[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
-
Dec 10 https://greatawakening.win/p/140cNbyjpQ/ghislaine-maxwell-case-updates-d/ https://archive.md/vtJad
1401GMT
Judge Alison Nathan, who yesterday in DC forwarded her nomination to 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, takes the bench & just begins ruling on the filings that built up over the 3 day hiatus (request for call in line amid Omicron and all flight logs still UNacted on)
Judge Nathan: About Doctor Loftus' testimony. The US seeks to exclude 2 aspects, her testimony on leading questions and therapists' techniques. I have ruled that these are generally admissible. I deny the government's motion to preclude.
Maxwell's lawyer Bobbi Sternheim: I didn't think there was a need to make this part of the public record.
[Talk, which we'll also anonymize, is about positive COVID test. But question: has the 3 day hiatus made a COVID impact on this trial more or less likely?]
Judge Nathan: I let a juror deliberate remotely...
Team Maxwell: Our first witness, Ms. Espinosa, has given us some photos of the soap opera of "Jane" [Maxwell doxing alert]
Maxwell's lawyer: In October 1996, where were you living?
Witness: I started out on the Upper East Side.
Maxwell's lawyer: I was hired as a lawyer for Jeffrey Epstein's company.
Maxwell's lawyer: Would you recognize Ms. Maxwell today?
Ms. Espinosa: She's over there, in what appears to be a PURPLE sweater. [Identification made] Maxwell's lawyer: Where else did you work?
Ms. Espinosa: Sometimes at Ghislaine's residence.
Ms. Espinosa: Did did have other personal assistants come through, like Sarah Kellen and Emmy Tayler.
Maxwell's lawyer: When did you see Sarah Kellen?
Ms. Espinosa: More toward the end.
Maxwell's lawyer: Can you describe the layout of the office on Madison Avenue?
Espinosa: You get off the elevator and there are the restrooms. Jeffrey's office was in the corner. I sat to the left of his assistant. My office was Ghislaine's office. We shared it.
Maxwell's lawyer: Did you sign a non disclosure agreement?
Espinosa: Yes.
Espinosa: Ghislaine ran the properties for Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell's lawyer: Where did she fall in importance?
Espinosa: She was obviously very important to me. And to Jeffrey, given his personal residences.
1521GMT
Espinosa: Jeffrey acquired a Paris apartment, and then an island. It was called Little St. James but got renamed, Little Saint Jeff's.
Maxwell's lawyer: Did you assist?
Espinosa: There was construction. I furnished the house, in a resort style.
Espinosa: We shipped in sand --
Maxwell's lawyer: You shipped in sand to a tropical island?
Espinosa: He wanted more sand on the beach. And palm trees. We even had a fire truck and fire men on the island.
Espinosa: Before Jeffrey would visit one of the residences, we would fly in the bread he liked. I think we did butter, too.
Maxwell's lawyer: What about Emmy Tayler?
Espinosa: She would take care of the dog, and carry Ghislaine's handbag.
Maxwell's lawyer: Did Ghislaine ever live with Jeffrey Epstein?
Espinosa: No.
Maxwell's lawyer: What about 44 Kinnerton Street in London?
Espinosa: Yes, I've been there. 3 years ago.
Maxwell's lawyer: Do you know who owned it?
Espinosa: No.
Maxwell's lawyer: Did Jeffrey Epstein receive female visitors in his office?
Espinosa: Yes.
Maxwell's lawyer: Look at this document & the person called "Jane." Do you recall seeing her in the office?
Espinosa: Yes
Maxwell's lawyer: How old did she seem?
Espinosa: 18
Maxwell's lawyer: Do you know if Jane traveled in Mr. Epstein's planes?
Espinosa: I don't know. She moved to California to be on a soap opera. It's my favorite soap opera. I have headshots she sent me. [doxing alert]
Maxwell's lawyer: We want to introduce these headshots into the records under seal, at least temporarily. I have copies for the jurors. Can you read the envelope?
