the entire conspiracy was under the protection and direction of “The Rothschild’s.”
These anti-Semitic canards sound like they could have come directly from “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and other classic anti-Semitic forgeries and screeds, but all of this and more come from the bigoted brain and malicious mouth of Maria Farmer.
There is more, much more, of the same in the two hours of conspiratorial ranting that can be heard in the interview, which is being widely praised and circulated by white supremacist and anti-Semitic groups and individuals.
Farmer’s obvious anti-Semitic bigotry doesn’t prove, of course, that she is lying about everything she said.
Even bigots are capable of telling the truth, though their claims should always be viewed with skepticism.
But there is additional evidence of her mendacity. Although she hadn’t accused me directly of any wrongdoing, she has provided a sworn affidavit claiming the following:
“4. Alan Dershowitz was an individual who came to visit Epstein at his New York mansion a number of times when I was working for Epstein. Dershowitz was very comfortable at the home and would come in and walk upstairs. On a number [of] occasions I witnessed Dershowitz at the NY mansion going upstairs at the same time there were young girls under the age of 18 who were present upstairs in the house.”
The problem is that Farmer acknowledges that she terminated her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in early summer of 1996 — after she was allegedly raped by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on Leslie Wexner’s premises.
She never entered Epstein’s New York home after that.
But I didn’t meet Epstein until well after that, as I can prove.
She couldn’t possibly have ever seen me in Epstein’s house, because I was never in his house at any time that she could possibly have been there.
So, it’s impossible for her to have ever seen me there during the time period she knew him.
Moreover, on the few occasions when I was in Epstein’s New York house, well after Farmer was long gone, I never went into the private areas of that home.
I was generally with my wife or other lawyers or academics, in the public areas — dining room, living room, den — and I never saw any young girls around.
Why would Farmer make up such an easily disprovable story about me, and swear to it under pains of perjury, which she may now suffer?
Because I’m a prominent Jew? Part of Mega? An Israeli agent?
Or, perhaps because her lawyer encouraged her to make statements about me?
Atty. David Boies, who is suing the Epstein estate on her behalf and hoping for a big payday for him and his firm, is fully aware of these facts as well as of her sordid background.
But he has failed to disclose the truth and has allowed her affidavit to remain in the court files. Serious questions about his ethics are raised by this information.
Why did he submit her probably false affidavit?
Why has he not withdrawn it despite his clear knowledge of the above circumstances?
Why is he allowing her to spew her anti-Semitic hatred on the internet?
What is his motive for being complicit in such bigotry?
Does he share her views?
There have been rumors from the very beginning about anti-Semitic statements or sentiments expressed by some of the witnesses.
Now we have proof — from the mouth of the witness herself — that it is true about the first and most prominent witness.
Even if true about others as well, this would not excuse or mitigate Epstein’s crimes.
But it would raise questions about the credibility of their accusations against others.
The bigoted motives of accusers are always relevant to their credibility.
Throughout history, anti-Semitism has motivated false accusations. Maria Farmer’s overt anti-Semitism must be investigated beyond her own bigoted public statements.
These revelations, which were known to Netflix before they mendaciously presented Farmer as a credible witness, also raise questions about the credibility and ethics of Netflix and the producers and directors of the Epstein series.
They withheld from their viewers this and other damming information in order to present a false picture of their primary witness. The time has come for the responsible media to investigate all the principles — accusers and accused alike — in the tragic Epstein saga.
The #MeToo movement has done a great feat of good in exposing predatory men, but as with every movement, it’s subject to exploitation by those who misuse it for financial gain, revenge and other personal benefits.
As philosopher Eric Hoffer once cautioned, “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”
Every woman who alleges she has been abused should be listened to and taken seriously. This means that their allegations should be thoroughly investigated.
But investigation is a double-edged sword: for most women, an investigation will confirm the truth of their accusation, because most women are telling the truth; for some, however, it will expose biases, bigotry and possibly perjury.
Maria Farmer’s claims should be thoroughly investigated, especially in light of the bigotry that has come from her own mouth.
Maxwell is Alleged to Have Facilitated, Participated in Acts of Abuse
Additionally Charged With Perjury in Connection With 2016 Depositions
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that GHISLANE MAXWELL was arrested this morning and charged with enticing a minor to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit both of those offenses, and perjury in connection with a sworn deposition. The Indictment unsealed today alleges that between at least in or about 1994 through 1997, MAXWELL and co-conspirator Jeffrey Epstein exploited girls as young as 14, including by enticing them to travel and transporting them for the purpose of engaging in illegal sex acts. As alleged, knowing that Epstein had a preference for young girls, MAXWELL played a critical role in the grooming and abuse of minor victims that took place in locations including New York, Florida, and New Mexico. In addition, as alleged, MAXWELL made several false statements in sworn depositions in 2016. MAXWELL is expected to be presented this afternoon in the in federal court in New Hampshire. This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, Ghislaine Maxwell facilitated, aided, and participated in acts of sexual abuse of minors. Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, and then delivered them into the trap that she and Jeffrey Epstein had set. She pretended to be a woman they could trust. All the while, she was setting them up to be abused sexually by Epstein and, in some cases, Maxwell herself. Today, after many years, Ghislaine Maxwell finally stands charged for her role in these crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Preserving the innocence of children is among the most important responsibilities we carry as adults. Like Epstein, Ms. Maxwell chose to blatantly disregard the law and her responsibility as an adult, using whatever means she had at her disposal to lure vulnerable youth into behavior they should never have been exposed to, creating the potential for lasting harm. We know the quest for justice has been met with great disappointment for the victims, and that reliving these events is traumatic. The example set by the women involved has been a powerful one. They persevered against the rich and connected, and they did so without a badge, a gun, or a subpoena – and they stood together. I have no doubt the bravery exhibited by the women involved here has empowered others to speak up about the crimes of which they’ve been subjected.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “The heinous crimes these charges allege are, and always will be abhorrent for the lasting trauma they inflict on victims. I commend our investigators, and law enforcement partners, for their continuing commitment to bringing justice to the survivors of sexual assault, everywhere.”
If you believe you are a victim of the sexual abuse perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI, and reference this case.
According to the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
From at least 1994 through at least 1997, GHISLAINE MAXWELL assisted, facilitated, and participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Jeffrey Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims known to MAXWELL and Epstein to be under the age of 18. The victims were as young as 14 years old when they were groomed and abused by MAXWELL and Epstein, both of whom knew that their victims were in fact minors. As a part and in furtherance of their scheme to abuse minor victims, MAXWELL and Epstein enticed and caused minor victims to travel to Epstein’s residences in different states, which MAXWELL knew and intended would result in their grooming for and subjection to sexual abuse.
As alleged, MAXWELL enticed and groomed minor girls to be abused in multiple ways. For example, MAXWELL attempted to befriend certain victims by asking them about their lives, taking them to the movies or taking them on shopping trips, and encouraging their interactions with Epstein. MAXWELL also acclimated victims to Epstein’s conduct simply by being present for victim interactions with Epstein, which put victims at ease by providing the assurance and comfort of an adult woman who seemingly approved of Epstein’s behavior. Additionally, to make victims feel indebted to Epstein, MAXWELL would encourage victims to accept offers of financial assistance from Epstein, including offers to pay for travel or educational expenses. MAXWELL also normalized and facilitated sexual abuse by discussing sexual topics with victims, encouraging them to massage Epstein, and undressing in front of a victim.
As MAXWELL and Epstein intended, these grooming behaviors left minor victims vulnerable and susceptible to sexual abuse by Epstein. MAXWELL was then present for certain sexual encounters between minor victims and Epstein, such as interactions where a minor victim was undressed, and ultimately MAXWELL was present for sex acts perpetrated by Epstein on minor victims. That abuse included sexualized massages during which a minor victim was fully or partially nude, as well as group sexualized massages of Epstein involving a minor victim where MAXWELL was present.
As alleged, minor victims were subjected to sexual abuse that included, among other things, the touching of a victim’s breasts or genitals, placing a sex toy such a vibrator on a victim’s genitals, directing a victim to touch Epstein while he masturbated, and directing a victim to touch Epstein’s genitals. MAXWELL and Epstein’s victims were groomed or abused at Epstein’s residences in New York, Florida, and New Mexico, as well as MAXWELL’s residence in London, England.
Additionally, in 2016, while testifying under oath in a civil proceeding, MAXWELL repeatedly made false statements, including about certain specific acts and events alleged in the Indictment.
* * *
GHISLAINE MAXWELL, 58, is charged with one count of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and two counts of perjury, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Rossmiller, Alison Moe, and Maurene Comey are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described therein should be treated as an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Many were surprised to learn earlier this month that the key co-conspirator in Jeffrey Epstein’s intelligence-linked sexual blackmail operation, Ghislaine Maxwell, had been in hiding in New England since Epstein’s arrest and subsequent “suicide” last summer. Her recent arrest, of course, has returned attention to the Epstein scandal and to Ghislaine’s ties to the entire operation, in which she played a central and crucial role, arguably more so than Epstein himself.
Ghislaine was first reported to be living in New England at the mansion of her alleged boyfriend Scott Borgeson on August 14th of last year. Though Maxwell is believed to have stayed there until purchasing the nearby New Hampshire home where she was arrested, attention from her presence on the East Coast was immediately and sensationally re-directed to the West Coast when, a day later on August 15th, the New York Post published a picture allegedly depicting Maxwell reading a book on “CIA operatives” at an In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles, California. The photo was later revealed to have been photoshopped and a fake, but ultimately served its purpose in distracting from her actual location in New England.
While the media frenziedly covered the fake In-N-Out Burger photo, the appearance of an unexpected visitor nearby Borgeson’s mansion succeeded in largely slipping under the radar. On August 18th, Ghislaine’s sister Christine was spotted “packing up a number of bags” into a SUV just a few miles from Borgeson’s “secluded beachfront” home. Christine, who currently lives and works in Dallas, Texas, declined to comment on why she was visiting the exact area where Ghislaine was allegedly hiding at the time.
Out of the seven Maxwell siblings, Ghislaine Maxwell has undoubtedly received the bulk of media scrutiny both in recent years and arguably ever since the suspected homicide of the family patriarch, Robert Maxwell, in 1991. In the years since his death, Robert Maxwell’s close ties to Israeli intelligence and links to other intelligence agencies have been documented by respected journalists and investigators including Seymour Hersh and Gordon Thomas, among others.
While Ghislaine’s own ties to intelligence have since come to light in relation to her critical role in facilitating the Jeffrey Epstein sexual blackmail operation. Little, if any attention, has been paid to her siblings, particularly Christine and her twin sister Isabel, despite them having held senior roles at the Israeli intelligence front company that facilitated their father’s greatest act of espionage on Israel’s behalf, the sale of the bugged PROMIS software to the U.S. national laboratories at the heart of the country’s nuclear weapons system.
