[c/o Inner City Press]
[Extra details in comments c/o Adam Klasfeld]
Previous Updates
-
29 Nov https://greatawakening.win/p/140c066vhu/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates/ https://archive.ph/UJvbk
-
30 Nov https://greatawakening.win/p/140c4iFhTt/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-n/ https://archive.ph/CP0IO
-
1 Dec https://greatawakening.win/p/140c4mlM5Q/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/kvjoj
-
2 Dec https://greatawakening.win/p/140c9NlRh7/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/5iA5T
-
3 Dec https://greatawakening.win/p/140c9UZGeQ/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/oaWCx
-
Dec 6 https://greatawakening.win/p/140cEEenfZ/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/c9JTx
-
Dec 7 https://greatawakening.win/p/140cIpe4Sk/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/GVLLE
-
Dec 8 https://greatawakening.win/p/140cNSufvZ/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/7bpQm
-
Dec 9 https://greatawakening.win/p/140cNWKPqr/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/9eoge
An hour before it starts, SDNY says US v. Ghislaine Maxwell testimony starts today at 9 am [1400GMT] (and not the regular 9:30 am [1430GMT])
1440GMT
Jury finally seated, jurors being directed to binder of sealed non-public exhibits.
Assistant US Attorney Rohrbach: The government calls William Brown of the NYS Dept of Motor Vehicles.
AUSA: Are you aware how people receive ID cards?
Brown: Yes.
AUSA: Please pick up the folder next to you, [sealed] government exhibit.
Judge Nathan: I will admit these exhibits under seal.
AUSA: Look at Defense Exhibit LD3A, it's in the front of the binder. How old in 1996 was this person, born in 1985?
Brown: 11 years old.
No cross examination. Next witness.
AUSA: The government calls Annie Farmer.
Clerk: Spell your name.
A: ANNIE FARMER.
Judge Nathan: I instruct you that the physical conduct you will hear about in New Mexico was not "illegal sexual activity." But it may be relevant, but not of propensity.
AUSA Pomerantz: Please take out sealed exhibit 13.
AUSA: In what state were your born?
Annie Farmer: Missouri.
AUSA: Where did you get your PhD?
Annie Farmer: University of Texas at Austin.
AUSA: How old were you when Maxwell gave you a massage?
Annie Farmer: I was 16.
AUSA: What were your family's finances?
Annie Farmer: My parents were divorced. I was worried how college would be paid for.
AUSA: Do you have an older sister?
Annie Farmer: Maria. She's 9 years older. She was living in NYC. She was working with Jeffrey Epstein.
AUSA: How did you travel to NYC?
Annie Farmer: Jeffrey Epstein paid. I was excited to see my father. Jeffrey Epstein had said -
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection! Hearsay!
Judge Nathan: Sustained.
AUSA: What did your sister say to you about the trip to NY?
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection - hearsay.
AUSA: Effect on the listener.
Judge Nathan: Is this was we discussed? I'll let it in, within a scope. And I'll tell the juror this is not offered for the truth.
1500GMT
AUSA: Who did you thank for your ticket?
Annie Farmer: Epstein --
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection! Hearsay!
AUSA: I'll move on. Did you meet Jeffrey Epstein?
Annie Farmer: Yes. Twice during this trip.
AUSA: Show the witness, the parties and the court Gov Exhibit 101.
AUSA: What is this?
Annie Farmer: My high school yearbook photo. [Photo shown on screen - should be made available later]
Annie Farmer: Epstein's home was very grand.
AUSA: What did Epstein ask you about?
Annie Farmer: My plans. He suggested UCLA and said he had connections.
Annie Farmer: He suggested I go on an international trip to boost my application.
Annie Farmer: We went to see the movie "Five Monkeys." [12?]
AUSA: Where did Epstein sit?
Annie Farmer: Between us. Then he rubbed my leg.
AUSA: What was your reaction?
Annie Farmer: I was very surprised. I felt sick to my stomach.
Annie Farmer: When Maria would look over, he would stop. Then begin again.
AUSA: Did you tell your sister?
