Dershowitz
Bid to Disqualify Guiffre Firm For Having
Maxwell Documents Is Opposed
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Photo
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 30 – After the death of
Jeffrey Epstein in the MCC
prison, Virginia Giuffre,
Annie Farmer and others are
pursuing civil litigation for
sex trafficking against his
"madame" Ghislaine Maxwell and
his estate.
On
July 23 SDNY Judge Loretta
Preska read out ruling
unsealing many documents,
while Maxwell's lawyer asked
for a stay to appeal, citing
Maxwell's imprisonment and
July 2021 trial. Inner City
Press live tweeted it, below.
Now on
September 30, this: " I write
on behalf of Plaintiff
Virginia Giuffre in response
to Defendant Alan Dershowitz’s
letter of the same date
requesting a pre-motion
conference at which Mr.
Dershowitz will seek leave to
move to disqualify my firm as
counsel for Ms. Giuffre, Doc.
176 (“Letter”). Plaintiff
submits that Mr. Dershowitz’s
proposed motion is without
merit, and motion practice
would accordingly be a waste
of judicial and party
resources. This is not the
first time Mr. Dershowitz has
sought leave to move to
disqualify Cooper & Kirk
PLLC (“Cooper & Kirk”) on
the ground that Cooper &
Kirk possesses information
designated “confidential”
under the protective order
entered in Giuffre v. Maxwell,
dated March 18, 2016 (Doc. 62
in No. 15 civ. 7433)
(“Protective Order”). As we
previously explained to the
Court, we believed in good
faith that we were entitled to
possess the confidential
information under the terms of
the Protective Order, see
Docs. 148 & 149, a fact
that Mr. Dershowitz does not
dispute, see Doc. 150.
Although the Court initially
held that Cooper & Kirk
was not entitled to possess
that information and ordered
us to destroy it, Doc. 144,
after receiving Mr.
Dershowitz’s objection and our
explanation, the Court ordered
us to produce to Mr.
Dershowitz material from
Giuffre v. Maxwell that
mentions him, Doc. 174—an
order we are in the process of
carrying out. Nothing else has
changed since Mr. Dershowitz’s
last request."
On
September 9 Judge Presksa
granted in part and denied in
part Dershowitz' requests:
"Mr. Dershowitz has had
several bites at this
particular apple. Most
recently, Mr. Dershowitz
sought modification of the
Maxwell protective order (dkt.
no. 62 in 15 Civ. 7433) to
permit him blanket access to
all sealed materials and
discovery at issue in the
Maxwell litigation, a request
that the Court denied. (See
dkt. no. 144.) Core to the
Court’s conclusion were
several issues. First, Mr.
Dershowitz’s request was
staggeringly overbroad given
the relatively constrained
facts at issue in the
Dershowitz litigation. (Id. at
8.) Second, the proposed
modification of the protective
order would threaten to
undercut the carefully planned
unsealing process in Maxwell.
(Id. at 9.) Third, the Court
found that parties providing
documents and testimony in
Maxwell reasonably relied on
the Maxwell protective order,
whose promises of
confidentiality “functioned as
a powerful mechanism for
inducing parties to provide
discovery in a contentious
litigation.” (Id. at 11-12.)
Shortly after the Court’s
denial of Mr. Dershowitz’s
request, the Court, in an
effort to hasten the
resolution of this case,
ordered Mr. Dershowitz and Ms.
Giuffre to confer “with an eye
toward reaching a reasonable
accommodation concerning Mr.
Dershowitz’s requests for
various filings and discovery
materials from Giuffre v.
Maxwell.” ... while Mr.
Dershowitz has winnowed his
request for documents somewhat
since his earlier request for
modification, he still seeks
quite a broad universe of
sealed materials related to
the Maxwell litigation. As
discussed above, Mr.
Dershowitz seeks documents
that fall into 13 separate
categories, some of which are
extremely broad. For example,
Mr. Dershowitz seeks all
documents “concerning Alan
Dershowitz” and all documents
produced and testimony given
by dozens of witnesses. (See
dkt. no. 153, Ex. A.) Mr.
Dershowitz claims to have a
“compelling need” for these
materials because he wants to
prove that all of the various
instances of trafficking--by
Mr. Dershowitz and numerous
others-- alleged by Ms.
Giuffre are false and
therefore he never could have
been on notice that Ms.
Giuffre was a victim of sex
trafficking. (See dkt. no. 171
at 5.) The Court again reminds
Mr. Dershowitz that the
central factual issue in this
case is narrow, (see dkt. no.
152 at 1-2), and that
discovery should therefore be
proportionally narrow. While
Mr. Dershowitz will not be
forced to “litigate this
action with one arm tied
behind his back,” (dkt. no.
144 at 6 n.4), that does not
require that the Court allow
Mr. Dershowitz to use this
defamation action as a vehicle
for reconstructing everything
that Ms. Giuffre has ever said
about Jeffrey Epstein’s
alleged sex trafficking
operation. ... Mr.
Dershowitz’s request to modify
the Maxwell protective order
(dkt. no. 153) is granted in
part and denied in part. Ms.