Not only that, but Christine and Isabel later became directly involved with technology-based business ventures that directly involved Ghislaine during the very period she worked with Epstein on behalf of Israeli and U.S. intelligence to ensnare powerful U.S. political and public figures in a sexual blackmail scheme involving minors. At the time, Ghislaine described her profession to a number of newspapers as “an internet operator.” Then, after this venture’s multi-million dollar sale to a competitor, Christine and Isabel became involved with successors to the PROMIS software scandal that were closely tied to U.S. intelligence and Israeli intelligence, respectively.
Ghislaine herself also became involved in these affairs, as did Jeffrey Epstein following his first arrest, as they began courting the biggest names in the U.S. tech scene, from Silicon Valley’s most powerful venture capital firms to its most well-known titans. This also dovetailed with Epstein’s investments in Israeli intelligence-linked tech firms and his claims of having troves of blackmail on prominent tech company CEOs during this same period.
With Ghislaine’s name and her ties to intelligence now inking their way back into the media sphere, detailing the decades-long course of these technology-focused espionage operations and their persistent ties to the Maxwell sisters demands the attention it deserves, as the need to air out the real Maxwell family business – espionage – is now greater than ever before.
Trap doors and Treason
One of the most brazen and successful operations conducted by Israeli intelligence on a global scale is undeniably its sale of a bugged software program to governments, corporations and major financial and scientific institutions around the world. That software program, known as the Prosecutor’s Information Management System or by its acronym PROMIS, was orginally created and marketed by Inslaw Inc., a company created by former NSA official Bill Hamilton and his wife Nancy.
In 1982, Inslaw leased its revolutionary PROMIS software to the U.S. Justice Department, then headed by arch neocon Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan’s most trusted advisor and who would later go on to advise Donald Trump following the 2016 election. The success of the software, which allowed integration of separate databases and information analysis on a previously unimaginable scale, eventually caught the attention of Rafi Eitan, the notorious and legendary Israeli spymaster and handler of the “most damaging spy” in American history, Jonathan Pollard. Eitan, at the time, was serving as the then-head of the now defunct Israel intelligence service known as Lekem, which focused specifically on espionage related to scientific and technical information and discoveries.
Eitan had first learned of PROMIS from Earl Brian. Brian was a long-time associate of Ronald Reagan who had previously worked for the CIA in covert operations and had been in charge of Reagan’s healthcare program when Reagan was governor of California. Brian often bragged of the nickname he had acquired in overseeing that health care initiative – “the man who walked over the dead.” In 1982, however, Brian was attempting to build a business empire, in which then-AG Ed Meese’s wife was a major investor, and he had first met Eitan while attempting to sell a healthcare system in Iran.
Brian divulged the efficacy of PROMIS, but – instead of praising its revolutionary approach to data analysis – expressed his frustration that the software enabled U.S. federal investigators to successfully track and target money laundering and other financial crimes. He also expressed frustration that he had been left out of the profits on PROMIS, the development of which he had followed closely for several years.
As their conversation wore on, Eitan and Brian hatched a plan to install a “trapdoor”, today more often referred to as a back door, into the software. They would then market PROMIS throughout the world, providing Israeli intelligence and allied elements of U.S. intelligence with a direct window into the operations of its enemies and allies while also netting Eitan and Brian massive profits for the sale of the software. Brian, of course, would also be able to use PROMIS to circumvent authorities investigating financial crimes.
According to the testimony of ex-Mossad official Ari Ben-Menashe, after a copy of PROMIS was obtained by Israeli military intelligence (via direct collusion with the U.S. Department of Justice), Ben-Menashe contacted an Israeli American programmer living in California on Eitan’s orders. That programmer then planted a “trapdoor” or back door into the software that would allow Lekem covert access to any database connected to a device on which the software was installed.
Once the back door was present, Brian attempted to use his company Hadron Inc to market the bugged PROMIS software around the world, though he first had tried to buy out Inslaw to do so. Unsuccessful, Brian turned to his close friend, then-Attorney General Ed Meese, and the Justice Department then abruptly refused to make the payments to Inslaw that had been stipulated by the contract, essentially using the software for free, which Inslaw claimed to be theft.
Meese’s actions would force Inslaw into bankruptcy and Inslaw subsequently sued the Justice Department, with a US court later finding that the Meese-led department “took, converted, stole” the software through “trickery, fraud and deceit.” With Inslaw out of the way, Brian sold the bugged software to Jordan’s and Iraq’s intelligence services, a major boon for Israel, and to a handful of companies. Despite this, Eitan was unsatisfied with Brian and Hadron and he quickly turned to the person he thought could most effectively market and sell PROMIS to governments of interest all over the world, Robert Maxwell.
First recruited as an asset of Israeli intelligence in the early 1960s, Maxwell’s standing with Israeli intelligence would strengthen considerably beginning in the early 1980s, when he purchased a web of Israeli companies, many of which were official “service providers” for the Mossad. One of these companies, a computer firm called Degem, had been used for years to provide cover to Mossad assassins that conducted kidnappings and murders in Latin America and Africa.
Through Degem and other Maxwell-owned companies based in Israel and elsewhere, Maxwell marketed PROMIS so successfully that Israeli intelligence soon had access to the innermost workings of innumerable governments, corporations, banks and intelligence services around the world. Many of Maxwell’s biggest successes came in selling PROMIS to dictators in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America. Following the sale and after Maxwell collected a handsome paycheck, PROMIS’ unparalleled ability to track and surveil anything – from cash flows to human movement – were used by these governments to commit financial crimes with greater finesse and used to hunt down and disappear dissidents. Israeli intelligence, of course, watched it all play out in real time.
In Latin America, for instance, Maxwell sold PROMIS to military dictatorships in Chile and Argentina, which were used to facilitate the mass murder that characterized Operation Condor as the friends and families of dissidents and so-called subversives were easily identified using PROMIS. PROMIS was so effective for this purpose that, just days after Maxwell sold the software to Guatemala, its US-backed dictatorship rounded up 20,000 “subversives” who were never heard from again. Of course, thanks to the back door in PROMIS, Israeli intelligence knew the identities of Guatemala’s disappeared before the victim’s own families. Israel was also intimately involved in the arming and training of many of the same Latin American dictatorships that had been sold the bugged PROMIS software.
Though Israeli intelligence found obvious use for the steady stream of sensitive and classified information, their biggest prize was yet to come – top secret government laboratories in the United States. Eitan tasked Maxwell with selling PROMIS to US labs in the Los Alamos complex, including Sandia National Laboratory, which was and is at the core of the US nuclear weapons system. Notably, the eventual sale of PROMIS to these laboratories by Maxwell occurred during the same period in 1984 when Eitan tasked one of Israel’s top experts in nuclear targeting with supervising Jonathan Pollard’s espionage of U.S. nuclear secrets on Israel’s behalf.
In order to plot how he would accomplish such a feat, Maxwell would meet with none other than Henry Kissinger, who told him that – in order to sell PROMIS to these sensitive laboratories – he needed to enlist the services of then-Senator for Texas John Tower, who was the head of the Senates’ Armed Services Committee at the time. Maxwell quickly struck a deal with Tower and then, using Mossad money, paid Tower $200,000 for his services, which included opening doors – not just to the Los Alamos complex, but also to the Reagan White House. Tower would arrange a trip for Maxwell to travel to Sandia National Laboratory, where he would market PROMIS. Unlike most other PROMIS sales, this one would not be handled by Degem, but a US-based company called Information on Demand.
It is worth noting that, despite Tower’s obvious and treasonous actions with respect to U.S. national security, another long-time “source” of Robert Maxwell, George H.W. Bush, would attempt to nominate Tower to serve as U.S. Secretary of Defense. When the Senate refused to confirm Tower, only then did Bush nominate Dick Cheney, who would then head the Pentagon and oversee the U.S.’ role in the First Gulf War. Not long after his failure to secure the nomination as Pentagon chief, Tower died in a suspicious plane crash soon after the equally suspicious death of Robert Maxwell.
Front Companies and FBI Cover-ups
Robert Maxwell purchased Information on Demand from its founder, Sue Rugge – a former librarian, through the Pergamon Group in 1982 – the very year plans were made by Rafi Eitan and Earl Brian to subvert PROMIS. Its offices were just a few doors down from the home of Isabel Maxwell and her first husband Dale Djerassi, son of the scientist credited with creating the birth control pill.
According to FBI files obtained by Inslaw Inc. via a FOIA request in the 1990s, San Francisco’s FBI opened an investigation into Information on Demand a year later in October 1983 and subsequently interviewed Rugge about the business and its activities. She told the FBI that the company’s sources “include over 250 computer data bases” and that company uses these to “locate single facts as well as provide answers to complex questions dealing with such areas as comprehensive marketing research, custom data summaries, sophisticated literature searching, current awareness service and global information capability.
One of these databases included Lockheed’s Dialog database and “the Defense Technical Center which is connected to the Department of Defense (DOD) which contains classified information. ” She asserted, however, that the company “has no password for access and further no need for access.” Elsewhere in the document, it notes that Information on Demand claimed not have any access to classified information “to the best of their knowledge” and “includes information concerning government and various available means of tapping government information databases.”
The FBI asked Rugge about one client of the company in particular, whose name and identifying information is redacted in its entirety, but notes that this mysterious client had worked with Information on Demand since at least 1973. Subsequent efforts by Inslaw Inc. and others to learn the identity of the redacted client have been unsuccessful since 1994.
Notably, just one month before the FBI opened an investigation into Information on Demand and interviewed Sue Rugge, another related Maxwell-owned firm, Pergamon International Information Corporation, had sent a letter to then-CIA Director Bill Casey, offering to provide the agency with access to patent databases. The only redacted portion of the letter is the identity of PIIC’s Executive Vice President, who had written the letter to Casey.
After Rugge had been interviewed, FBI interest in Information on Demand peaked soon after in June 1984, when a formal investigation was opened. This took place after two employees of Sandia National Laboratory who worked in technology transfer approached the Bureau over Information on Demand’s efforts to sell PROMIS to the laboratory. Those employees were compelled to contact the FBI after obtaining information from employees of the National Security Agency (NSA) regarding “the purchase of Information on Demand Inc. by one Robert Maxwell, the owner of Pergamon International.” The specific information on this purchase from the NSA is included in the report but redacted in its entirety. Two months later, one of the Sandia employees followed up with the Bureau, suggesting that the NSA and FBI jointly investigate Information on Demand, but was essentially stonewalled and told to take it up with FBI headquarters.
The FBI case file is coded as a foreign counter-intelligence investigation specifically, suggesting that the case was opened because the FBI was made aware of the alleged involvement of a foreign intelligence service in some aspect of Information on Demand’s activities that related specifically to the “dissemination, marketing or sale of computer software systems, including but not limited to the PROMIS computer software product.” It also noted that Maxwell himself had previously been the subject of a “security investigation” conducted by the FBI from 1953 until 1961, the year Maxwell was formally recruited as an Israeli intelligence asset.
In early August 1984, FBI headquarters and other higher-ups in the Ed Meese-led Department of Justice, which itself was complicit in the whole sordid PROMIS affair, ordered the New Mexico office to halt its investigation into Information on Demand, Maxwell and PROMIS. The cover-up, oddly enough, continues today, with the FBI still refusing to release documents pertaining to Robert Maxwell and his role in the PROMIS scandal.