Espinosa: It's from Jane to Cimberly [she pronounces her name Kimberly] It's headshots of the cast
Espinosa: Ghislaine and Epstein at that time were behaving like a couple. All flirty. It seemed like Ghislaine moved on. I know she started dating --
Assistant US Attorney: Objection! Lack of foundation.
Judge Nathan: Sustained.
1612GMT
Maxwell's lawyer: Who came to visit Jeffrey Epstein at the office?
Espinosa: Gwendolyn Beck.... Shelly Lewis... She was British.
Maxwell's lawyer: Moving on, when Ghislaine went to Florida, was it only Palm Beach?
Espinosa: Miami too. She had a friend there.
Maxwell's lawyer: Do you know who Ted Waitt is?
Espinosa: I learned. [Gateway co-founder]
Judge Nathan: We'll stop here for the mid-morning break.
Recess
1641GMT
Everdell: Do you know if Ms. Maxwell got married?
Espinosa starts to answer but AUSA objects.
Judge Nathan: Sustained.
Everdell: OK, when did you have a video conference with the government about this case?
Espinosa: November 2020.
Everdell: Why did you leave?
Espinosa: After 9/11 I wanted to return to California. I feel like Ghislaine was a good resource for my own career, what I learned, how to handle multiple projects at one time. It helped me get to where I am today.
Everdell: did you ever seen Jeffrey Epstein involved with young girls?
Espinosa: No.
Everdell: No further questions.
Judge Nathan: Cross.
AUSA: You never went to Palm Beach, right?
Espinosa: No.
AUSA: No further questions.
Next witness: Raghu Sud.
Everdell: Where do you live?
Sud: East Windsor, NJ. I work at Shopper's Travel since 1988. I am Vice President.
Everdell: Was Epstein a customer?
Sud: Yes.
Everdell: Can you authenticate these travel records? Yes.
AUSA: These records in RS-1, they are to 2006? Yes.
Everdell: No re-direct.
Next witness: Elizabeth Loftus, who testified for Harvey Weinstein. First, her credentials. This could take a while.
Loftus: I have a big CV. I have been consulted by DOJ, the CIA...
Maxwells' lawyer: Are there experiments on emotion and its impact on memory?
Loftus: I published one in 2008. We implanted entire flash events and measured responses.
Loftus: I've testified in 300 trials. I've only consulted with the prosecution 5 times, and testified only one for the prosecution. My research into false memory doesn't fit into their agenda.
1730GMT
Loftus is accepted as an expert witness in this case.
Loftus: Your Honor, can I used the equipment to show the jurors the three stages?
AUSA Pomerantz: No objection.
Loftus: The media is a source of post-event false memories, contamination.
Loftus (bragging) - And when I was consulting for Secret Service... [Wag Q: And when was that?]
Loftus has drawn a barbell, labeled "Acquisition - Retention - Retrieval." Now she says people might remember something as a dumbbell if it's labeled so
Update: Now Loftus has drawn a box under the bar of the barbell and has written in it the word "Time."
Judge Nathan: OK, we're going to take the lunch break. Jurors, enjoy your lunch.
Jury exits
1804GMT
Judge Nathan: I'll look at your submissions while I have my lunch.
Judge Nathan: We'll try to come to resolution before the jury comes back. Mr. Hamilton, you're going to confer on that, how to make it happen.
Maxwell's lawyer: If he's up to it
Recess
1910GMT
Maxwell's lawyer want to put in "prior inconsistent statement" of survivor witness Carolyn, after they finish the paid memory decay expert Loftus.
Judge Nathan: What else?
Maxwell's lawyer: The US' rebuttal expert, I'm prepared to file something if they actually call the expert.
Judge Nathan: Hamilton?
Everdell: We reached him, he can do WebEx tomorrow.
Sternheim: Because of his condition, we haven't spoken.
Jury enters Maxwell's lawyer: Dr Loftus, are you aware of image enhancing memory distortion?
Loftus: It makes people feel better about themselves.
Maxwell's lawyer: I asked you about C.V. So I move into evidence your C.V.
AUSA: Objection.
Judge Nathan: I am allowing in Dr Loftus' C.V.
