[imagesource: Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images]
After losing a months-long battle to keep her 2016 deposition in a now-settled defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre under wraps, Ghislaine Maxwell’s account of life with Jeffrey Epstein has been made public.
This week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to release the documents, and the 465-page deposition has been picked through by a number of media outlets.
We will start with The Cut, which says the deposition is more notable for what it conceals:
It is hundreds of pages of Maxwell’s evasions, non-recollections, and denials. She denies having helped Epstein recruit young girls for sex and ducks dozens of other questions.
“I can’t think of anything I’ve done that is illegal,” she testified, and pressed on specific allegations by Giuffre, fumes and rages. “I totally resent and find it disgusting that you use the word ‘recruit,’” she testified in her deposition…
She describes meeting Epstein back in 1991 (many believe that they met much earlier than that), and says that “there were times when I would have liked to think of myself as his girlfriend”.
Some of the sidestepping antics are worth a mention:
Asked to outline what she claims are lies by Giuffre, Maxwell seized on her contention that Maxwell had taken her shopping, and pointed to a photo of her: “I would never,” she sputtered. “The outfit doesn’t work at all.”
…Questioned about sex toys…Maxwell requires a definition of sex toys. (“I don’t recollect anything that would formally be a dildo,” is her eventual reply.)
Asked about a puppet resembling a redacted person [British royalty] , Maxwell philosophizes on what is or isn’t a puppet. (She ends up describing it as a “caricature,” then acknowledges having seen it.)
You can get an idea of what that puppet looks like here.
Ultimately, Maxwell dodges and evades throwing Epstein under the bus. When asked why she continued to keep in contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction, she says she’s “a very loyal person”, and felt it “was thoughtful in somebody’s hour of need”.
Maxwell did admit that she was responsible for scouting masseuses to give Epstein rubdowns, but added that she was also responsible for hiring “architects, decorators, pool people, exercise instructors, gardeners, cooks, chefs, [and] cleaning people”.
She was also very critical of Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s account, saying she is “just an awful fantasist”.
In response, attorney David Boies, representing Roberts Giuffre, told CNN:
“The public should know today’s unsealing is only a small part of the total evidence. As the evidence comes out, it will be clear why Ms. Maxwell and others who enabled Jeffrey Epstein are fighting so hard to keep it concealed. As our client Virginia Giuffre bravely asserts, they did not act alone.”
More sleepless nights for the likes of Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and a slew of other high-profile figures, you would think.
Let’s get all the details out on the open, and start seeing heads roll.