Several months following the shuttering of the FBI investigation into Information on Demand, Robert Maxwell again returned to Sandia National Laboratories in February 1985, signing the contract for the sale of PROMIS and listing himself as President and CEO of Information on Demand. A few months later, he passed that role on to his daughter Christine, who served as the company’s president and CEO up until her father’s death in 1991, according to her résumé. Upon the collapse of his business empire shortly after his demise, which also resulted in the closure of Information on Demand, Christine created a company called Research on Demand that offered similar services and specialized “in Internet- and Big Data analytics-related market studies for companies in the Telecoms.”
In addition, Isabel Maxwell, who lived in close proximity to the company’s offices in Berkely, CA, told Haaretz that she had also worked for Information on Demand, which she refers to as “her sister’s company,” following her 1989 divorce from Dale Djerassi.
Recreating their Father’s Legacy
After the death of Robert Maxwell, in what most of his family and many of his biographers regard as a murder conducted by Israeli intelligence, his children began to pick up the pieces and sought to rebuild their father’s empire. Of his seven children, five took on different aspects of their father’s vast portfolio.
Kevin and Ian Maxwell took over much of his businesses (and the associated fall-out) and his murky network of interlocking companies, trusts and foundations spread throughout the world. Ghislaine, having already positioned herself in New York at her father’s behest to anchor his efforts to expand his empire and operations into Manhattan, began a sexual blackmail operation on behalf of Israeli intelligence alongside Jeffrey Epstein. Christine and Isabel, however, would take off where Maxwell’s intelligence-linked work with PROMIS and in technology had left off by cashing in on a new revolutionary technology, the Internet.
“We literally were trying to think about how to restart this whole business” that had collapsed after their father’s death, Christine Maxwell would later say of her decision to found, along with her husband Roger Malina, Isabel and Isabel’s then-husband David Hayden, their internet services company – the McKinley Group – in January 1992. Isabel would remember the decision similarly, telling Wiredin 1999, that she and her sister had “wanted to circle the wagons and rebuild,” seeing McKinley as “a chance to recreate a bit of their father’s legacy.” In 2000, Isabel would tell The Guardian that her father would “love it [the internet] if he was still here.” “He was very prescient….He’d be in his element, he’d be having a blast, I’m sure he’d be thrilled to know what I’m doing now,” she told the UK-based publication while “throwing back her head and laughing loudly.” Notably, at that time, Isabel was leading Israeli software company with ties to Israeli military intelligence and powerful Israeli political players, including some who had previously worked directly under her father.
It’s not hard to see why Christine and Isabel saw the internet as their chance to expand upon and rebuild upon Robert Maxwell’s “legacy.” As previously mentioned, Christine, right up until her father’s death, had been president and CEO of the Robert Maxwell-owned Israeli intelligence front company, Information on Demand, where Isabel had also worked. Upon his death, Christine had founded a related company called Research on Demand, which specialized in “internet and big data analytics” for telecommunications firms, and would later overlap with the McKinley Group’s work. McKinley began as a directory with a rating system for websites, later transitioning into the Magellan search engine, all of which Isabel Maxwell told Cnet in 1997were all Christine’s idea.
McKinley created what became known as the Magellan online directory, remembered as “the first site to publish lengthy reviews and ratings of websites.” Magellan’s “value-added content” approach attracted several large corporations, resulting in “major alliances” with AT&T, Time Warner, IBM, Netcom and the Microsoft Network [MSN] that were negotiated by Isabel Maxwell. Microsoft’s major alliance with McKinley came in late 1995, when Microsoft announcedthat Magellan would power the search option for the company’s MSN service. Time Warner first chose Magellan for its early web portal called Pathfinder and Magellan was on the homepage of the internet browser Netscape for much of the 1990s.
However, McKinley’s fortunes were troubled as its efforts to be the first search engine to go public fell through, igniting a stand-off between Christine Maxwell and Isabel’s husband that also resulted in the company’s essentially falling behindother market leaders both missing the window for a second IPO attempt and lagging behind in adding ad revenue to their business model. Excite, which was later acquired by AskJeeves, ultimately bought the McKinley Group and Magellan for 1.2 million shares of Excite stock in 1996, which was then valued at $18 million. It was allegedly Isabel Maxwell who made the deal possible, with Excite’s CEO at the time, George Bell, claiming she alone salvaged their purchase of McKinley.
Despite the company’s lackluster end, the Maxwell sisters and other stakeholders in the company, Ghislaine Maxwell among them, not only obtained a multi-million dollar payout from the deal, but also forged close connections with Silicon Valley high-rollers. Upon McKinley/Magellan’s sale, the overt ties of Christine and Isabel Maxwell to intelligence in both the U.S. and Israel would grow considerably.
A Family Affair
While the company is often framed as being a venture between Christine and Isabel Maxwell, McKinley Group and Magellan were much more than just the twin sisters’ business. For instance, a November 2003 article in The Evening Standard notes that Christine and Isabel launched the company with considerable help from their brother, Kevin Maxwell who the article described as being “consumed by an overwhelming desire to be his ‘dad reincorporated’” according to confidants. Another Evening Standard article from March 2001 cited report that “Kevin played a major role” in the company’s affairs.
In addition, at the time,The Sunday Times noted in November 2000 that Ghislaine Maxwell “had a substantial interest in Magellan” and netted a considerable sum following its sale to Excite in 1996. It also noted that Ghislaine, throughout the 1990s, had “been discreetly building up a business empire as opaque as her father’s” and that “she is secretive to the point of paranoia and her business affairs are deeply mysterious.” However, she would nonetheless describe “herself as an ‘internet operator’” even though “her office in Manhattan refuses to confirm even the name or the nature of her business.” A separate article in The Scotsmanfrom 2001 also notes that Ghislaine “is extremely secretive about her affairs and describes herself as an internet operator.”
Exactly how involved Ghislaine Maxwell was involved in the McKinley Group and Magellan is unclear, though her decision to describe herself as an “internet operator” and her documented “substantial interest” in the company suggest that it was more than superficial. What is notable, however, is that Ghislaine’s time as an “internet operator” and her business interests in Magellan overlap directly with her time working alongside Jeffrey Epstein in an Israeli intelligence-linked sexual blackmail operation.
During this period of time, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein frequently had considerable overlap in their finances, with press reports from the time often asking whether Ghislaine’s expenses were paid by Epstein or through her access to the “lost Maxwell millions” that had been hidden in a web of murky, untraceable financial entities and allegedly “disappeared” following his 1991 death.
The latter is certainly a possibility as it was Ghislaine who was the first to walk into her late father’s office on the Lady Ghislaine following his death, where she “shredded all incriminating documents onboard,” according to journalist John Jackson who witnessed the scene. This would likely mean that she was quickly able to distinguish which documents were “incriminating” and was intimately aware of his more unsavory business activities. In addition, prior to his death, Robert Maxwell had provided Ghislaine with a “tailor-made” New York corporation called Maxwell Corporate Gifts, of which little is known. The corporation was reportedly intended to aid her in establishing a foothold in New York’s power base for Robert Maxwell’s planned expansion into New York society, a plan first set into motion following his purchase of the New York Daily News.
Notably, an article from The Evening Standard in 2001 makes an odd comment about a major source of income from Epstein during the 1990s, stating that “has made many millions out of his business links with the likes of Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Ohio billionaire Leslie Wexner, whose trust he runs.” In addition, Epstein victim Maria Farmer noted in an interview that she overheard Ghislaine and Epstein discuss Bill Gates as though they knew him well in 1995. However, these mentions of Bill Gates here defies the official narrative about the Epstein-Gates relationship, which claims they first met in 2011.Given the “major alliance” between McKinley/Magellan and Microsoft that was forged in 1995-1996, it is certainly possible that Epstein’s pre-2001 “business links” with Bill Gates were, in fact, related to Ghislaine’s involvement and stake in Magellan. This is also supported by the fact that, as will be shown in Part 2 of this report, Magellan co-founder Isabel Maxwell had a personal relationship with Bill Gates and that he put her subsequent company, Israel-based CommTouch, “on the map” after a major investment that had been brokered between Gates and Isabel personally. Part 2 will also show how both Isabel and Christine’s overt involvement, with Israeli and U.S. intelligence, respectively, deepened after Magellan was sold to Excite in 1996.
Midget Gems, the colorful and chewy candy, have been enjoyed for generations as a delicious treat. But did you know that the beef gelatine used to make them can provide a range of health benefits? That’s right, this ingredient can do more than just make the candy chewy – it can also support healthy joints, aid digestion, and even boost your skin’s appearance.
In this article, we’ll dive into the power of beef gelatine in midget gems and explore the health benefits that come with enjoying this classic candy. Whether you’re a fan of midget gems already or are looking for a new way to support your health, this article will provide you with all the information you need to know about the health benefits of beef gelatine in midget gems.
An Overview of Beef Gelatine and Its Nutritional Value
Gelatine is a protein that is derived from collagen, which is a structural protein found in the skin, bones, and connective tissues of animals. Beef gelatine is a specific type of gelatine that is derived from the collagen of cows.
Beef gelatine has been used for centuries in various foods and products, from candy to marshmallows to photographic film. But beyond its use in these products, beef gelatine has a variety of nutritional benefits that are worth exploring.
One of the primary benefits of beef gelatine is its protein content. Protein is essential for a healthy diet, as it is necessary for building and repairing tissues in the body. Beef gelatine is particularly high in certain amino acids, including glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. These amino acids play important roles in collagen synthesis, which is essential for healthy skin, bones, and connective tissues.
In addition to its protein content, beef gelatine also contains a range of minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These minerals are essential for bone health, as they help to build and maintain strong bones. Beef gelatine also contains trace amounts of other important nutrients, including iron and vitamin B12.
But perhaps the most significant health benefit of beef gelatine is its ability to support joint health. Studies have shown that gelatine supplementation can help to reduce joint pain and stiffness, particularly in individuals with osteoarthritis. This is because gelatine is a rich source of collagen, which is a key component of joint cartilage. By supplementing with gelatine, individuals can support the health and function of their joints, reducing the risk of degeneration and pain.
Another benefit of beef gelatine is its ability to support healthy digestion. Gelatine is a hydrophilic colloid, which means that it has the ability to absorb water and form a gel-like substance in the digestive tract. This gel can help to support the health of the intestinal lining, reducing inflammation and promoting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Additionally, gelatine can help to improve the digestion and absorption of nutrients, which can be particularly beneficial for individuals with digestive disorders or malabsorption issues.
It’s important to note that not all gelatine is created equal. Many commercial gelatine products are derived from low-quality sources and may contain additives or preservatives. For this reason, it is important to choose high-quality, grass-fed beef gelatine from a reputable source. Grass-fed beef is higher in important nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E, and is free from antibiotics and hormones.
In conclusion, beef gelatine is a highly nutritious ingredient that offers a range of health benefits. From supporting joint health to promoting healthy digestion, beef gelatine can be a valuable addition to a healthy diet. When choosing a beef gelatine supplement, be sure to choose a high-quality, grass-fed source to ensure that you are getting the most nutritional benefit possible.
