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Ghislaine Maxwell Nov 29 Trial She Wanted
Voir Dire Questions Sealed But Here They
Are
By Matthew
Russell Lee Patreon Periscope Song
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 22 – Ghislaine Maxwell,
charged with sex trafficking
and false statements in a
second superseding indictment,
has requested an in-person
arraignment citing previous
press coverage and
debacles(s).
Inner City
Press on April 2 requested
audio and video access for the
arraignment on April 23. Inner
City Press live tweeted it here
and below.
On August 27,
when the SDNY confirmed its
fourth quarter schedule, the
November 29 trial date was
confirmed as firm: "ORDER as
to Ghislaine Maxwell. The
Clerk's Office has now
confirmed that a jury trial in
this case has been scheduled
to commence on November 29,
2021. This is a firm trial
date."
Maxwell
wants to keep prospective
juror questioning - voir dire
- and selection even more
sealed from the public and
Press.
On October 18 the
US Attorney's Office opposed
the request, saying the the
voir dire questions should be
asked by Judge Nathan, and
that there should only be
sidebars on "sensitive
questions such as those that
relate to sexual abuse and
media exposure." Full letter
on Patreon here.
RCFP
rightly submitted opposition,
and Inner City Press and
others in SDNY joined the
opposition. And in a
conference on October 21 on
that as scheduling issues,
Judge Nathan denied the
request to seal. Inner City
Press live tweeted it
here (podcast here)
On October 22 the
draft jury questionnaire was
unsealed and Inner City Press
has immediately published it
on its DocumentCloud here,
including "Have you or a
family member ever supported,
lobbied, petitioned,
protested, or worked in
any other manner for or
against any laws, regulations,
or organizations relating to
sex trafficking, sex crimes
against minors, sex abuse or
sexual harassment?" Photo here.
From October 21.
For the US Attorney's Office,
lawyers including... Maurene
Comey.
Judge Nathan's
deputy: Ms Maxwell, are you
here?
Maxwell: This is
Ms. Maxwell. I beg your pardon
I cannot hear you... I vaguely
hear you.
Judge Nathan:
Good afternoon. Maxwell:
Good afternoon, Your Honor.
Judge Nathan: Jury selection
is to begin November 4. Trial
is to begin November 29. I'll
address the request to seal.
[Full disclosure: Inner City
Press has joined others in
opposing sealing]
Judge Nathan: I
will allow access by alleged
victims, and Ms. Maxwell's
family. I thank the District
Executive's Office for its
assistance. I received the
proposed jury questionnaire,
and studied case law including
the Press Enterprise case
Judge
Nathan: We will do a screening
questionnaire before jury
selection, on juror's
knowledge of the case and any
bias from publicity. These are
common in high profile cases.
The juror department will
assign numbers. The
questionnaires will be on Nov
4, 5 and 12.
Judge Nathan: I
am setting a place holder
conference for strike issues
on Nov 15 at 9:30 am. I will
conduct it as one on one voir
dire with public access. They
will be brought in one by one.
I will not permit attorney
voir dire questioning.
Judge
Nathan: There will be overflow
rooms with voir dire, & 2
pool reporters. Any
questions? Maxwell's lawyer
Bobbi Sternheim: We have
concerns about this voir dire
being done in front of media.
Judge Nathan: Can
you be specific? Sternheim:
Personal experience
Judge Nathan: We
can deal with these situations
one at a time depending on
what emerges from the
questionnaire. I have
conferred with Judge Donnelly
in the #EDNY [that is, the
#RKelly trial], I will listen
to requests for deviation
Maxwell's
Sternheim: How many jurors
will be summoned? Judge
Nathan: 600 prospective jurors
if we need them. I intend to
sit six alternates. So a jury
of 18. Picked from 50 whom
I'll qualify. Should we do
strikes on the 19th or 29th?
AUSA: Lara Pomerantz: 19th
Maxwell's
Sternheim: We prefer the 29th.
The jurors will be at
Thanksgiving and the topic may
come up - it is uncomfortable
to remove yourself from the
Thanksgiving table. So let's
do it on the 29th.
Judge Nathan: I will consider
it, and let you know. Let's
turn to sealing issue. Ms.
Sternheim, are you asking to
seal the Court's draft?
Maxwell's Sternheim:
Yes. Judge Nathan: Do
you have any authority for
this?
Maxwell's
Sternheim: The questionnaire
has names Judge Nathan: If we
have a juror that has some
familiarity with the
questionnaire, if there is
media coverage of it, they'll
have to tell us. So what's the
prejudice? Maxwell's
Sternheim: We've been unable
to control the media coverage
Maxwell's
Sternheim: Seeing the
questionnaire in advance makes
it a take-home exam. There is
an incentive to be on this
jury. They'll answer
accordingly. Judge Nathan: Any
authority for this? I don't
know what "controlling the
press" would look like.