Annie Farmer: No. I was confused. I knew she was protective, I knew she would be upset, she might lose her job. So I decided not to say anything.
AUSA: Did you write in your journal?
Annie Farmer: I did.
AUSA: Please describe your journaling.
Annie Farmer: I was not a consistent journaler but I would sometimes write down what was happening in my life.
[Journal entry shown on screen]. Annie Farmer reads from it including about going to see Phantom of the Opera, champagne with Epstein. Then, a later entry: “We went to the movies with Jeffrey Epstein. I was weirded out, he let go of my hand when he was talking to Maria”
AUSA: How did you feel about Epstein as you wrote this?
Annie Farmer: I was conflicted. I knew it was not normal or right. But I was trying to make it seem OK.
Annie Farmer journal continued: I am thinking of doing something in Africa. It would be incredible.
1520GMT
AUSA: Where did you next see Jeffrey Epstein?
Annie Farmer: New Mexico.
AUSA: Who did you think you'd be seeing there?
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection - [lack of] foundation.
Judge Nathan: Sustained.
AUSA: When you landed in New Mexico what happened next?
Annie Farmer: There was a man with a sign with my name on it. He drove us to the ranch. There, I met Ghislaine Maxwell. She was slim and attractive, in her 30s. She was an adult.
AUSA: What did she sound like?
Annie Farmer: She had a British accent... I had been told that Maxwell would be there in New Mexico and it made me more comfortable, after what happened in New York.
AUSA: Who told you Maxwell would be there?
Annie Farmer: My mother.
AUSA: What did you and Maxwell talk about?
Annie Farmer: My life, my school, British authors.
AUSA: Did you leave the ranch?
Annie Farmer: Yes, a nature food store. Maxwell bought me henna. A western wear store, cowboy boots purchased for me.
AUSA: What did you think of the boots?
Annie Farmer: They cost over $100 dollars. I was grateful, gracious. We went to the movies. I didn't want to go because of what happened in NY. But I thought it would be different with Maxwell there.
AUSA: For how much of the movie did he touch you?
Annie Farmer: Most of it. He didn't hide it. And afterward back at the ranch, Maxwell told me to rub his feet, that she'd show me how... Later Maxwell told me to get undressed and started rubbing my breasts.
Annie Farmer: I wanted to get off the table, I wanted out of there. The door was open and I had the sense Epstein could see. In the morning Epstein came into my room and said he wanted to cuddle. He climbed to bed with me. I didn't like it.
AUSA: Did you tell him?
Annie Farmer: No. There was no one else around.
AUSA: What happened?
Annie Farmer: I went into the bathroom and shut the door. I waited.
AUSA: Where did you go in 1996?
Annie Farmer: Thailand and Vietnam, cultural immersion.
[Photo shown on screen of Annie Farmer and another with a small elephant with a wooden seat on it]
AUSA: Who paid for the trip?
Annie Farmer: Epstein.
AUSA: Any more contact with Maxwell and Epstein?
Annie Farmer: No.
AUSA: Who did you first tell?
Annie Farmer: My mother, generally.
AUSA: What did you tell your mom?
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection!
1550GMT
Sidebar
[The lawyers go up to whisper with Judge Nathan. Maxwell remains alone at the defense table, today in an orange or pink sweater, rubbing her arms]
1556GMT
AUSA: Did you tell anyone else?
Annie Farmer; I had a boyfriend and I told him.
AUSA: Did you speak to the media?
Annie Farmer: Many times. First in 2002.
AUSA: Law enforcement?
Annie Farmer: 2006-07. To the FBI.
AUSA: Have you spoken with the media since?
Annie Farmer: Yes. Off the record in 2016 and on the record in 2019.
AUSA: Were you paid for the interviews?
Annie Farmer: No.
AUSA: Were you interviewed by law enforcement in NY?
Annie Farmer: Yes. In 2019. In the fall I sued Epstein and Maxwell.
AUSA: Did you participate in the Epstein victims compensation fund?
Annie Farmer: Yes. I was awarded $1.5 million. My lawyers were pro bono.
AUSA: Any financial stake in the outcome of this trial?
