SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Nov 15 – Ghislaine
Maxwell,
charged with
sex
trafficking
and other
charges, faces
a November 29,
2021 trial
On
October 29 and
again on November 12,
she and the US
Attorney's
Office for the
Southern
District of
New York filed
a flurry of
motions in
limine,
heavily
redacted; the
Government
argued that
trial exhibits
are not public
and will be
withheld.
Inner City
Press opposed
and opposes
the continued
secrecy.
On November
15, as Judge
Nathan held a
conference
about jury
selection,
this was
docketed: "
ORDER as to
Ghislaine
Maxwell: The
Court is in
receipt of the
Government's
letter motion
seeking
clarification
on two items
from the
November 1,
2021 pretrial
conference.
Dkt. No. 455.
As to the
first item,
the Government
seeks
clarification
about the line
between
permissible
and
impermissible
cross-examination
for witnesses
testifying
under a
pseudonym. The
Government's
suggested
level of
generality as
to permissible
cross-examination
of the
witnesses'
careers would
unduly curtail
the
Defendant's
Sixth
Amendment
right to
meaningful
cross-examination.
See United
States v.
Figueroa, 548
F.3d 222, 227
(2d Cir.
2008). The
line of
questioning
the Government
identifies may
be relevant to
a juror's
credibility
determination
and thus the
Court will not
limit the
Defendant's
ability to
pursue such
questioning on
cross-examination.
As the Court
noted at the
November 1
conference,
the Defendant
may not elicit
the name of a
specific
employer, but
the type and
genre of
employment may
be relevant to
the jury's
assessment of
credibilty.
Nov. 1, 2021
Transcript at
11-12. As to
the second
item, the
Government is
ORDERED to
submit a
proposed order
regarding
sketch artist
depictions of
certain
witnesses on
or before
November 18,
2021. Signed
by Judge
Alison J.
Nathan."
With so much
of the case,
and so many of
the victims, far
from Epstein's
Manhattan
townhouse, in Florida,
the Caribbean,
New Mexico,
the UK and by
private jet in
Africa, the lack
amid COVID of
a listen-only
call-in line during
the trial
proper would
be all the
more unfortunate.
On October 29,
after the flurry of redacted
motions, Inner City Press
filed formal requests with
SDNY District Judge Alison J.
Nathan, on DocumentCloud here.
On
November 12, while Maxwell and
DOJ still redacting and a
notice that after 50 people,
no more would be admitted even
on November 15, Inner City
Press filed again. This time,
both letters were docketed -
appreciated - but denied,
letter on CourtListener here.
"ENDORSED LETTER
as to Ghislaine Maxwell
addressed to Judge Alison J.
Nathan from Matthew Russell
Lee, dated 10/29/2021, re:
timely opposition to blanket
requests to seal portions of
motions in limine, trial
exhibits, public access.
ENDORSEMENT: The Court
received the attached letters
via email. This District no
longer permits public access
by telephone for in-court
criminal proceedings,
including trials. The
memorandum can be found here.
The Courts public access
orders for all proceedings in
the case can be found here.
The Court has implemented a
procedure for docketing
filings with proposed
redactions and is ruling on
the proposals as expeditiously
as possible. See Dkt. No. 401.
SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge
Alison J. Nathan on
11/12/2021)."
Earlier on
November 12, Inner City Press
called in to, and reported on,
a January 6 case in the
District for the District of
Columbia - and even other
in-person criminal matters in
the SDNY. For November 15,
only 50 people will be allowed
in. Meanwhile, for example,
the Kyle Rittenhouse in
Wisconsin state court is on
YouTube. While engaged and
appreciative on the
Federal / SDNY beat,
we'll have more on this.
Here was from the
October 29 request: Re: US v.
Maxwell, 20-cr-330 (AJN),
timely opposition to blanket
requests to seal portions of
motions in limine, trial
exhibits, public access
Dear Judge
Nathan: On
behalf of Inner City Press and
in my personal capacity, I
have been covering the
above-captioned case. This
concerns in the first instance
the flurry of motions in
limine filed earlier this
evening, replete with
redactions justified by a
conclusory reference to Lugosch
v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga,
435 F.3d 110 (2d Cir.
2006).
The
Government's Justifications
for redaction (Docket No. 399,
docketed at 10:06 pm on Friday
Oct 29) cites Lugosch then
says "The Government also
seeks sealing of trial
exhibits, which are not
public." Inner City Press
immediately opposes
this.
As one
example within this motions of
limine, the Government has
redacted the entirety of its
Argument X, even the title and
the page number. And as to
trial exhibits, see for
example Judge Jed S. Rakoff's
order in US v. Weigand,
20-cr-188 (JSR), here.
There,
Judge Rakoff ordered the US
Attorney's Office to make
trial exhibit available to the
public at large. While this
was done, belatedly, in US v.
Parnas, it was refused in the
current US v. Cole. It cannot
be refused in this
case. Also,
Inner City Press understands
that the listen-only call-in
telephone lines available so
far in the case, there may be
an attempt to discontinue
them. The Court should take
judicial notice of continuing
COVID-19 issues, including
people's understandable
concerns about congregating
even in so-called overflow
rooms. Be aware that the
District for the District of
Columbia still allows public
phone access to all criminal
proceedings, even those held
in-person. That should happen
here. The loss of First
Amendment freedoms, even for a
short period of time,
unquestionably constitutes
irreparable injury. Elrod
v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347,
373
(1976).
Inner City Press
will cover the trial, and all
the comes before and after it;
#CourtCaseCast and song;
new(est) song
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.
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.
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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