Maxwell's lawyer: What are you charging?
Loftus: $600 an hour.
Maxwell's lawyer: Media distortion includes dramatic portrayals, right?
Loftus: Oh, yes.
Cross examination.
AUSA Pomerantz: Let's talk about consulting. You've done it with defense attorneys 100s of times, right?
Loftus: Probably.
AUSA: You've only consulted with the prosecutors five times, right?
Loftus: Right.
AUSA: In your book "Witness for the Defense," you wrote that you should be an advocate
Loftus: That leaves out the context --
AUSA: You don't sit in courtroom - you weren't present for testimony on this case, right?
Loftus: I was not present in the courtroom.
AUSA: You're charging the defendant $600 an hour right now, right?
Loftus: Yes.
AUSA: You were paid for high profile defendants, right? Millions of dollars?
Loftus: I don't know how much.
AUSA: In 1975 you didn't charge $600 a hour, right?
Loftus: I did it free.
AUSA: You market yourself by testifying, right?
Loftus: I don't market myself at all.
AUSA: You give lists of your cases to defense attorneys, right?
Loftus: When asked.
AUSA: You testified for Harvey Weinstein, right?
Judge Nathan: Just a moment.
[When they resume, there's no more mention of Harvey Weinstein. At least not yet.]
AUSA: When you testify for high profile defendants, it brings you more business, right?
Loftus: Maybe.
AUSA: You showed fake photos of Bugs Bunny at Disney, right?
Loftus: Yes.
AUSA: Bugs Bunny is Warner Brothers, but 16% misremembered, right?
Maxwell's lawyer: I object.
Judge Nathan: You can come up.
Sidebar
2005GMT
Lawyers return from sidebar.
Loftus: Some falsely remembered touching Bugs Bunny's head and him saying "What's Up, doc?"
AUSA: There's a science museum experiment, right?
AUSA: And the lost in the mall study - 25% misremembered, right?
Loftus: Correct.
AUSA: I'm not going to ask you to describe a rectal enema, but it's a painful procedure, right?
Loftus: Yes.
AUSA: This memory could not easily be implanted
Re-direct.
Maxwell's lawyer: There are restrictions on what kind of studies you can do, right?
AUSA: Objection.
Judge Nathan: I'll allow it.
Loftus: We can't implant memories of sexual abuse.
Next witness: Michael William Aznaran.
Maxwell's lawyer: We need a sidebar.
Judge Nathan: Wait for the break.
Maxwell's lawyer: Where do you work?
Aznaran: Customs & Border Protection. We check incoming people.
Maxwell's lawyer: Look at this sealed Exhibit GX12. Call her Jane. Did you search for this?
Aznaran: I did.
Maxwell's lawyer: And Kate and Annie Farmer, did you search for them?
Aznaran: Yes, I did the searches.
Maxwell's lawyer: So now we need the sidebar.
Judge Nathan: We'll get the jurors their afternoon break.
Jury exits
Judge Nathan: Mr. Azaran, could you step out?
AUSA: These are 15 years of records, including outside the charges time frame.
[Continued in comments]
[Extra details c/o Adam Klasfeld]
Ghislaine Maxwell's defense calls its first witness: Cimberly Espinosa, who was previously reported to be Epstein's former executive assistant. She says she was hired by the J. Epstein Company.
Asked by the defense, she clarifies that was Jeffrey Epstein's company.
Q: How did you find the job with Jeffrey Epstein's company?
She says she answered a newspaper ad and interviewed with a job agency.
Espinosa: "I highly respected Ghislaine. I looked up to her very much."
Espinosa is describing the layout of the office where she worked and who worked there. Espinosa said that she had to sign an NDA when she started working there.
She says she understood it to mean "just not to repeat any of my work. My work was my work."
She said she's signed them before and didn't have any reaction to them.
Q: Did you ever book massages for Ms. Maxwell?
A: Yes.
Espinosa says these were professional massages.
Asked if she did the same for Epstein, she again answers yes. Questioning of Espinosa turns to her meeting "Jane."