Annie Farmer: No.
AUSA: No further questions.
Judge Nathan: Cross examination.
Maxwell's lawyer Laura Menninger: Good morning. Your sister is the one who arranged your travel to NY?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: You told the FBI that flying alone was not abnormal for you, correct?
Annie Farmer: I usually had my younger sister with me, when I flew to visit my father.
Menninger: Here's the report.
Annie Farmer: I see it.
Menninger: Ghislaine Maxwell had no role in your travel to NY, right?
Annie Farmer: She did not.
Menninger: You believed that Mr. Epstein purchased your plane ticket?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: You also saw the Blue Man Group and went to a flea markets with your sister, correct?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: In NY, Ms Maxwell didn't take you to the Lion King, correct?
Annie Farmer: She did not.
1617GMT
Recess
1652GMT
Now Maxwell's lawyer Menninger continues digging into NY trip, the lack of Maxwell, other pages of Annie' journal. Expect Loftus on memory lost in defense's case.
Menninger: You wrote about a cross country skiing trip and going to see bands and a bar...Significantly, you really talked about your emotions after returning from NY, what a great time you had there.
Menninger: So in your journal, you said what Epstein did in the movie theater was not weird, correct?
Annie Farmer: I was struggling.
Menninger: So you are only calling it weird in hindsight. You are viewing what happened in NY in light of what happened in NM?
Menninger: Let's go to Exhibit 604, the last journal entry you gave to the government for this case?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: And you never gave the government the full journal, right?
Annie Farmer: Right.
Menninger: You researched when Primal Fear came out then fit your memory to it?
Annie Farmer: I wouldn't say it that way.
Menninger: You communicated with a journalist and told him you'd research the release date of Primal Fear, right?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
1728GMT
Judge Nathan: We're going to break for lunch.
Jurors leave.
Judge Nathan: Any issues?
No.
Recess
1820GMT
As we return to the courtroom, Maxwell is chatting with her lawyer, smiling, then sitting with her chin in her hands. Still no Judge Nathan.
Cross continues.
Maxwell's lawyer Menninger: On direct you didn't mention it, but there was a cook on the ranch as well, right?
Annie Farmer: I have no memory of that.
Menninger: And you didn't see the big glorious Zorro ranch at that time, right?
Annie Farmer: No.
Menninger: You mentioned the boots. But on the trip you spent a significant amount of time horseback riding.
Annie Farmer: Is that a question?
Menninger: You told the FBI that in 2006, right?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: Are these the boots?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: I move for admission of the boots.
Menninger: So you decided to wear the boots, even when you knew they were evidence. You wore them frequently?
Annie Farmer: I didn't wear them to work. I wore them when I was two-stepping.
Menninger: So you wore the boots Jeffrey Epstein gave you when you danced
Menninger: So in the movie theater there was no touching of your genitalia or private parts, was there?
Annie Farmer: No.
Menninger: And you said you were naked for the full body massage. But you only told the journalist you had no bra on-
AUSA: Objection!
[Continued in comments]
[Extra details c/o Adam Klasfeld]
After a false start yesterday, we are expected again to hear from the only accusing witness against Ghislaine Maxwell testifying under her real name: Annie Farmer.
Pre-trial discussions today have not yet addressed the attorney's illness yesterday.
"All rise." The jury is entering.
Mow Judge Nathan reports the update to the jury on yesterday's attorney illness. "I'm very pleased to report that all of the attorneys are here. Everyone is doing well."
The prosecution reads a stipulation into the record attesting to the authenticity of certain exhibits. First witness of the day: William Brown, who works at the DMV's division of field investigations.
Next witness:
AUSA: "The government calls Annie Farmer."
Judge Nathan: "Annie Farmer may come forward."
The witness states and spells her name.
The judge gives a limiting instruction to the jury, saying that her allegations about "physical contact" between Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein in New Mexico were not illegal. She was 16 at the time there.
Prosecutor: “Can you see anyone in this courtroom who has ever given you a massage?”
Farmer identifies Maxwell in the courtroom. Asked about her career, Farmer replies. Describing her family's financial situation growing up, she says: "Money was tight. It had often been a stressor since my parents were divorced." She describes her siblings, including Maria Farmer.