The Health Benefits of Midget Gems with Beef Gelatine, from Improved Joint Health to Better Digestion
Midget Gems are a classic candy in the United Kingdom and have been enjoyed for generations. These brightly colored, chewy treats come in a variety of fruity flavors and are made with a unique ingredient: beef gelatine.
Beef gelatine is a protein derived from collagen, which is found in the skin, bones, and connective tissues of cows. It is used as a gelling agent in many food products, including candy like Midget Gems. But beef gelatine is more than just a candy ingredient – it also has some surprising health benefits.
Improved Joint Health
Collagen is a crucial component of cartilage, which is the cushioning tissue between bones in joints. As we age, our bodies produce less collagen, which can lead to joint pain, stiffness, and even arthritis. However, studies have shown that taking collagen supplements can improve joint health and reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Midget Gems with beef gelatine can also contribute to improved joint health. The beef gelatine in these candies is a natural source of collagen, which means that snacking on Midget Gems can help support healthy joints. Of course, it’s important to remember that candy should not be relied upon as the sole source of collagen in your diet, but incorporating Midget Gems into a balanced diet can be a fun and tasty way to support joint health.
Better Digestion
Gelatine has long been used to improve digestion and promote gut health. This is because gelatine contains glycine, an amino acid that supports the production of stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Glycine also helps to repair the lining of the gut and reduce inflammation, which can contribute to a healthy digestive system.
Midget Gems with beef gelatine can help support digestion in a number of ways. The glycine in the beef gelatine can help to stimulate the production of digestive juices, making it easier for the body to break down and absorb nutrients from food. Additionally, the gelatine in Midget Gems can help to coat the lining of the digestive tract, which can protect it from damage and irritation.
Other Health Benefits
In addition to improved joint health and better digestion, beef gelatine has some other surprising health benefits. For example, studies have shown that gelatine may help to improve sleep quality by increasing the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin. Gelatine has also been shown to support healthy skin, hair, and nails by promoting collagen production.
While Midget Gems with beef gelatine are not a magic cure-all, they can contribute to a healthy, balanced diet. Of course, it’s important to remember that candy should be enjoyed in moderation as part of a healthy lifestyle. But incorporating Midget Gems into your diet can be a fun and tasty way to support your health.
In conclusion, Midget Gems with beef gelatine are more than just a delicious candy. They also contain a natural source of collagen, which can support joint health, better digestion, and other surprising health benefits. So the next time you reach for a bag of Midget Gems, you can feel good knowing that you’re not just satisfying your sweet tooth – you’re also supporting your health in a small but tasty way.
The Nazi book burnings of 1933 marked a turning point in the history of free speech and intellectual freedom. As part of a broader campaign of censorship and repression, the Nazi regime sought to eradicate any ideas that were deemed threatening to its ideology and authority. By burning books and destroying the works of countless authors, the Nazis aimed to erase entire cultures and worldviews from history. The symbolism of the book burnings resonates to this day, reminding us of the dangers of censorship and the importance of defending free expression. This article will explore the significance of the Nazi book burnings, the political context in which they occurred, and their lasting impact on the world.
The political context of Nazi Germany and the rise of censorship
The rise of censorship in Nazi Germany was an essential component of the regime’s consolidation of power and the imposition of its totalitarian ideology on German society. From the early days of the Nazi Party, censorship was seen as a tool for maintaining control over the population and suppressing any opposition to the Nazi regime.
In the aftermath of World War I, Germany was plunged into a deep economic and political crisis, and the Weimar Republic, established in 1919, struggled to maintain stability and legitimacy. In this context, extremist groups such as the Nazi Party gained significant support, advocating for a strong, authoritarian government and the restoration of German national pride.
Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, following a campaign that exploited the country’s dissatisfaction and economic distress. Once in power, the Nazi regime moved quickly to eliminate any potential threats to its authority, including political opponents, Jews, homosexuals, and other groups deemed undesirable.
The censorship of the media, literature, and other forms of cultural expression was a key element in the Nazi’s strategy for controlling the population and promoting their ideology. The regime established the Reich Chamber of Culture, which was responsible for monitoring and controlling all aspects of cultural life, including the press, literature, theater, music, and film.
The Nazi regime sought to control the flow of information and ideas by imposing strict censorship laws and regulations. The press was heavily censored, and journalists who opposed the regime were imprisoned or executed. The regime also monitored and censored private correspondence, intercepting letters and telegrams that contained criticism of the government.
In addition to censorship, the Nazi regime also used propaganda as a means of promoting their ideology and shaping public opinion. Propaganda films, posters, and literature were widely distributed, and public speeches and rallies were carefully choreographed to reinforce the regime’s message.
One of the most significant and symbolic acts of censorship by the Nazi regime was the book burnings of May 10, 1933. In a coordinated effort across Germany, books deemed “un-German” or “harmful to the German spirit” were burned in public squares. The books targeted by the regime included works by Jewish and Marxist authors, as well as those critical of the Nazi regime or its ideology.
The book burnings were a highly orchestrated event, designed to symbolize the regime’s rejection of intellectual freedom and its determination to impose its ideology on German society. The event was attended by thousands of people, including students, professors, and other members of the public, who were encouraged to participate in the destruction of books.
The book burnings were met with widespread condemnation by the international community, with many seeing them as a clear sign of the dangers posed by the Nazi regime. The event also provoked significant opposition within Germany, with many intellectuals and members of the public speaking out against the regime’s actions.
Despite this opposition, the Nazi regime continued to tighten its grip on the country, implementing increasingly draconian measures to suppress any dissent. The censorship of literature and other forms of cultural expression remained a key component of the regime’s strategy, and thousands of books were banned or destroyed during the course of the regime’s rule.
The legacy of Nazi censorship remains a powerful reminder of the dangers of totalitarianism and the importance of defending free speech and intellectual freedom. The book burnings of 1933 were a stark symbol of the regime’s determination to impose its ideology on society, and they continue to serve as a warning of the dangers of censorship and the need for vigilance in protecting our fundamental freedoms.
The symbolism and aftermath of the Nazi book burnings
The Nazi book burnings of 1933 were a stark symbol of the dangers of censorship and repression. On May 10th, 1933, German university students gathered in Berlin to burn thousands of books that were deemed “un-German” or threatening to Nazi ideology. The event marked a turning point in the history of intellectual freedom, reminding us of the dangers of censorship and the importance of defending free expression.
The symbolism of the book burnings was powerful and far-reaching. By burning books, the Nazis aimed to erase entire cultures and worldviews from history. They sought to suppress any ideas that challenged their authority, including those that represented Jewish, Marxist, or democratic values. The books that were burned represented a wide range of authors, from Albert Einstein to Helen Keller, and covered a wide range of topics, from literature to philosophy to science.
The aftermath of the book burnings was devastating. Thousands of books were destroyed, including many rare and valuable volumes. In addition to the immediate loss of knowledge and cultural heritage, the book burnings had a long-lasting impact on intellectual freedom and free expression. They were a warning of what was to come, as the Nazis continued to suppress dissent and impose their ideology on society.
One of the most significant outcomes of the book burnings was the rise of self-censorship. In the aftermath of the burnings, many authors and publishers were afraid to publish or distribute works that might be deemed “un-German” or critical of the regime. This had a chilling effect on intellectual discourse, as many scholars and writers feared for their safety and livelihoods. The book burnings were a stark reminder of the power of censorship, and the dangers of allowing the state to control the flow of ideas.
Another outcome of the book burnings was the erosion of intellectual diversity and creativity. By suppressing dissent and eliminating alternative viewpoints, the Nazis created a culture of conformity and sameness. They sought to impose their ideology on society and eliminate any competing worldviews. This had a profound impact on the intellectual and cultural landscape of Germany, as well as on the world more broadly. The book burnings were a warning of what can happen when a single ideology is allowed to dominate intellectual discourse, and when diversity and creativity are suppressed.
Despite the devastating impact of the book burnings, there were also stories of resistance and courage. Many authors and publishers stood up to the regime, risking their lives to protect intellectual freedom and preserve cultural heritage. Some managed to smuggle books out of Germany, preserving knowledge and culture that might otherwise have been lost. These acts of resistance serve as a reminder of the importance of standing up to censorship and defending free expression, even in the face of great danger.
In conclusion, the Nazi book burnings of 1933 were a powerful symbol of the dangers of censorship and repression. They represented a turning point in the history of intellectual freedom, and had a profound impact on the world of ideas. The book burnings serve as a warning of what can happen when a single ideology is allowed to dominate intellectual discourse, and when diversity and creativity are suppressed. They also serve as a reminder of the importance of defending free expression, even in the face of great danger. The legacy of the book burnings lives on, reminding us of the need to protect intellectual freedom and preserve cultural heritage for future generations.
The lasting impact of Nazi censorship on free speech and intellectual freedom
The Nazi regime’s censorship and suppression of intellectual freedom had a profound impact on society, leaving a lasting legacy that still resonates today. Through propaganda, censorship, and the burning of books, the Nazis aimed to control the flow of information and shape public opinion in support of their ideology. This article will examine the lasting impact of Nazi censorship on free speech and intellectual freedom.
One of the most notable effects of Nazi censorship was the silencing of opposition voices. In Nazi Germany, any dissenting views were quickly suppressed, and those who dared to speak out risked imprisonment or worse. By controlling the media and suppressing alternative viewpoints, the Nazis were able to maintain their grip on power and shape public opinion in their favor.
The impact of Nazi censorship was not limited to Germany. In occupied territories, the Nazis sought to impose their ideology and suppress local cultures. They burned books in countries such as Poland, France, and the Netherlands, erasing centuries of cultural heritage. The goal was to impose a monolithic culture that supported the Nazi regime’s ideology and vision for Europe.
The impact of Nazi censorship on intellectual freedom was devastating. By suppressing ideas and information, the Nazis limited the ability of people to think freely and engage in intellectual discourse. Scholars and intellectuals were targeted, and their work was banned or destroyed if it did not align with Nazi ideology. This had a chilling effect on intellectual curiosity and creativity, stifling innovation and progress in various fields.
The effects of Nazi censorship continue to be felt today. The suppression of free speech and the manipulation of public opinion are still tools used by authoritarian regimes around the world. In countries like China, Russia, and Iran, governments tightly control the flow of information and suppress dissenting voices, as the Nazis did in the 1930s. This has a chilling effect on intellectual discourse and can limit progress in fields like science, technology, and the arts.
Furthermore, the legacy of Nazi censorship has also influenced the way we think about intellectual freedom today. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, includes the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and expression. This was a direct response to the atrocities committed during World War II, including Nazi censorship and suppression of free speech.
The lasting impact of Nazi censorship on intellectual freedom can also be seen in the way we approach education and the dissemination of knowledge. The importance of critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and the free exchange of ideas is now recognized as essential to a healthy democracy. In many countries, education is seen as a fundamental right, and governments are expected to provide access to information and resources that promote intellectual freedom.