Q: Do you remember or recall "Jane" in the office?
A: Yes.
Q: How old did she appear?
A: (Pause) Probably 18.
Espinosa says "Jane" went to the office a "few times," and she recalled "Jane's" mother calling the office.
Q: Do you know if Jane ever traveled on Mr. Epstein's planes?
A: I don't know.
The prosecution objects to a question about Espinosa's perception of "Jane" and Epstein's relationship.
Overruled, once the defense lays a foundation.
A: "I thought it was a loving relationship."
Espinosa said that she saw "Jane" on a soap opera, of which she was a fan. She says that "Jane" sent her signed headshots from the cast of the soap.
Maxwell's lawyer Christian Everdell hands her defense exhibits.
Q: What are they?
A: They are the headshots of three of the cast members and a group cast member shot.
Espinosa confirms the authenticity of the sealed exhibits.
Q: How do you recognize them?
A: They're mine.
Espinosa says the inscription read:
"Dearest Cimberly,
Thank you for always being so sweet and such a great help.
Take care, Jane"
Questioning turns to Epstein and Maxwell's relationship and interactions.
"I thought they were a couple," Espinosa says of the pair.
"Just their interaction together. They were a little flirty."
Asked if their relationship changed, Espinosa says Maxwell started dating other men.
"They would not show up at the office around the same time, leave together. Things like that."
The attorney asks Espinosa about Maxwell's relationship with Ted Waitt, the billionaire co-founder of Gateway.
Recess
We're back.
"All rise."
The jury is entering.
ICYMI: Ghislaine Maxwell's defense lost their request for certain witnesses to testify anonymously, just like some of the prosecution's did.
Questioning turns to Sarah Kellen, who was listed on the 2008 Epstein non-prosecution agreement as a "potential co-conspirator." (Kellen claims she was a victim.)
She's been a running theme of the defense case.
Espinosa left the job in 2002.
Q: Why did you decide to leave at that time?
A: After 9/11, I decided that it was time to get back to my roots.
That's California, she says.
Final direct examination questions:
Q: Did you ever see her engaged in any type of inappropriate activity with underaged girls?
A: Never.
Q: Did you ever see [Epstein] engaged in any type of inappropriate activity with underaged girls?
A: Never.
Asked if she ever saw anything that gave her the impression that anything like that was going on, Espinosa gave the same answer.
Short and sweet cross-examination by prosecutors, who ask whether she ever worked in any of Epstein's home, including his Palm Beach house.
She answers no.
Next witness: Raghu Sud, who works for Shopper's Travel.
He appears to be called to authenticate invoices.
Next defense witness: Elizabeth Loftus, a “false memory” expert relied upon by Harvey Weinstein, Robert Durst, O.J. Simpson and hundreds of other criminal defendants seeking to undermine the credibility of their accusers.
Loftus describes her CV. She says she received a lifetime award from the American Psychological Association, among the "dozens" of awards and honors she's received.
Loftus details what she describes as the so-called "misinformation effect."
Q: Approximately how many times have you testified in a court of law [...]?
A: I've testified in approximately 300 trials since June 3, 1975.
Loftus says she's been asked to consult with the prosecution only five or six times, only testifying once.
She says her expertise about false memory doesn't fit into the prosecution's "agenda."
Loftus: "One thing we know about memory is that it doesn't work like a recording device."
Loftus is diagramming memory for the jurors, starting with what she calls the "Acquisition" phase.
Phase 2: The Retention stage.
"After some time has passed, a person may be asked to remember the event or the events," she notes.
Phase 3: Retrieval Stage
Loftus: "The media is a source of post-event suggestion."
This is a running theme of the defense case, mentioned by Maxwell's attorney Bobbi Sternheim during opening statements.
Sternheim is questioning her now.
Loftus says she's not a practicing therapist, but she sometimes studies patients.
Loftus: "We are actually constructing our memories while we retrieve memories."
Q: Outside the laboratory, is there a way to prove that someone had an actual memory?
AUSA: Objection.
Judge: Sustained.
