Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team has promised its defence case will be shocking and have surprise revelations in a bid to clear her name.
Ghislaine Maxwell is unlikely to testify in her sex trafficking trial — but her lawyers are promising sensational revelations in their bid to clear her, The US Sun reports.
The British socialite, 59, is said to be “too fragile” to take the witness stand as her defence begins today.
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Instead, her legal team is focusing on pulling apart the testimony of the four accusers who claim she served them up for multi-millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
It has lined up 35 witnesses, including a false memory expert, to support her case at her trial in New York.
They are said to be preparing to produce evidence that Maxwell could not have been present during some of the accusations of wrongdoing.
A source said: “The defence case will be shocking. There will be some very surprising revelations.”
Her spokesman said: “Ghislaine Maxwell is unlikely to testify over serious worries she is too fragile and will not be able to acquit herself properly.”
Her family has complained she is not being fed correctly and shackled to and from court. A friend said: “There are significant concerns about her health.”
Maxwell denies six charges linked to Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
The prosecution have called the Brit heiress a “dangerous predator” alleging she and Epstein – who she dated in the 1990s – were “partners in crime”.
Maxwell, daughter of disgraced newspaper mogul Robert Maxwell, is alleged to have snared girls as young as 14 into a “nightmare” after promising them “the world”.
She is accused of walking girls into Epstein’s lair where she watched as he molested them – and sometimes even joined in. She denies the allegations.
In a court filing last Sunday, lawyers for the British socialite confirmed their intention to call the large number of witnesses — 11 more than the prosecution.
‘PARTNERS IN CRIME’
Her lawyers have scrambled to put together a line-up after the prosecution rested their case two weeks earlier than anticipated.
In a letter, Maxwell’s lead lawyer Bobbi Sternheim told Judge Alison Nathan some of the witnesses will be travelling from abroad.
She also requested three witnesses be granted the right to testify anonymously — after the four accusers in the case were allowed to give evidence using pseudonyms.
Meanwhile, just a small portion of Maxwell’s “little black book” — with the contact details for thousands of people including Prince Andrew — will be released publicly.
SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES
Only a few pages are at issue in the case and the prosecution agreed that the book can be used “for a limited purpose”.
Convicted sex offender Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial for further sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
Maxwell also faces two other charges of perjury over allegations she lied in a deposition in a separate civil suit, but these will be tried separately.
She was arrested in July 2020 – and has been held in prison ever since as she was deemed a flight risk.
This article originally appeared in The US Sun and is republished here with permission
Originally published as Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers promise ‘surprising revelations’ to clear her name
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