In conclusion, the legacy of Nazi censorship on intellectual freedom cannot be overstated. The suppression of free speech, the burning of books, and the manipulation of public opinion had a profound impact on society, limiting progress, and stifling creativity. However, this legacy has also shaped the way we think about intellectual freedom today, inspiring us to defend free speech, promote intellectual curiosity, and fight against censorship. As we remember the atrocities committed during World War II, we must continue to fight for the rights of all people to express themselves freely and engage in intellectual discourse.
Human trafficking is a pervasive global issue that affects millions of people every year, regardless of their age, gender, or sexual orientation. However, within the larger population of trafficking survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals face unique and often compounded challenges. The stigma and discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in society can exacerbate the trauma of trafficking, making it more difficult for them to seek help and access the resources they need to recover. In this article, we will explore the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ human trafficking survivors, including the intersection of homophobia and transphobia with trafficking, the lack of LGBTQ+ inclusive services, and the impact of these challenges on survivors’ mental health and well-being. Additionally, we will discuss ways in which anti-trafficking organizations and service providers can better support LGBTQ+ survivors, and provide recommendations for future research and advocacy efforts in this important area.
Breaking the Silence: The LGBTQ+ Experience of Human Trafficking and Stigma
Human trafficking is a global issue that affects millions of people every year. The majority of victims are women and children, but it is important to recognize that individuals from all backgrounds and identities can fall prey to this heinous crime. In particular, members of the LGBTQ+ community face unique challenges when it comes to human trafficking, often being subject to stigmatization and discrimination that can make it difficult to access support services and receive the help they need.
One of the key issues facing LGBTQ+ individuals who have been trafficked is the intersection of homophobia, transphobia, and stigma associated with sex work. Many LGBTQ+ people face rejection and discrimination from their families, communities, and even law enforcement due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. This can make them more vulnerable to exploitation and less likely to seek help when they find themselves in a trafficking situation.
Moreover, for those who are involved in sex work, whether by choice or coercion, societal stigmatization and criminalization can exacerbate the harm they experience. Despite the fact that many LGBTQ+ people who engage in sex work do so out of necessity, often because of a lack of opportunities or support, they are often marginalized, dehumanized, and criminalized, making them more vulnerable to trafficking.
The combination of homophobia, transphobia, and stigma can also make it difficult for LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors to access support services and receive adequate care. Some may fear discrimination or harassment from healthcare providers or law enforcement, or may simply not be aware of their rights and the resources available to them. Additionally, many support services are not equipped to handle the unique needs of LGBTQ+ survivors, further compounding the problem.
To address these challenges, it is crucial that we break the silence around LGBTQ+ human trafficking and work to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for survivors. This starts with recognizing that LGBTQ+ people are at risk of trafficking and need specialized support to address the unique challenges they face.
Support organizations and service providers can play a vital role in this process by working to create safe and welcoming environments that are inclusive of all survivors, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This can involve training staff to be aware of the specific issues faced by LGBTQ+ survivors and ensuring that support services are designed to meet their needs.
Additionally, efforts must be made to address the stigma and discrimination that LGBTQ+ people face more broadly, both in society and in the legal system. This can involve working to change laws that criminalize sex work and advocating for policies that promote equality and inclusion for all people.
It is also important for LGBTQ+ individuals to have access to education and resources that can help them avoid trafficking and exploitation in the first place. This can involve outreach efforts that provide information about the risks of trafficking, as well as resources for those who may be vulnerable.
Breaking the silence around LGBTQ+ human trafficking is not easy, but it is essential if we are to create a world where all people are free from exploitation and abuse. By working together to address the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ survivors, we can help to build a more inclusive and just society that values and protects all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Double Discrimination: How Homophobia and Transphobia Compound the Trauma of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that affects millions of people worldwide. This crime is often associated with sexual exploitation, but it can also involve forced labor, domestic servitude, and other forms of exploitation. LGBTQ+ individuals are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking due to the stigma, discrimination, and marginalization they face in their communities. In addition to the trauma of being trafficked, these individuals also often experience double discrimination due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, which can compound their trauma and make it harder for them to access support and services.
Homophobia and transphobia are pervasive forms of discrimination that affect LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide. In many countries, same-sex relationships and gender nonconformity are criminalized, which can lead to harassment, violence, and even arrest. LGBTQ+ individuals are often stigmatized, marginalized, and ostracized from their communities, which can make them more vulnerable to human trafficking. When trafficked, these individuals are often subjected to additional discrimination and abuse due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
For LGBTQ+ individuals, the trauma of human trafficking is often compounded by the fear of being outed or mistreated due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Traffickers may use this fear to control and manipulate their victims, threatening to expose their sexual orientation or gender identity to their families or communities if they attempt to escape or seek help. This can leave LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors feeling trapped, isolated, and alone, with no one to turn to for support.
Moreover, LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors may face additional challenges in accessing support and services due to discrimination and prejudice. Service providers may not be equipped to meet the specific needs of LGBTQ+ individuals, or may not have the training or sensitivity to address the unique challenges these survivors face. This can lead to further marginalization and discrimination, and can make it harder for these survivors to recover and heal from their trauma.
To address the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors, it is essential to create safe and inclusive spaces that prioritize their needs and experiences. This includes providing LGBTQ+ sensitive support and services, such as gender-affirming healthcare, trauma-informed counseling, and legal assistance. It also involves engaging with LGBTQ+ communities and organizations to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking and its impact on these populations.
Governments and international organizations also have a critical role to play in addressing the double discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors. This includes recognizing the specific vulnerabilities of these populations and developing targeted policies and programs to support their needs. It also involves promoting laws and policies that protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and hold traffickers accountable for their crimes.
In conclusion, the double discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors is a serious issue that requires urgent attention and action. Homophobia and transphobia can compound the trauma of human trafficking, leaving these individuals feeling isolated, marginalized, and alone. To address this issue, it is essential to create safe and inclusive spaces that prioritize the needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ survivors. This includes providing targeted support and services, engaging with LGBTQ+ communities and organizations, and promoting laws and policies that protect the rights of these individuals. By working together, we can create a world where all individuals are valued, respected, and protected from exploitation and abuse.
Creating Safe Spaces: Addressing the Specific Needs of LGBTQ+ Human Trafficking Survivors in Support Services.
Human trafficking is a devastating crime that disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals. Studies show that LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk of trafficking due to systemic discrimination, economic disadvantage, and social exclusion. Yet, LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors often face unique challenges and barriers when seeking support and services.
One of the biggest challenges is finding safe spaces where survivors can feel comfortable and supported. Many LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors have experienced violence and trauma at the hands of their traffickers and in the wider community, making it difficult for them to trust others. For these survivors, accessing support services and reporting their experiences can be a daunting and potentially risky process.
To address these challenges, it is essential that support services are designed with the specific needs of LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors in mind. Creating safe spaces where survivors can feel supported and validated is crucial to helping them heal and move forward from their experiences.
One key step in creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors is providing culturally competent support services. This means understanding the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and tailoring services to meet their specific needs. For example, some LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors may feel more comfortable working with counselors who are also part of the LGBTQ+ community. Others may need support with navigating the legal system, finding employment, or accessing medical care.
In addition to cultural competency, it is important to create physical safe spaces where LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors can feel comfortable accessing support services. This may involve creating LGBTQ+-specific shelters or providing LGBTQ+-inclusive housing options. Providing separate spaces for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals can also help to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment.
Another key aspect of creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors is recognizing and addressing the intersectional nature of their experiences. Many LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors face multiple forms of discrimination and marginalization, including racism, ableism, and classism. Support services must be designed to address these intersecting forms of oppression and provide holistic care that acknowledges and addresses the unique challenges that LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors face.
Finally, it is essential to involve LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors in the design and delivery of support services. Survivor-centered care means recognizing that each individual’s experience is unique and that survivors are the experts on their own experiences. By involving survivors in the development of support services, organizations can ensure that services are tailored to meet the specific needs of LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors.
Creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors is essential to supporting their healing and recovery. By providing culturally competent, physically safe, intersectional, and survivor-centered care, support services can help LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors rebuild their lives and reclaim their dignity and agency. As a society, we must recognize the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ trafficking survivors and work to ensure that they have access to the support and resources they need to heal and thrive.
In my previous thread about apologists one of the comments wondered about why the MSM wasn’t all over this story as it unfolded. To me, and I’m sure many here, the answer is obvious to us. However, this rabbit hole is most likely a hell of a lot deeper than we can imagine. So I thought we might start a list of sorts.
These are the reasons I think/posit/suspect the MSM is not all over this;
A member of the Rothschild family is under the umbrella as a minor player on the periphery. If you think for a picosecond that any court on this planet can get to them you are delusional.
There are 5 folks that control, through corporate structure, 90% of the media outlets worldwide. 3 of them are directly or indirectly involved. Not personally mind you, but involved in that their media moguls and/or in-house attorneys can be put on the island, at the parties, or have been listed by a victim or two.
There is a SCOTUS Justice who’s name has appeared on the flight logs. In his defense, there is no other information and no other nefarious nexus, but nonetheless there he is.
At least one very powerful US political family is allegedly involved and can be put on the island, at the parties, and has been named by a victim or two.
Foreign royalty is allegedly involved and can be put on the island, at the parties, and has been named by a victim or two.
Key players, witnesses, and folks holding potentially explosive information keep dying and doing so under some really questionable circumstances.
6a. The giveaway to this is is the media immediately making excuses for the questionable circumstances.
Lately, and in frighteningly cartel-like tactics, it appears that jurists are the next target. Let me be very very clear here. I am not a tin foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist, but I do find it very odd that a week after Justice Roberts (he’s the SCOTUS Justice on the flight logs) shows up with a black eye and stitches (no explanation), that a Federal Judge assigned to a case related to Epstein gets home invaded, her son killed, and husband wounded. 7a. Going back to 6a., the MSM immediately prints a story that it’s “not unusual for a shooter to commit suicide”. Which is exactly what the shooter in Judge Salas case did. Awfully handy there, no way we can ask him why he did it huh ?
The bottom line here is that it’s not in the news because every “estate” in this nation would be rocked to the core if 100% of this ever got out. Epstein, again in my opinion, died because they squelched his deadman switch or he was too arrogant to have one. We can only hope Maxwell either has one, or has her evidence squirreled away (in multiple copies, in multiple places) safely.
I for one want an end to this. Prosecute the hell out of the offenders and clear those who are innocent. You know, the way the justice system is supposed to work. What I fear is going to happen is in Warren Commission fashion, the powers that be will cook up some watered down, ridiculous on its face bullshit, and try to convince us it’s over. That’s my biggest fear.
Edit/
Just to add and put into context:
Epstein’s private banker hangs himself, the judge involved with that case gets home invaded (son killed, husband wounded), shooter then kills himself and leaves behind a manifesto that seems to point away from the case but that can never be substantiated. Ok – I buy it’s not all connected – NOT !
2nd Edit/
Just a note : if you get personal and insult me or anyone here, you get blocked. I have been very careful to keep this level across the board.
Civility is a rule of this sub and it should go without saying. If you can’t support your position without becoming insulting you can fuck off.