Sternheim asks Loftus about her research about the confidence in memory.
"People are a little more accurate when they're confident than when they're not confident."
But people can get "very confident" about "wrong answers" in cases of post-event suggestion, she testifies.
Sternheim asks about the concept of "rich false memories".
Recess
The witness returns to the stand.
"All rise."
The jury is entering.
Loftus's direct examination resumes with testimony about confidence in memory vs. accuracy.
Q: Are you familiar with the concept that confidence is malleable?
A: Yes.
Loftus:
"People can express a level of confidence and if they then get new information [...] it can artificially increase their confidence in what they are saying."
Sternheim asks Loftus about "prestige-enhancing memory distortion."
"We humans frequently remember ourselves in a better light than perhaps is accurate," she says.
Loftus testimony:
Q: You're being compensated for your time?
A: I am. I hope so.
She says she's charging $600/hour, and it doesn't depend upon the trial's outcome or the party for whom she's testifying.
Cross-examination begins:
Of those hundreds of times, you've consulted with the prosecution five or six times, right?
Yes.
The witness confirms she's testified in about 150 criminal trials, only one of which was for the prosecution.
The prosecutor notes she wrote a book titled "Witness for the Defense."
Q: You haven't written a book called "Impartial Witness," right?
(Objection)
Judge: Overruled.
A: I don't have a book by that title, no.
Q: It's fair to say that over the years that criminal defendants have paid you millions of dollars for your services.
Loftus says she doesn't know if it's millions.
AUSA notes that she's testified in high-profile cases.
Loftus agreed.
(Long pause as Judge Nathan assesses whether the question is permissible.)
After the hiatus, the AUSA moves onto a different question, and so it looks like the jury won't get an earful of some of the famous, high-profile defendants on whose behalf she's either testified or consulted.
Loftus cross-examination:
Q: You don't treat victims of traumatic events, right?
A: I don't officially treat anyone.
(She previously testified she's not a therapist.)
AUSA asks Loftus about a "Bugs Bunny" study, in which subjects mistakenly believed they saw Bugs Bunny at Disneyland.
Loftus says that the point of the study is Bugs Bunny is a Warner Bros character. The prosecutor gets Loftus to concede that those who experience trauma may forget "peripheral details" but "core memories" tend to be stronger.
Q: Have you conducted a study where you arranged for girls to be sexually abused?
A: No, absolutely not.
The prosecutor asks if she has ever conducted a study trying to implant false memories of childhood sexual abuse.
Loftus replies no.
Loftus's testimony wraps up after redirect from Sternheim seeking to counter the prosecution's implication that the witness is a "profiteer" raking in money from criminal defendants.
Current defense witness:
A CBP official asked to search for "Jane," "Kate," and Annie Farmer's border-crossing records.
Jurors are excused for afternoon recess as the attorneys discuss evidentiary issues in court.
The CBP witness is back on the stand, inspecting an exhibit.
The witness has been reciting border entry records for three of Maxwell's accusers, which appear to also have date of birth information.
It is unclear to what end the defense sought to enter this information, but they seem interested in establishing ages at particular times.
Often, the purpose of evidence like this entered into the record isn't apparent on first glance but could become significant during closing arguments.
The prosecution cross-examines the witness. Prosecutor asks the witness the difference between CBP records before and after 9/11.
Witness: "Prior to 9/11, there was a little bit of a difference between how the records were submitted to CBP systems, and the reliability of the airlines was not as good as it is now."
Next defense witness: Dominique Hyppolite, who performs subpoena responses for student records for the Palm Beach County School District.
Trial ended for the day.
The parties discuss tomorrow's proceedings when the jury leaves the room.
Asked what the defense case is looking like, Laura Menninger replies: "I think we will be done, your honor."
There may be a short witness Monday. The government is leaning against calling a rebuttal witness, but the prosecutor said she will answer the question by 8 p.m.
Closings likely will be on Monday. The extremely brisk timeline suggests that Maxwell isn't testifying in her defense, and reports have hinted to as much — but it was not explicitly confirmed in court.