Annie Farmer says Jeffrey Epstein purchased a ticket for her to go to New York. She says that she was excited to see her sister, and as she moves onto Epstein, defense makes a hearsay objection. Sustained.
Annie Farmer says she met Epstein in New York but not Maxwell. The government introduces a photograph of herself from around the time she met Jeffrey Epstein. She says she was 16 years old in the photograph.
Q: Where did you meet Epstein?
A: At his home.
"It was a very grand home. I was staying with my sister in her apartment."
Asked how she felt meeting Epstein, Annie Farmer replied: “I was excited. He was again very friendly with me. He seemed down to earth[…] He seemed very nice when I met him.” She says she was excited that Epstein said he could help her.
She says Epstein took her to "Phantom of the Opera" and then a movie, where she sat next to Epstein. He first "caressed" her hand and then her leg.
Annie Farmer: “I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn’t something that I was at all expecting.”
Annie Farmer reads from her diary: "The best night was when Maria and I saw 'The Phantom of the Night.'" Her review at the timing: "I bawled. It was fantastic."
She reads from another entry from the journal on Jan. 25, 1996. “A couple of quick details about New York that I didn't mention earlier."
The journal entry goes into what happened at the movie theater. "It was a little weird. One of those things that was hard to explain."
At one point, she wrote: "Then he sort of caressed, rubbed my arm, shoe and foot."
The journal entry stated that it "weirded me out" that Epstein let go of her hand when he spoke to her sister, Maria. But she wrote about not wanting to bring it up: "She worships him [Epstein] and it would just create problems."
She wrote that she knew it sounded like she was "trying to justify him doing something weird, but it isn't."
Reflecting on what she wrote now, Annie Farmer said: "I was trying to come up with excuses or justification to make it try to feel okay."
Annie Farmer's testimony turns to New Mexico. Asked how she got to New Mexico, Annie Farmer says: "I flew commercially."
She says it was in the spring of 1996. "I believe it was April," she said.
Annie Farmer describes her first meeting with Maxwell:
"She was a trim, attractive woman. Well dressed." Dark hair.
Q: What did Ms. Maxwell sound like?
A: She had a British accent.
She was also "well spoken" and "articulate," Farmer said.
Annie Farmer said the presence of Maxwell made her feel comfortable, given what happened in the movie theater.
Annie Farmer's impression of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein:
"I thought that they were romantic partners." She says that they appeared "intimate" with each other.
She describes being bought cowboy boots on the ranch.
Q: Who bought the boots for you?
She answers Epstein.
Q: Who was present with you when the boots were being purchased?
She answers Maxwell.
Annie Farmer says that she went to the movies with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She says she didn't want to go because of her last experience at the movies but she says she thought it would be different this time because Maxwell was there.
They saw the movie "Primal Fear," she says.
"He right away tried to hold my hand and caress and hold my foot and my arm," Annie Farmer says, referring to Epstein.
Annie Farmer says Ghislaine Maxwell "sat and held one of [Epstein's] feet" and instructed her to massage the other.
"I just watched what she was doing and she instructed me."
"And so I did what she told me."
"I felt very uncomfortable," Annie Farmer says of the massage. "I wanted to stop, and I was hoping it’d be over quickly."
Q: Did Maxwell give you a massage?
A: Yes, she did.
Annie Farmer says she set up a table in the room where she was staying.
Q: What were you wearing during the massage?
A: Nothing.
Asked why, she responds: "She told me to get undressed." Asked to clarify who, Farmer says Maxwell.
Q: What happened once you were laying on your back?
Annie Farmer says Maxwell "pulled the sheet down," "exposed her breasts," and touched her breasts. Annie Farmer recalled having a "sense" that Epstein might be able to see her during the massage.
She recalled Epstein coming into the room and saying that he wanted to cuddle.
Q: Did you want to cuddle with Epstein?
A: No.
Annie Farmer describes moving home to Phoenix. Asked if she wrote in her journal about her trip to New Mexico, Annie Farmer says no. She says she didn't want to think about it.