Ghislaine Maxwell hired Jacob Wohl to smear alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein and her, a former friend told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview
As part of a $25k deal, Wohl and his lobbyist colleague Jack Burkman also allegedly pushed to get former New York US Attorney Geoffrey Berman fired
Wohl and Burkman are far-right lobbyists who have become a laughing stock in DC after several failed attempts to smear top political figures
Maryland paralegal Kristin Spealman claims she was initially contacted by the duo to use her in a smear campaign against Nancy Pelosi and Ted Cruz
Spealman told DailyMail.com they bragged to her they had been hired in early June for $25,000 to dig up dirt on Maxwell’s alleged sex trafficking victims
Federal documents filed this month show a company linked to Maxwell had hired Wohl and Burkman to lobby on ‘issues relating to US DOJ, Senate Judiciary, House Judiciary,’ DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal
Berman’s removal was intended to stall or stop the criminal investigation into Maxwell, Spealman said
Berman was ultimately pushed out by Barr in June, but two weeks later Maxwell was charged as part of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring
Ghislaine Maxwell hired fake news purveyor Jacob Wohl to smear her and Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims, a former friend has told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
As part of a $25,000 deal made in June, Wohl and his lobbyist colleague Jack Burkman also allegedly pushed to get New York US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who had led Epstein’s case, fired in order to stall or stop the criminal investigation into Maxwell.
Wohl and Burkman are far-right lobbyists who have become a laughing stock in DC after several failed attempts to smear top political figures including Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Cruz, Robert Mueller and Dr. Anthony Fauci by paying women to make false claims of sordid affairs and drug-dealing.
One of the women they tried to use for their smear plots, Maryland model and paralegal Kristin Spealman, told DailyMail.com the men had been hired by Maxwell, who currently faces trial over charges she and Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex.
Spealman, 36, said the lobbyists bragged to her they had been hired in early June for $25,000 to dig up dirt on Maxwell’s alleged sex trafficking victims and to get Berman fired using Burkman’s supposed influence with Attorney General William Barr.
Berman ultimately stepped down after a push from Barr. But less than two weeks later, Maxwell was charged on July 2 as being part of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring and taken into custody.
When contacted for comment Wohl told DailyMail.com that Maxwell ‘deserves representation’.
‘Every person, even those accused of the most odious of crimes, deserves representation and possesses the right to engage lobbyists to petition the government on their behalf,’ the 22-year-old said. ‘Otherwise, we cannot comment on client matters.’
Burkman similarly told DailyMail.com: ‘All persons accused of crimes–however terrible–have the right to representation and representation in the court of public opinion.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Maxwell’s lawyers for comment.
Federal documents filed this month show a company linked to Maxwell had hired Wohl and Burkman to lobby on ‘issues relating to US DOJ, Senate Judiciary, House Judiciary,’ DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
A form filed with the US Senate by Burkman’s company, J M Burkman & Associates, on July 3 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act shows Wohl and Burkman were hired by Granite Realty LLC. a frequent misspelling of Granite Reality – the company linked to Maxwell.
Maxwell bought the house through Granite Reality LLC, of 155 Seaport Blvd, Boston MA, the address of Nutter McClennen & Fish, a law firm which has previously acted for her. It is the same address on the disclosure form.
The form lists Burkman and Wohl as lobbyists for Granite Realty, described as a ‘real estate company’, and indicates the pair will be lobbying over ‘Issues relating to US DOJ, Senate Judiciary, House Judiciary.’
New York prosecutors say the firm is connected to Maxwell, with the LLC linked to her purchase of a New Hampshire house where she was arrested on July 2 – the day before Burkman’s lobbying disclosure was filed.
New Hampshire property records show Granite RealtyReality paid $1,070,000 cash in December for the home, aptly named Tuckedaway.
Maxwell used a fake name and the ‘carefully anonymized LLC’, set up just weeks before the purchase, to buy the house while she hid from law enforcement, prosecutors in her New York sex trafficking case said.
Wohl and Burkman told Spealman that Maxwell also used the secretive LLC to hire them as lobbyists around early June, the model claimed.
‘Her company Granite Realty LLC hired them to first get rid of the US attorney Jeffrey Berman,’ the paralegal said.
‘She wanted him fired. And then I guess she assumed the charges would go away or maybe she wouldn’t be prosecuted. I think that was the goal.’
Spealman claimed Burkman bragged to her that he was ‘really good friends’ with Barr and had persuaded him to fire Berman.
On June 19, Barr did release a statement saying Berman would step down – though Trump had reportedly been considering removing the prosecutor for two years.
Berman at first refused to resign, then later capitulated when his deputy was announced as the new acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
There is no evidence that Wohl or Burkman had any role in Berman’s firing.
There is also no evidence that Burkman and Barr have a close relationship.
‘The second part of their job was to discredit the [alleged] victims of Jeffrey Epstein and her,’ Spealman said.
‘I believed those girls, I felt like they were telling the truth and they were real victims.
‘I was disgusted with the things [Wohl and Burkman], were telling me. They were saying really bad things about them.
‘Like the one girl who said she got pregnant by Epstein and they made her get an abortion. Jacob said ”no, her boyfriend got her pregnant and then she demanded money.” It was just a lot of stuff that made them look bad.
‘That’s their job now, to discredit these victims. Hopefully so that the charges go away or [Maxwell] wins.’
The lobbyists allegedly told Spealman their smear targets included Epstein accusers Virginia Giuffre, Sarah Ransome and Courtney Wild, the model said.
Spealman claimed Wohl and Burkman revealed their plot with Maxwell during a night of partying at Burkman’s Arlington, Virginia home on July 11.
The part-time model said the two men had already spent months trying to get her involved in other smear campaigns.
Spealman said Burkman first called her last September asking her to be a part of a purported reality TV show that he and Wohl were producing, which involved ‘playing innocent pranks on celebrities and politicians.’
After wining and dining the model at DC hotel bars and restaurants, as well as dangling the prospect of a $300,000 paycheck for her role, the two lobbyists revealed their real plans, she said.
‘At the third meeting they totally switched things,’ Spealman told DailyMail.com. ‘They said they wanted me to say I was selling Percocet to Nancy Pelosi. I was pretty shocked because that’s a big leap from what they had sold me on.
‘I don’t want to have that sort of reputation. I’m a paralegal. I was worried about defamation suits. I was like ”look guys, I can’t do that”.’
The model said the fake news peddlers agreed to change their plans. But at the next meeting in October, Spealman said they presented her with a statement to sign claiming she had ‘steamy sex’ with married senator Ted Cruz.
Spealman claimed Wohl and Burkman asked her to read the bogus statement at a press conference scheduled the next day.
‘I received a text directing me to a lavish fourth-floor suite,’ the statement said. ‘Inside was Senator Cruz, clad only in boxers. After a few old fashioneds, I was a willing participant in a night of steamy sex.
….. .. story continues & details other smear campaigns ….. ..
does the DM lurk? they edited the article (see italic text & line-through in above) after the Granite Realty/Reality issue was mentioned
Ghislaine Maxwell isn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. That much is known.
The heiress and socialite who, a federal indictment alleges, herded girls as young as 14 into the clutches of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and conspired to abuse them, is in jail—and behind bars is where a judge is determined to have her remain while awaiting trial.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty on all charges: conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel and engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, all between 1994 and 1997; as well as two counts of perjury for allegedly lying in a 2016 deposition when she denied massaging girls and begged ignorance of Epstein’s pattern of behavior.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she’s quoted when asked if Epstein had a “scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages,” the unifying thread of the accusations against him.
She’s facing up to 35 years in prison.
Epstein, meanwhile, is dead, officials determining that he took his own life in his cell at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center last August while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. His ignominious end was a deflating turn of events for his victims, many of whom spoke out in the recent Netflix series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, and the countless observers who felt his 13 months of privilege-laden jail time between 2008 and 2009 was a slap on the wrist for heinous crimes.
And needless to say, for those convinced that Epstein took a host of secrets with him to the grave, the idea that Maxwell could end up telling all has proved most tantalizing. So far, however, she has exercised her right to remain silent.
On July 14, Maxwell, who was born in England and holds U.K., French and U.S. passports, was denied bail, the judge deeming her a flight risk. France also has no extradition treaty with the United States. Moreover, prosecutors said that Maxwell had $4 million stashed in a Swiss bank account, plenty to live on if needed, and she had already attempted to evade capture when the FBI showed up to arrest her earlier this month.
“The agents saw the defendant ignore the direction to open the door and, instead, try to flee to another room in the house, quickly shutting a door behind her,” it was alleged in a filing opposing her request for bail. Moreover, the filing contended, she had a private security team that included former members of the British military run errands for her so that she wouldn’t need to leave the grounds for fear of being spotted; and she had in her possession a cell phone that was wrapped in tinfoil, a “seemingly misguided effort to evade detection, not by the press or public, which of course would have no ability to trace her phone or intercept her communications, but by law enforcement.”
She was residing in a sprawling home on 156 acres in rural Bradford, N.H., when she was taken into custody on July 2. Maxwell had quietly purchased the property for a little more than $1 million in cash last year.
“If you’re looking for a place to hide, boy, you can’t find a better one,” a source who was familiar with the details told NBC News. “It’s a lovely house on a lot of turf and it’s up a driveway that’s a little bit more than half a mile long. Nobody comes up there to bug you or poke or pry.”
And she wasn’t alone, according to prosecutors, who also said in court last week that Maxwell was now married but “declined” to share any specifics, including her husband’s identity, with the court—and in making “no mention whatsoever about the financial circumstances or assets of her spouse,” she further proved herself undeserving of release on bail.
In trying to negotiate a reported $5 million bail package, Maxwell’s attorneys stated in a court filing that their client had simply been trying to maintain a low profile since Epstein’s arrest and suicide to protect herself and her family from “unrelenting and intrusive media coverage.” They also argued that she was at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars, prisons and jails all over the country having become hot spots for the virus.
“Ghislaine Maxwell is not Jeffrey Epstein,” the lawyers stated. “She was not named in the government’s indictment of Epstein in 2019, despite the fact that the government has been investigating this case for years. Instead, the current indictment is based on allegations of conduct that allegedly occurred roughly twenty-five years ago. Ms. Maxwell vigorously denies the charges, intends to fight them, and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”
Annie Farmer, who has alleged that as a teenager she was assaulted by Epstein at his ranch in New Mexico after Maxwell encouraged her to give her host a massage, begged to differ.
Speaking via video conference at Maxwell’s bail hearing, Farmer said, “I met Ghislaine Maxwell when I was 16 years old. She is a sexual predator who groomed and abused me and countless other children and young women. She has never shown any remorse for her heinous crimes or the devastating, lasting effects her actions caused.”
Bail was denied and U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan remanded Maxwell to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Her trial date was set for July 12, 2021.
“Knowing that she is incarcerated for the foreseeable future allows me, and my fellow survivors, to have faith that we are on the right path,” Jennifer Araoz, who previously accused Epstein of raping her when she was 15, said in a statement to NBC News after the hearing. “I would like to thank both the prosecutors and the judge for taking us one step closer to seeing that justice is served.”