Giuffre shall produce to Mr.
Dershowitz all sealed
materials and discovery that
mentions Mr. Dershowitz,
excluding material produced by
or material (or portions of
material) discussing a
specific nonparty Doe whose
privacy interests are the
subject of a separate sealed
order to be provided to Ms.
Giuffre."
On August 17
Judge Preska held a
conference, largely about
protective order and also
possible deposition of Les
Wexner. Inner City Press live
tweeted it:
Judge Preska: I
am well familiar with the
Maxwell case. Isn't the issue
you raise solved by seeking
leave in advance? Given the
problems we've had in Maxwell,
let's avoid extraneous
documents attached to motions.
Judge Preska: Is
there any reason what is
produced in this action should
have to be produced in the
state action?
Christian Kiely
for Dershowitz: We had agreed
to only take one deposition,
not two, for each. But they
made up file a motion to
compel. So, no.
Imran
Ansari (also for Dershowitz) -
we have a New York State
proceeding tomorrow... We
oppose a carte blanche
approach that is unfair to
Professor Dershowitz.
Judge Preska:
What if I consult with the NYS
Justice? Any objection?
No. No.
Judge Preska: Do you have his
number?
Ansari: I'll
email it to your chambers.
Judge Preska: On Mr. Wexner, I
propose that we wait.
A: There is close
to zero % change Mr. Wexner is
going to voluntarily agree to
be deposed.
A:
Professor Dershowitz is
entitled to depose Wexner to
memorialize the denial that
has been put in in a letter an
hour ago. [Inner City Press
tweeted a photographfrom that
letter, here.]
Judge Preska: I
must get to the issue. What
else do you want to talk
about, Counsel?
Nothing from the
defendant.
Judge Preska: I
will look for a protective
order tomorrow. Get on it.
Thanks for being on.
From July:
"Deposition of Virginia
Giuffre taken in the [STILL
REDACTED] matter on January
16, 2016, and designated by
Plaintiff as Confidential
under the Protective Order...
correspondence with Churcher
re: Edwards Privilege
communication." ..."Epstein
required Jane Doe #3 to have
sexual relations with [STILL
REDACTED] on numerous
occasions while she was a
minor... [STILL REDACTED]
would later play a significant
role in negotiating the NPA on
Epstein's behalf." [NPA =
Non-Prosecution
Agreement] With Sharon
Churcher of Mail on Sunday:
"Take the o out of favour!
Gives me away!!" And, "Whoever
published that article took
the phrase about Andrew
straight out of my captions.
Not cool!!"
"Maxwell had
direct connections to other
powerful individuals with whom
she could connect Epstein...
Prince Andrew. Jane Doe #3 was
forced to have sexual
relations with this Prince
when she was a minor"
Ghislaine Maxwell told you to
go give a massage to [STILL
REDACTED], correct?" A:
Correct.
"I was working at
Donald Trump's spa in
Mar-a-Lago and I was prompted
by Ghislaine to come to
Jeffrey's mansion in Palm
Beach that afternoon after
work to make some extra money
and to learn about massage"
"filed under seal
are Notices of Deposition and
Subpoena for [STILL REDACTED],
Joe Recarey and Michael
Reiter... certificate of
service for [STILL REDACTED]"
"The
Billionaire's Playboy Club,"
by Virginia Roberts... 'His
modeling agency was only
posing for an undercover
trade. His business was really
an illegal immigrant
trafficking ring of underage
girls that he was using as
escorts to make him uber
rich."
"you flew on a
helicopter with [STILL
REDACTED] and Ghislaine
Maxwell as the pilot? A:
Ghislaine told me that she
flew Bill Clinton in."
From: jeffrey E
<jeevaction [at]
http://gmail.com> To: Gmax
... holidays with people I
have never met, living off
trust funds that I have never
ever had"
Q: Do you know
the age of any girl that you
saw have sexual contact with
Ghislaine Maxwell? A: Well,
for instance, I mean, [STILL
REDACTED] was, I think, a year
older than me. [STILL
REDACTED] again, a few years
older than me."
"Alexandra Cousteau may have
knowledge concerning
Plaintiff's false claim
against Defendant and others"
- Alexandra Cousteau "has been
honored as an 'Earth trustee'
by the United Nations
Maria Alessi...
May have information about
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey
Epstein's sexual trafficking
conduct... [STILL REDACTED]
may have information about
Ghislaine Maxwell's sexual
trafficking" - as do UN's Amir
Dossal & UNSC
Antonio Guterres
Watch this
site.
Before, Maxwell tried a
request for reconsideration.
Judge Preska denied it, but
gave two business days to for
Maxwell to appeal. Then a
notice of appeal to the Second
Circuit. Photos here.
From July 23:
Judge Preska: "Ms
Maxwell refused to testify as
to any consensual adult
activity." Ms Maxwell as
relied on little but ipse
dixit [it is said] - there is
a presumption of public access
to these motions. Those papers
shall be unsealed
Judge
Preska: Personal identifying
information, and names of
non-parties other than Doe 1
and Doe 2, will be redacted...