Asked why she kept the boots, Annie Farmer says at first she shoved them in the back of her closet. Agents then asked if she had them, she says yes. Then, she says she found them and she wore the boots.
Asked what she told her mother after the trip, Annie Farmer said: "I told my mom I was not raped and I didn't want to talk about it." Late summer of 1996.
Q: Did you tell the FBI that Maxwell had given you a massage?
A: Yes.
Asked why Annie Farmer said she wanted to "reclaim" the boots by wearing them again, she says: "It was a dark memory and I had felt so taken advantage of by them both."
Annie Farmer said she struggled to step forward because it was a "shameful" memory but she found that she wanted "accountability" and "these people being stopped."
Asked if she has any financial stake in the outcome of this trial, the witness replies: "I do not."
Cross examination will begin.
Recess
Maxwell's attorney Laura Menninger establishes that there was no sexual activity in Epstein's New York home alleged.
Q: No one showed you any vibrators, massagers or anything like that in that home?
A: No.
Also, Maxwell wasn't present. (Note: The allegations are about the New York movie theater and the New Mexico ranch and movie theater.)
Menninger questions Annie Farmer about her journal entries:
Q: You called the "Phantom of the Opera" the best night of your trip?
A: Yes.
Menninger asks whether the journal entries helped her remember details and emotions that she may have otherwise forgotten. Annie Farmer generally agrees.
Menninger points out that Farmer's journal entry described Epstein's actions in the New York movie theater as "weird" and also "not weird." Asked how she feels about it now, she says: "I still find it weird."
Q: Your memories today are colored by hindsight, right?
A: Of course.
Q: Without a journal entry from the New Mexico trip, we can't confirm who invited you there with a piece of paper?
A: With a piece of paper, no.
Menninger says that without a journal there's no piece of paper confirming what happened in New Mexico and how she felt about it. Farmer agrees, as qualifying it with a "piece of paper" confirmation.
Menninger says that Farmer recalled the date of the trip by researching when the film "Primal Fear" came out and working backwards.
Farmer: "I don't think I would say it that way."
Recess
[Service advisory: I will be in court for the afternoon session and so will not be tweeting then. But I will continue to cover the case, as will dozens of reporters from around the world. Back soon.]
Out of court after proceedings adjourn. The government rests.
The defense’s motion for a judgment of acquittal on all counts is DENIED.
Defense case begins next week on Thursday.
Court is in recess Monday through Wednesday
Thank you for posting
[Continued Part 2]
Menninger: You said in 2019 you were unsure if you had your underwear on.
Judge Nathan: Objection overruled. I'll allow the question.
Menninger: You do not recall Jeffrey Epstein pushing an erect penis into your back, do you?
Annie Farmer: I do not recall that.
Menninger: Look at this.
Menninger: You told your mother that you were not raped or sexually abused, right?
Annie Farmer: I said I was not raped.
Menninger: So you told the Epstein Victims Compensation Fund that the hand-handing in movie theaters was sexual abuse?
Annie Farmer: I told them in detail what happened.
Menninger: But you checked the box, New York. So you think hand holding is sexual abuse
Menninger: You are represented by the Boies Schiller firm, correct?
Annie Farmer: Yes.
Menninger: Do you know how much that firm has made in connection with representing Epstein accusers?
Judge Nathan: Objection.
Menninger - and you --
Judge Nathan: Stop!
Menninger: You are on a WhatsApp group of Epstein victims, right?
Annie Farmer: Right.
Menninger: And you have emailed with Virginia Roberts, right?
Annie Farmer: I have.
Re-direct.
AUSA Pomerantz: Do you recall being asked of your FBI statements in 2006?
Annie Farmer: I do.
AUSA: Read the rest of the sentence.
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection!
Judge Nathan: Overruled.
Annie Farmer: They canceled Maria trip to NM at the last minute.
AUSA Pomerantz: You mentioned the film Primal Fear-
Annie Farmer: The movie depicts sexual misconduct
[wiki: Primal Fear is a 1996 American legal thriller film [about] a Chicago attorney who believes that his client is not guilty of murdering a Catholic archbishop]
AUSA Pomerantz: Did you need a piece of paper to remember Maxwell touching your breasts?