Maxwell's
Sternheim: We'll submit any
authority by close of business
today. AUSA Pomerantz:
Ms. Maxwell asked us to seal,
and we did. We do not oppose
her request. Judge Nathan:
News organizations [now
including Inner City Press]
have opposed sealing.
Judge Nathan: The
request for sealing has not
met the standard of Lugosch.
If a juror sees the
questionnaire in the media
they would be required to
report it. If they lie we will
smoke it out.
Judge
Nathan: So they should be
docketed by end of the week
Maxwell's
Sternheim: We'd like former US
Attorney Audrey Strauss added
to the list. AUSA
Pomerantz: We don't
object. Sternheim: And
AUSA Rossmiller. His name will
come up. AUSA: How?
Judge Nathan: I'm
reserve on that. What else?
Maxwell's Sternheim: We want
to ask if they have protested
for the #MeToo or #TimesUp
movements. Judge Nathan: We
could ask about protests. AUSA
Pomerantz: We're fine with
that.
AUSA
Pomerantz: We'd like previous
Maxwell defense counsel
listed. Like Mr. Marcus.
Maxwell's Sternheim: He was
never counsel of record, only
Mark Cohen. Judge Nathan: I'm
going to include the two
names. Three, with Alex
Rossmiller.
Judge
Nathan: I'd speak to jurors
filling out the
questionnaires. But here that
your mean 6 speeches. So I'll
do a video and share the
script in advance. Adjourned.
After the death of Jeffrey
Epstein in the MCC prison, on
July 2 Acting US Attorney for
the SDNY Audrey Strauss
announced and unsealed in
indictment of Maxwell on
charges including sex
trafficking and perjury.
Inner City Press went to her
press conference at the US
Attorney's Office and asked,
Doesn't charging Maxwell with
perjury undercut any ability
to use testimony from her
against other, bigger
wrong-doers? Periscope here
at 23:07.
Strauss
replied that it is not
impossible to use a perjurer's
testimony. But how often does
it work?
At 3:30 pm
on July 2 Maxwell appeared in
the U.S. District Court for
the District of New Hampsire,
before Magistriate Judge Andrea
K. Johnstone.
Inner City
Press live
tweeted it
here.
(Also
live tweeted
bail denial of
July 14, here.)
In
the July 3 media coverage of
Maxwell, media all of the
world used a video and stills
from it of Maxwell speaking in
front of a blue curtain, like
here.
What they
did not mention is something
Inner City Press has been
asking the UN about, as under
UNSG Antonio Guterres with his
own sexual exploitation issues
(exclusive video
and audio)
it got roughed up and banned
from the UN: Ghislaine Maxwell
had a ghoulish United Nations
press conference, under the
banner of the "Terramar
Project," here.
On July 5,
after some crowd-sourcing,
Inner City Press reported on
another Ghislaine Maxwell use
of the United Nations,
facilitated by Italy's
Permanent Representative to
the UN, UN official Nikhil
Seth and Amir Dossal,
who also let into the UN and
in one case took money from
convicted UN briber Ng Lap
Seng, and Patrick Ho of CEFC
China Energy, also linked to
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres.
At the
Ghislaine Maxwell UN event,
the UN Deputy Secretary
General was directly involved.
List of (some of)
the participants on Patreon here.
Inner City
Press has published a phone of
Maxwell in the UN with Dossal,
here. But the connection runs
deeper: Dossal with "25 years
of UN involvement" was on
Terrarmar's board of
directors, one of only five
directors, only three not
related to Maxwell by blood
and name.
The directors:
Ghislaine Maxwell, Christine
Malina-Maxwell, Steven Haft,
Christine Dennison and... Amir
Dossal. Inner City Press is
publishing this full 990 on
Patreon here.
Dossal has
operated through the UN Office
of Partnership, with Antonio
Guterres and his deputy Amina
J. Mohammed, here.
And the links to
the world of UN bribery,
including Antonio Guterres
through the Gulbenkian
Foundation, runs deeper. More
to follow.
Antonio Guterres
claims he has zero tolerance
for sexual exploitation, but
covers it up and even
participate in it. He should
be forced to resign - and/or
have immunity waived.
Terramar
has been dissolved, even
though Maxwell's former
fundraiser / director of
development Brian Yurasits
still lists the URL on his
(protected) Twitter profile,
also here.
But now
Inner City Press has begun to
inquire into Ghislaine
Maxwell's other United Nations
connections, starting with
this photograph of another
day's (or at least another
outfit's) presentation in the
UN, here.
While co-conspirator Antonio
Guterres has had Inner City
Press banned from any entry
into the UN for two years and
a day, this appears to be in
the UN Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) chamber.
We'll have more on this, and
on Epstein and the UN. Watch
this site.
The case
is US v. Maxwell, 20-cr-330
(Nathan).
***
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