Maxwell to challenge accusers, seek distance from Epstein at sex abuse trial | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
May 28, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2025
Maxwell to challenge accusers, seek distance from Epstein at sex abuse trial

USA

Reuters
23 November, 2021, 06:15 pm
Last modified: 23 November, 2021, 06:16 pm

Related News

  • Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's untimely death leaves unanswered questions
  • Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre dies by suicide: family
  • Epstein files: Full list of names in disgraced financier's contact book released by Pam Bondi
  • US Attorney General hopes to release Epstein-related flight logs, names on Thursday
  • Epstein invoked 5th Amendment right to silence 600 times

Maxwell to challenge accusers, seek distance from Epstein at sex abuse trial

Epstein died by suicide at 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges

Reuters
23 November, 2021, 06:15 pm
Last modified: 23 November, 2021, 06:16 pm
Ghislaine Maxwell makes eye contact with her sister during jury selection in the trial of Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's associate accused of sex trafficking, in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Ghislaine Maxwell makes eye contact with her sister during jury selection in the trial of Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's associate accused of sex trafficking, in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's defense in her sex abuse trial will focus on undermining her accusers and distancing her from Jeffrey Epstein, the financier for whom she is charged with recruiting underage girls, according to legal experts and court filings.

In what is viewed by some legal experts as a risky strategy in the post-#MeToo era, Maxwell's lawyers will question the credibility of four women who say she groomed them as teenagers for Epstein to abuse from the 1990s to the early 2000s, arguing that their memories are faulty or that they are lying because of financial incentives. They have said in a court filing that one woman was motivated by a "desire for cash."

Epstein died by suicide at 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"[Maxwell's lawyers] want to say the real villain is no longer around to be prosecuted, so they're using her as a scapegoat," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Jury selection is underway in Manhattan federal court for Maxwell's trial, with opening statements scheduled for Nov. 29.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to eight charges including sex trafficking.

Her lawyers have argued that prosecutors, unable to convict Epstein because of his death, are seeking to "substitute" Maxwell in order to hold someone responsible.

"Left with no fish to attempt to fry, the government belatedly turned to Ms. Maxwell," her lawyers wrote in a Feb. 4 filing.

The office of US Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan, which is prosecuting the case against Maxwell, declined to comment. Maxwell's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Jeffrey Pagliuca, a lawyer for Maxwell, said at a Nov. 10 hearing that the defense would question the women who say they were abused about why they waited so many years to come forward.

Two of the women - Annie Farmer and another who will testify under a pseudonym - did not accuse Maxwell of wrongdoing until long after Epstein's alleged abuses, according to Maxwell's defense.

A diary Farmer kept in the 1990s describing interactions with Epstein did not mention Maxwell, and the unidentified witness said nothing about Maxwell until June when prosecutors showed her a photograph, the lawyers said.

Psychologist testimony 

The defense will in part rely on the expert testimony of Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist who studies how memories can become distorted over time.

There are risks for the defense team, some lawyers said, particularly since the #MeToo movement in which women accused powerful men of sexual harassment and abuse.

"Victim shaming ... doesn't work especially now in 2021, and it usually hurts you," said Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, a New York defense attorney who specializes in sex crimes cases. "You have to show the utmost empathy in my opinion to people who have been victimized."

Maxwell's defense also has indicated that they intend to argue the women are belatedly accusing Maxwell because of the possibility of a payout.

All four accusers have accepted payment from a victims' compensation fund established by Epstein's estate, Maxwell's attorneys said in a court filing.

"The motive for fabrication could not be clearer," Laura Menninger, another Maxwell lawyer, wrote in connection with a civil lawsuit Farmer filed against Epstein's estate. Farmer dropped that case when she sought compensation from the victims' fund.

"Her newly asserted memories of abuse - without corroboration - are not based on the truth or a desire for 'justice' so much as her desire for cash."

Lawyers for Farmer did not reply to a request for comment.

Legal experts said that the prosecution would not have brought the case unless they had believed the women could withstand attacks on their credibility.

"I don't think they go after her unless they have these women able to really put her in the crosshairs, and to situate her at the centre of this," said Deborah Tuerkheimer, a professor at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.

World+Biz

Maxwell sex crimes trial / Jeffrey Epstein / Ghislaine Maxwell / sex crimes

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Leaders and activists of BNP gather at Nayapaltan ahead of the rally of three BNP affiliated organisations on Wednesday, 28 May 2025. Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Start preparing to ensure election is held within December: Tarique issues instructions at youth rally
  • File Photo: Reuters
    Bangladeshi cos expecting increased costs due to tariffs, yet extremely optimistic about int'l growth: HSBC survey
  • Photo: Collected
    HC overturns graft convictions of Tarique, Zubaida

MOST VIEWED

  • Selim RF Hussain. Sketch: TBS
    BRAC Bank MD Selim RF Hussain resigns
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Depositors need not worry as govt will take over banks before merger: BB governor
  • Graphics: TBS
    Suspicious banking activities surge by 56% since July: Cenbank
  • Photo: Collected
    DU student assaulted for protesting eve-teasing at Chadni Chowk
  • Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh sees highest-ever per capita income of $2,820 in FY25, BBS provisional data shows
  • Officials protest inside the Secretariat on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, over a government ordinance amending the Public Service Act, 2018. Photo: Rajib Dhar
    Protest at Secretariat suspended as govt assures decision on ordinance tomorrow

Related News

  • Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre's untimely death leaves unanswered questions
  • Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre dies by suicide: family
  • Epstein files: Full list of names in disgraced financier's contact book released by Pam Bondi
  • US Attorney General hopes to release Epstein-related flight logs, names on Thursday
  • Epstein invoked 5th Amendment right to silence 600 times

Features

In recent years, the Gor-e-Shaheed Eidgah has emerged as a strong contender for the crown of the biggest Eid congregation in the country, having hosted 600,000 worshippers in 2017. Photo: TBS

Gor-e-Shaheed Boro Maath: The heart of Dinajpur

1d | Panorama
The Hili Land Port, officially opened in 1997 but with trade roots stretching back to before Partition, has grown into a cornerstone of bilateral commerce.

Dhaka-Delhi tensions ripple across Hili’s markets and livelihoods

2d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Desk goals: Affordable ways to elevate your study setup

3d | Brands
Built on a diamond-type frame, the Hornet 2.0 is agile but grounded. PHOTO: Asif Chowdhury

Honda Hornet 2.0: Same spirit, upgraded sting

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Poor documentation, evidence plague stolen asset recovery efforts

Poor documentation, evidence plague stolen asset recovery efforts

54m | TBS Insight
Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he is 'playing with fire' over Ukraine

Donald Trump warns Vladimir Putin he is 'playing with fire' over Ukraine

1h | TBS World
Families of those injured and martyred in the July coup protest in the capital

Families of those injured and martyred in the July coup protest in the capital

2h | TBS Today
Trump administration suspends student visas in the US indefinitely

Trump administration suspends student visas in the US indefinitely

3h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net