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection!
Annie Farmer: I do not. It was distressing. Those are things that we remember.
Annie Farmer: I believe they were trying to confuse me as to the boundaries, as to what was right and wrong, in order to sexually abuse me.
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection!
Judge Nathan: Overruled.
AUSA: No further questions.
Judge Nathan: Next witness.
2013GMT
And now before the next witness, Judge Nathan calls a break, urging counsel to confer.
The next witness is David Mulligan, now a baker, Annie Farmer's boyfriend in high school.
AUSA: Did Annie tell you how how the trip to Thailand was paid for?
Mulligan: Yes. Jeffrey Epstein.
AUSA: What did Annie tell you about being in New York?
Mulligan: That Epstein touched her leg in the theater and that she didn't want to say anything because Epstein was helping her sister Maria's artistic career.
AUSA: Did Annie tell you Maxwell touched her on the breasts during the massage?
Mulligan: Yes.
AUSA: Did Annie tell you what she didn't speak up?
Mulligan: She was afraid of jeopardizing her sister Maria's opportunities with Epstein.
Now cross examination by Maxwell's Bobbi Sternheim.
Sternheim: You've seen things in the media about this?
Mulligan: I'm not much of a news watcher.
Sternheim: You know she made $1.5 million?
Mulligan: I do not.
Sternheim: Annie Farmer attended your recent wedding, correct?
Mulligan: Yes.
Sternheim: No further questions.
Redirect.
AUSA: Why do you remember what Annie Farmer told you about New Mexico?
Mulligan: These were big moments, that we discussed while being physically affectionate with each other.
AUSA: No further questions.
2055GMT
Judge Nathan: Next witness.
Next witness is the mother of Annie Farmer, Janice Swain.
AUSA: How old are you:
Swain: 71.
AUSA: When did you speak with Jeffrey Epstein?
Swain: When he wanted to take Maria on his plane to Florida on a work trip.
Swain: Then Epstein told me about a meeting of students at his ranch in New Mexico, to talk about college plans. I asked who would be chaperoning? He said his wife Ghislaine would be.
Swain: Annie returned with a pair of black boots. She said Jeffrey Epstein bought them for her. She seemed very tired. Later I asked what happened in New Mexico.
AUSA: What did she say?
Annie Farmer: That she didn't want to talk about it.
AUSA: No further questions
Maxwell's lawyer Menninger: You don't know if Maxwell was aware whether Maria would travel to New Mexico, do you? And when Annie was in Thailand you were in Germany, correct?
Swain: Yes.
Menninger: No further questions.
AUSA: The government rests.
2115GMT
Jury exits
Maxwell's laywer Everdell: Defense moves for acquittal.
Judge Nathan: As to all counts?
Everdell: Yes. Counts depend on the testimony of Jane. There is no evidence that anyone persuaded or induced Jane to come to NY.
Everdell: There is flying BACK to Palm Beach - that is not enticing to New York. Accompanying is not encouraging. All Ghislaine did was paperwork.
AUSA Rohrbach: The court should deny the motion. Jane was not in NY by accident. There was no non-sexualized reason. Jane said the defendant talked about sex with her - the enticement statute applies.
Judge Nathan: Motions are denied. What do we need to discuss before Thursday?
Team Maxwell: We want our witnesses anonymous too.
Judge Nathan: It should have been raised earlier. The earliest decision I can give you is Wednesday evening. And charging conference on Saturday, Dec 18. Judge Nathan: So defense case 16th and 17th --
Maxwell's lawyer: Into the 20th.
Judge Nathan: So closing arguments on the 21st.
Maxwell's lawyer Sternheim: We don't want the jury to rush to decide before Christmas holiday.
Judge Nathan: We'll see where we are.
Sternheim: US has already said there will be a rebuttal case. We don't want the jury to rush.
AUSA: It'd only be a rebuttal expert. We'll be ready to close day after evidence.
2152GMT
Court Adjourned
I had a hard time catching it