A lot can happen in a year—as a lot can happen in just a few weeks, making it seem as if it’s been far longer since Maxwell was arrested.
She has stayed put, in solitary confinement and with paper bedding, but her story is a multi-tentacled creature that continues to reach far and wide—and, some hope, will eventually ensnare more people in its grasp.
Even Princess Beatrice‘s surprise wedding last week—happy news coming from Britain’s royal family—had a tinge of scandal about it. While her nuptials were first downsized and then postponed completely due to the pandemic, her father Prince Andrew‘s past friendship with Epstein, which re-reared its head last summer, had already affected the size and scope of her big day.
In a tone-deaf interview with BBCNewsnight in November, Andrew tried to explain away why he continued to socialize with Epstein after he had pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution, saying Epstein’s Manhattan mansion was a convenient place to stay in New York. “I mean I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times,” Queen Elizabeth II‘s second-eldest son said. “At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. But at the time I felt it was the honorable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgment was probably colored by my tendency to be too honorable, but that’s just the way it is.”
Andrew also insisted he had no recollection of meeting Virginia Roberts Giuffre—who has alleged in news interviews and in a 2009 civil lawsuit against Epstein (in which she was identified as Jane Doe 102) that she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York starting when she was 17—despite a widely circulated photograph of them taken together in 2001.
Giuffre has alleged that her first sexual encounter with Andrew took place at Maxwell’s home in London’s Belgravia neighborhood.
“I think it’s… from the investigations that we’ve done, you can’t prove whether or not that photograph is faked or not because it is a photograph of a photograph of a photograph,” Andrew stammered. “So it’s very difficult to be able to prove it, but I don’t remember that photograph ever being taken.”
Overall, he has denied engaging in any illegal sexual activity.
Days after the Newsnight interview aired, Andrew took the only honorable course left and stepped down from his duties as a senior royal, saying in a statement that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”
Since then, his appearances in public have largely been limited to glimpses of him accompanying the queen to church—and the FBI has said he’s been entirely uncooperative.
A former Epstein staffer also named Andrew in Filthy Rich as a member of the VIP crowd who partied on Epstein’s private enclave in the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas Island of Little Saint James—or “Orgy Island,” as it’s been so indelicately nicknamed—and Giuffre recounted her allegations against him in the series. In June, the U.S. Department of Justice stated publicly that the royal had remained unhelpful, but Andrew’s legal team maintained he had “on at least three occasions this year offered his assistance as a witness to the DOJ” and been rebuffed.
“In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance proffered,” the lawyers stated.
Meanwhile, Giuffre says she first met Maxwell when she was working as a locker room attendant at the spa at the Mar-a-Lago Club, President Donald Trump‘s resort and longtime home in Palm Beach, where Epstein and Maxwell (who at one point were a romantic couple but eventually segued into so-called confidantes) were regulars back in the 1990s.
Trump, who has been photographed socializing with Epstein and Maxwell, by all accounts cut ties with them years ago, before Epstein’s arrest in Florida in 2006 for sexually abusing minors. But, in another headline-grabbing off-the-cuff remark, when asked Tuesday during a press conference for his thoughts on whether Maxwell might name some powerful names as the investigation continues, the president replied, “I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly.”
He continued, “I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.”
Cue those who thought the sentiment rather inappropriate considering the charges against her. When pressed further to explain what Trump meant, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox and Friends Friday, “Well, what the president was noting is that the last person who was charged in this case ended up dead in a jail cell, and the president wants justice to be served for the victims in this case. And he prefers this to play out in a courtroom.”
There is heightened scrutiny on Maxwell’s well-being behind bars in light of what happened to Epstein, who had previously been on suicide watch but wasn’t when he died. Multiple investigations into the circumstances that allowed him the opportunity to hang himself in his jail cell found that two guards assigned to Epstein’s unit were dozing off when they should have been conducting checks on the inmates and then falsified the times in their duty log. They were supposed to check the cells every 30 minutes, but apparently three hours went by before they checked on Epstein again.
And then there was the theory—and a not particularly fringe theory—that Epstein was killed to prevent him from potentially spilling dirty secrets about his rich and powerful friends.
“I can understand people who immediately—whose minds went to sort of the worst-case scenario, because it was a perfect storm of screw-ups,” U.S. Attorney General William Barrtold the Associated Press in November after Justice Department and FBI investigations concluded Epstein’s death was a suicide.
Which hasn’t changed the concern that Maxwell may not live to tell her story, should she want to talk—though so far there’s no indication that she does.
On Thursday, Judge Nathan denied a request from the defendant’s attorney for a gag order to prevent prosecutors, law enforcement, and lawyers of the alleged victims from speaking publicly about the case. Nathan wrote that she expected all parties to conduct themselves appropriately to not endanger Maxwell’s chance for a fair trial, and she would reassess if need be.
Perhaps more consequential was the decision made by another federal judge on Thursday to allow 80 documents pertaining to a 2015 civil defamation lawsuit that Virginia Giuffre filed against Maxwell to be unsealed. Her lawyers have a week to appeal before the decision goes into affect—and they did vow to appeal.
In their initial motion to ensure that the documents, including the majority of a 418-page deposition, remained sealed, Maxwell attorney Jeffrey Pagliuca wrote, “This series of pleadings concerns [Giuffre’s] attempt to compel Ms. Maxwell to answer intrusive questions about her sex life. The subject matter of these [documents] is extremely personal, confidential, and subject to considerable abuse by the media.”
In her ruling, however, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska said, “In the context of this case, especially its allegations of sex trafficking of young girls, the Court finds that any minor embarrassment or annoyance resulting from disclosure of Ms. Maxwell’s mostly non-testimony about behavior that has been widely reported in the press is far outweighed by the presumption of public access.”
But while the documents are said to be littered with names and some people are indeed rubbing their hands in anticipation, third-party names will still remain redacted for now, per Preska’s order, along with personally identifiable information and medical records.
Giuffre—whom Maxwell called an “absolute liar” in a previously unsealed excerpt of her deposition—reached a confidential settlement with Maxwell in 2017, and Thursday’s decision pertains to a lawsuit filed by the Miami Herald to make the papers public. The Herald‘s 2018 investigation into how Epstein ended up with a seemingly very lenient deal back in 2008, when local authorities said they had plenty of evidence to go after him for more, played a major role in events leading up to his arrest on sex-trafficking charges in July 2019. He killed himself barely a month later.
As seen in Filthy Rich, Epstein continues to haunt the survivors of his actions, now roughly three dozen women who have said they were raped or otherwise preyed on by the billionaire investment manager.
Also on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Epstein’s mansions in Palm Beach and Manhattan’s Upper East Side—both homes where he allegedly abused girls and pimped them out to his fancy friends—are on the market for $22 million and $88 million, respectively.
His estate, currently still valued at around $636 million, has set up a compensation fund to handle ongoing litigation settlements.
“This Mansion presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to own the largest single-family home in New York City,” reads the listing for the Manhattan townhouse in Lenox Hill. “This historic landmark could easily present itself as a palatial consulate, embassy, foundation, or a museum to once again house some of the world’s greatest works of art.”
There is no mention of its late owner in either listing.
“I believe the past ownership of the property will bear no relationship to its future,” Kelly Warwick of the Corcoran Group, the listing agency for the Palm Beach property, told the WSJ. “The location and what can be done with it is really what matters.”
MEYREUIL, France—Ghislaine Maxwell, 57, comes from a family by turns brilliant and accomplished, deceptive and doomed. Her backstory is full of sex and science, money and magical illusions. And today she is the world’s most wanted woman—at least by the media and Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.
She is the youngest child of the notorious and disgraced British media mogul Robert Maxwell, rumored after his mysterious death in 1991 to have been an Israeli spy. She was the alleged paramour-turned-pimp for Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire pedophile who reportedly committed suicide in his cell on August 10.
But there are no known criminal charges against her, only allegations in a civil suit. Indeed, there is speculation she may be cooperating with federal prosecutors. And while she might have decided to hide out here in Provence at her sister’s house in the shadow of Cézanne’s favorite mountain, she was spotted Thursday in California eating a burger while reading a book about CIA heroes.
Ghislaine Maxwell, in short, is a survivor.
“In moments of greatest adversity, that’s where they’re the coolest; it’s bred into the family,” an executive with one of Robert Maxwell’s media companies said after his drowning upended his media empire and forced his wife and children to clean up the mess. “Maxwell’s whole life was ‘Never panic.’”
As we looked for her in France in recent days, she was, of course, nowhere to be seen. But we did discover enough skeletons in the family closet (including those of her in-laws and their families) to fill a house of horrors.
We searched near her dead mother’s estate east of here—and even at the bottom of a cliff in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a few hours from Meyreuil, where her brother-in-law Al Seckel, giver of TED talks on optical illusions, reportedly fell to his death in 2015 after he was exposed as a swindler in Los Angeles.
We also looked at the family tree of her other brother-in-law, an American astrophysicist whose genius rocket scientist father Frank Malina at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California pioneered what would become NASA before he fled to France with J. Edgar Hoover’s G-Men on his heels.
For Ghislaine, presumably, outer space is not an option. But in point of fact, she does know how to operate a lot of exotic machinery. In addition to speaking four languages and holding a degree from Oxford, she’s a trained private helicopter pilot, a submersible pilot and qualified to operate undersea robots. Much was made of the latter qualifications when she was fund-raising for her now defunct TerraMar oceanic environmental project, which shuttered after Epstein’s arrest last month.
Ghislaine, who wanted to be seen as a visionary, liked to hang out with others who cultivate that rep, and was pictured with Elon Musk, whose Space X program is based in Hawthorne, just south of Los Angeles.
Ah, there’s a California connection again.
But France is still where Ghislaine Maxwell’s family history begins. Both she and her mother, the elegant and long-suffering Elisabeth Maxwell, were born here. And while some French officials have called for an investigation into Epstein’s activities in Paris, where he had an opulent apartment, Ghislaine’s French connection goes back decades in the south.
It also grew out of the horrors of Auschwitz, which wiped out Robert Maxwell’s parents and siblings and eventually inspired his French Protestant wife, Elisabeth, to become a renowned Holocaust scholar.
And it includes Ghislaine’s very interesting American in-laws who moved back and forth between Provence, the Dordogne and the United States. Their roots involved the pioneering, often reckless rocket scientists of the 1930s who were called the “Suicide Squad” for their risky work at the Jet Propulsion Lab. Among their circle: L. Ron Hubbard of Scientology fame; the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman; and Briton Aleister Crowley, known for black magic and a sex cult.
Maxwell family observers don’t find it strange that Ghislaine and some of her sisters were drawn to larger-than-life, certifiably strange men.
“They attach themselves to bizarre psychopaths like their father,” says a researcher who delved into the family years ago. “Ghislaine wasn’t the only sister to hook up with a weird guy.”