Docket 142-2, unseal. Same
thing for 144-5, 144-6 and
144-7.
Judge
Preska: Unseal docket 150
[Declaration of Jeffrey S.
Pagliuca - this was filed,
under seal, on May 10,
2016. [Inner City Press
note: UN official Amir Dossal,
SG @AntonioGuterres '
head of "Partnerships," was
with Maxwell's Terrarmar up to
2018 filings...
Judge Preska:
185-11, excerpts of Giuffre
declaration... 185-13, Giuffre
affidavit, unseal in full...
Billionaire's Club draft -
unseal... Some others:
withholding pending notice to
that Doe
Judge
Preska: 260-1... Will, if this
only the authorization? "Will"
- that first two pages. Judge
Preska: Medical records to
remain sealed... I will
ask you to confer and prepare
the documents, posting them
within a week. Maxwell lawyer:
We want a stay to appeal
Maxwell
lawyer: We want a two week
stay. Giuffre's lawyer: We
want it released right away.
Maxwell lawyer: There's been a
chance - Ms. Maxwell as been
indicted and awaits trial in
another courtroom in the SDNY
in July 2021. We are concerned
about a fair trial
Judge Preska:
I'll give you a week to
prepare the motion. I'll still
ask you to prepare to make the
documents public. If the 2d
Circuit does not take up or
grant your motion in a week,
let me know. But prepare to
unseal.
On
July 2 Acting US Attorney
Audrey Strauss has announced
and unsealed in indictment of
Maxwell on charges including
sex trafficking and perjury.
(As in the Schulte CIA leaks
case, it is not yet clear
where the grand jury sat,
White Plains or Manhattan with
virtual jurors). Many hope
that the sex trafficking
prosecutions will move on to
the UN, where Maxwell held a
ghoulish press conference, and
where Antonio Guterres is now
covering up both UN sexual
exploitation by peacekeepers
the UN moves in and out of
countries with impunity, scoop
video here,
and sexual abuse right inside
UN headquarters, exclusive
audio here.
Watch this site.
On June
10, Maxwell filed that
"Defendant Ghislaine Maxwell,
through her counsel and
pursuant to this Court’s Order
and Protocol for Unsealing
Decided Motions, DE 1044, as
clarified by DE 1053, objects
to the unsealing of the Sealed
Items contained in: • DE 143
(and related DEs 142, 144,
144-1, 149, 150, 150-1, 151,
152, 153, and 153- 1); • DE
172 (and related DEs 171, 173,
173-1, 189, 190, 190-1, 202,
203, 204-1, 211, 212, 212-1,
and 224) and; • DE 199 (and
related DEs 200, 200-1, 228,2
29, 229-1, 284, 249, and
249-1)." Photo here.
It is
reminiscent of UN Sec-Gen
Antonio Guterres covering
up UN child rapes -
except the UN's rapes are in
DR Congo, CAR and Haiti. And
now, this
in Tel Aviv, another Inner
City Press scoop on which
Guterres refuses to answer.
And on July 1,
this order: "MEMORANDUM &
ORDER re: (133 in
1:19-cv-03377-LAP) FIRST
LETTER MOTION for Local Rule
37.2 Conference addressed to
Judge Loretta A. Preska from
Howard M. Cooper, Esq. dated
June 12, 2020, filed by Alan
Dershowitz. For the reasons
discussed above: (1) Cooper
& Kirk shall destroy (a)
all materials from Giuffre v.
Maxwell, No. 15 Civ. 7433,
currently in its possession,
save for the transcript of Ms.
Giuffre's deposition in that
case and (b) all work product
derived from the Maxwell
materials. Cooper & Kirk
shall submit to the Court an
affidavit detailing the steps
that it took to destroy the
materials. In addition, to the
extent it is doing so, Cooper
& Kirk shall cease all use
of the Maxwell
materials--outside of Ms.
Giuffre's deposition
transcript--in its work on Ms.
Giuffre's action against Mr.
Dershowitz. (2) Mr.
Dershowitz's request to modify
the Maxwell Protective Order
[dkt. no. 133 in 19 Civ. 3377]
is denied. SO ORDERED. (Signed
by Judge Loretta A. Preska on
7/1/2020)."
Judge Schofield said she does
not see lumping in the
complaint, and that does not
think that the motion or
motions Ghislaine Maxwell was
suggesting she would make
would be worth the
time.
Maxwell's lawyer
Laura Menninger of Denver's
Haddon, Morgan and Foreman,
P.C. was urged to submitted a
letter or answer in a week's
time. Menninger
pushed forward, saying that
given the case's link to New
Mexico and that Farmer is not
a resident of New York, the
shorter of the statute of
limitation might apply.
Judge
Schofield repeated that the
defendants, also for executors
of Epstein's estate Darren K.
Indyke and Richard D. Khan,
should file in a week's time.
Inner City Press will continue
to follow and report on this
case. It is Farmer v. Indyke,
et al, 19-cv-10475
(Schofield).
***
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