The daddy issues—and the mysterious death issues—began with Robert Maxwell, born into poverty as Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch in Czechoslovakia in 1923. He wanted a big family to recreate, in a way, the siblings he lost to the Nazis, and he very much wanted riches and fame. He achieved all of it, including a seat in the British Parliament. But two of his children died young and greed overtook his ambition.
When Robert Maxwell mysteriously disappeared from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, and his naked body was retrieved floating in the waters off the Canary Islands in November 1991, he already had been drowning in debt.
His business empire was on the verge of ruin and he’d stolen, Bernie Madoff-style, more than $400 million from his employees’ pension funds to forestall bankruptcy. The Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh had recently accused him of being a longtime Israeli intelligence agent in a book about Israel’s nuclear weapons arsenal,The Samson Option.
The conspiracy theories surrounding Robert Maxwell’s death rivaled those of Epstein’s today, although the official take was that he fell off his boat during an early morning walk around the deck.
“What are the driving forces that make people do things?’ Ghislaine’s mother Elisabeth asked about her husband in 1995 during a New York Times interview to promote her unusually candid autobiography, A Mind of My Own. In it she admitted Maxwell was a philanderer and often treated her badly—but she said she loved him.
“I hope one day there will be a balance. That time passes, passions fall and eventually some truths emerge,” she said. “It was really a Greek tragedy that his path should have finished the way it did.”
Two of Maxwell’s sons, Kevin and Ian, were investigated for fraud involving their father’s empire after his death and both were cleared in 1996, although at one point Kevin was banned from running a company in the U.K. for eight years. Both landed back in court in 2015 and 2016 facing bankruptcy issues involving another U.K. financial company to which they owed money.
Maxwell biographer Tom Bower was sympathetic to the Maxwell kids, calling their problems, “the tragic legacy of a crooked father. His children just inherited an awful pack of cards.”
Ian Maxwell, now 63, broke his silence about his father in an interview last year with the Sunday Times of London.
“The embrace was suffocating and so loving and everything came your way,” he said. “But then if you were far away in disgrace or you had blotted your copybook, no matter what you had done you were cast out.”
The Oxford-educated Ghislaine, who used to be referred to reflexively as a “British socialite,” reportedly was her father’s favorite. But two of her sisters, the twins Isabel and Christine, now 69, are the most accomplished of the family. They are internet content pioneers who started Magellan, one of the first search engines, and were featured in Michael Wolff’s book, Burn Rate, about his foray into early startups.
The sisters (Christine was said to be the brains behind the operation) made millions when Magellan was later sold to the Excite search company.
Curiously, Isabel followed in the family tradition of filing for bankruptcy in December 2015 despite having been a multi-millionaire. That move may have been related to the untimely demise at age 56 of her third husband, the infamous con man Al Seckel who, she later found out, was not legally her husband since he was still married to his first wife. In 2015, when he reportedly died, he was potentially on the hook for millions.
Seckel was the subject of an extraordinary 5,000-word investigation earlier that same year by The Tablet’s Mark Oppenheimer that laid bare decades of a convoluted and litigious life as the “world’s greatest collector of optical illusions.”
Seckel, the son of a refugee from the Nazis, moved to L.A. and used his wile and charm to pass himself off as an Ivy League graduate and double doctoral candidate at Caltech.
Soon, Seckel zeroed in on the movers and shakers. “An age before Silicon Valley had captured the geek imagination,” Oppenheimer wrote, “Caltech and the surrounding aerospace industry was the frontier of nerd power and glory.”
Seckel befriended and bewitched the Nobel Prize-winning physicists Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann among other neuroscientists, as well as academics and even magicians like James Randi.
Seckel then used those contacts to sell rare books to prestigious customers who were often hoodwinked out of thousands in bad deals. He moved on to co-opt the burgeoning field of optical illusion, popularizing the art of manipulating images by using research from others in books he wrote.
(His daughter, Elizabeth Seckel, has built on her father’s work in optical illusion by pioneering something called “mirror box therapy.” Seckel brought her method, sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative, to Haiti after the earthquake in 2012 to help recent amputees with their phantom limb pain.)
In 2010, Seckel hosted a scientific conference on Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous private island with Gell-Mann, Leonard Mlodinow, who was Stephen Hawking’s co-author, and MIT’s Gerald Sussman.
Oppenheimer told The Daily Beast this week that there was “no evidence” that Seckel or any of the scientists at the island party were involved in any sexual activity with young girls.
In 2004 Seckel gave a TED talk that’s been viewed almost 2.5 million times about “perceptual illusions that fool our brains.”
Because of Seckel’s shady past, it was not surprising that vague reports of his death—a perceptual illusion perhaps?—began popping up just weeks after Oppenheimer’s July 2015 story exposed him to hordes of creditors.
A paid obituary was published on Legacy.com, supposedly after appearing in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, but it does not appear on the paper’s website. One report has circulated around various Seckel-obsessed corners of the internet that his body was found at the bottom of a cliff near the home in France where he had moved with Isabel.
But The Daily Beast could not locate any officials in the town where Seckel was last known to live who had any report of his death. Oppenheimer and others said they have not yet found proof, either. The Daily Beast was unable to reach Isabel Maxwell or Elizabeth Secker for comment.
Christine Maxwell and her astrophysicist husband Roger Malina have, until recently at least, divided their time between their home here in Meyreuil and Dallas, Texas. Malina teaches at the University of Texas there and Christine is a doctoral candidate in the humanities department, a UT spokeswoman told The Daily Beast. Malina was also a director at an astrophysics center in Marseille until last year.
Roger Malina is the son of Czechoslovak-born Frank Malina, an early Elon Musk type who was part of the ragtag group whose daring rocket experiments in 1930s Pasadena led to the formation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in L.A., the precursor to NASA.
Frank Malina’s best friend, Jack Parsons, was the most charismatic of the group. He led a double life with non-scientist friends like L. Ron Hubbard and Robert Heinlein, author of Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, and other sci-fi classics. Parsons also joined an occult group involving the dark arts and sex fetishes founded by Aleister Crowley, an English occultist and magician. The book and CBS TV series Strange Angel are based on Parsons’ life.
In an odd echo of Jeffrey Epstein’s reported desire to seed the human race with his own DNA, Parsons and Hubbard tried for a time to impregnate women to bring forth Babalon, a goddess described as the “Scarlet Woman” in the Themelic belief system to which Crowley subscribed.
When Parsons died in a mysterious explosion at his home at age 37, he had stopped working for JPL and was for a time a consultant to Israel’s nascent rocket system. Media accounts at the time hinted at “sexual perversion,” “black robes,” “sacred fire” and “intellectual necromancy,” according to Vice—and there were also whispers that he might have been murdered.
Frank Malina, Christine Maxwell Malina’s father-in-law, was more of a straight arrow than Parsons and fared better, at first. But some historians say he was cheated of his rightful place as a true hero of the early space race because of years of harassment by the FBI who labeled him a socialist during the McCarthy years because he had campaigned against racial segregation, and raised money for republicans in the Spanish Civil War. After World War II he fled to Paris, where he became a painter and watched the space program soar from afar.
In a brutal twist, Wernher von Braun, a Nazi rocket scientist who was brought to the U.S. as part of Operation Paperclip, the government program that brought Nazi scientists to build American rockets, became the face of the early space program that some feel Malina deserved to have been.
Roger Malina blogs about his famous father on his website where he wrote last year: “Yes, Elon Musk, they triggered in the USA the work that led to your ‘strange’ vision—and they did it a stone’s throw from where your company SpaceX is currently headquartered. And you are dreaming the same dreams as the ‘suicide squad,’ as they were called, at Caltech in the 1930s.”
Looking back, that does seem a strange sobriquet, and oddly appropriate, if not for the rocket builders of 80 years ago, then for the Maxwells and those who were close to them.
Holy shit, Jeffrey Epstein’s blog is a gold mine of info: let’s investigate before it gets memory holed
Not OP but thought it must be here too Kudos to the op u/boardsdev who did all the searching
So somebody found Jeffrey Epstein’s blog. It was created in 2012 and posts stopped being made mid-2015. By 2016 the site went offline (the hosting stopped). However, based on whois data, the domain is still registered until 2021. I’ve only been browsing for a few hours and already found numerous links, photos, deleted news reports by mass media praising Epstein and other stuff. The disturbing part of this is that it would appear that his philanthropy that included funding charter schools, catholic programs and children (mainly in the US Virgin Islands) were fronts for pedo rings. Epstein was also obsessed with genetics, eugenics and artificial selection, having been friends with numerous geneticists.
Those links could be having malware so pls take necessary precautions.Use archive.org for all links. We should get a malware analyst to check blog’s source code. They could have planted it to monitor all traffic.
I used archive.org to view snapshots of the site as early as 2013 and I found some rather damning information so far. I used archive.org to view snapshots of the site as early as 2013 and I found some rather damning information so far.
Blog Description
JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN is an investment manager and science philanthropist who currently serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Trust Company. Mr. Epstein started his career at Bear Stearns with an educational background in physics. He has been a Trustee of Institute Of International Education Inc. since October 2001.
Mr. Epstein is a Member of the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the New York Academy of Science and a former Rockefeller University Board Member. Mr. Epstein is also actively involved in the Santa Fe Institute, the Theoretical Biology Initiative at the Institute for Advanced Study, the Quantum Gravity Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and also sits on the Mind, Brain & Behavior Advisory Committee at Harvard.
Jeffrey Epstein’s philanthropic affiliations include the Jeffrey Epstein Foundation, the Florida Science Foundations and The COUQ Foundation. He is a member of the Edge community, an internationally respected group of thinkers and achievers.
A Summary of the Websites from the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation:
I went to the photo section and found Epstein meeting with some rather interesting people. The photos are labeled and some explicitly state that the following people went to Epstein’s island:
George McDonald Church (born 28 August 1954) is an American geneticist, molecular engineer, and chemist. He is the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT, and a founding member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. As of March 2017, Church serves as a member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Board of Sponsors.
r/conspiracy – Holy shit, Jeffrey Epstein’s blog is a gold mine of info: let’s investigate before it gets memory holed George Church
r/conspiracy – Holy shit, Jeffrey Epstein’s blog is a gold mine of info: let’s investigate before it gets memory holed The island pictures are conveniently erased
r/conspiracy – Holy shit, Jeffrey Epstein’s blog is a gold mine of info: let’s investigate before it gets memory holed Another missing photo
Martin Andreas Nowak (born April 7, 1965) is an Austrian-born mathematical biologist and the author of several books. Following the exposure of his role in allowing Jeffrey Epstein access to the campus, Nowak was placed on academic leave in May 2020 from his position as a Professor of Biology and Mathematics at Harvard University.
r/conspiracy – Holy shit, Jeffrey Epstein’s blog is a gold mine of info: let’s investigate before it gets memory holed Martin Nowak
Steve Miller???
Dimitar D. Sasselov (born 1961) is a Bulgarian astronomer based in the United States. He is a Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University and director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. In 2002, Sasselov led a team that discovered the most distant planet in the Milky Way known at the time.
Other prominent figures that met with Epstein and may have traveled to his island:
Howard Earl Gardner (born July 11, 1943) is an American developmental psychologist and the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at
