Epstein ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell wanted to divorce secret husband to ‘PROTECT him,’ her lawyers claim
GHISLAINE Maxwell only wanted to divorce her secret husband to “protect him,” her lawyers have claimed. Attorneys for Maxwell, 58, filed a motion on Wednesday stating that before she was arrested in July, the British socialite discussed divorce so her husband wouldn’t suffer from “being associated with her.” Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged pimp married tech CEO […]
GHISLAINE Maxwell only wanted to divorce her secret husband to “protect him,” her lawyers have claimed.
Attorneys for Maxwell, 58, filed a motion on Wednesday stating that before she was arrested in July, the British socialite discussed divorce so her husband wouldn’t suffer from “being associated with her.”
Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged pimp married tech CEO Scott Borgerson, 44, four years ago.
Earlier this month, Maxwell filed a bail application in the US District Court in Manhattan and Borgerson pleaded for her release, with the couple offering up more than $28million in bail.
However, acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a court filing that the alleged madam had made “inconsistent statements” to pre-trial services after being nicked.
She said: “The defendant said she was ‘in the process of divorcing her husband.’”
Maxwell was also said to not want to live with Borgerson, if she were to be freed on bail.
But Maxwell’s attorneys on Wednesday said: “Ms. Maxwell and her spouse had discussed the idea of getting a divorce as an additional way to get distance between [them] to protect him (redacted) from the terrible consequences of being associated with her.”
“The government has offered nothing but unsupported innuendo to suggest that Ms. Maxwell’s relationship with her spouse is not a powerful tie to this community,” they wrote.
The filing states that the couple didn’t want to get divorced “in the first place.”
Can Trump pardon Ghislaine Maxwell?
When asked about Ghislaine Maxwell in July, President Donald Trump said: “I just wish her well, frankly.”
As a former partner of Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell was photographed through the years with the now-US president.
Trump said: “I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach.”
Spencer Kuvin, who represents several Epstein victims, said Trump’s message to Maxwell was “insane” and his “speaking out wishing well a sexual predator is scary to say the least, but possibly shows Trump’s potential willingness to, for nothing else, send a message to her that if she keeps quiet, that he may give her a favor in the future, which may include pardon.”
“He’s used this tact before, we don’t have to look much further than Roger Stone who on numerous occasions, Trump spoke highly of even while he was being prosecuted.”
“I would never want to be, but if I were Ghislaine Maxwell and heard a quote like that from the President of the United States, I certainly would think to myself that I’ve got him on my side as things go on,” Kuvin said.
In his final days in office, Trump has pardoned or issued commutations to more than 40 people in his orbit.
The crimes pardoned range from lying to the FBI, to insider trading, to misuse of campaign funds, and first-degree murder of an Iraqi citizen.
It’s unclear who else might be pardoned, but Trump’s actions show his inclination to use his presidential powers to override prosecutors, courts, and juries in order to aid his allies.
Prosecutors have argued that Borgerson “refused to come forward” in July after she was arrested by the FBI – undermining her claim “that her marriage is a tie that would keep her in the US” and not flee if let out of prison.
In a letter to the court weeks ago, Borgerson pleaded for Maxwell’s release, insisting the woman “described in the criminal charges is not the person we know” and describing the media coverage of her case as “frighteningly intense.”
“I have never witnessed anything inappropriate with Ghislaine; quite the contrary, the Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person,” he said.
“The reporting of Ghislaine over the past year has exploded exponentially. From the time of Epstein’s arrest and death in custody in the summer of 2019 until Ghislaine’s own arrest in July of this year.
“There are many examples of violence whose seeds were born in conspiracy theories and the experiences of QAnon, Pizzagate, and the recent Judge Salas attacks are terrifying.”
US District Judge Alison Nathan is set to rule on her bail application this month.
Maxwell suggested living in home confinement with an acquaintance in New York City with 24-hour security, as well as electronic monitoring, after her lawyers repeatedly complained about jail conditions.
In the recent filing, Maxwell again protested her innocence, insisted she wasn’t a flight risk, and claimed that she’d been “vilified” by the media more than serial abusers Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein.
Her legal team also insists she has been subjected to invasive searches at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and at risk of contracting Covid-19 there, though staffers said she’s treated like any other inmate.
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Monday’s filing also noted that Maxwell waived her right to extradition which meant that she couldn’t seek refuge in the UK or France, where she also holds citizenship.
Prosecutors maintain that the heiress should be kept at the Metropolitan Detention Center before her trial next summer.
She is charged with grooming young girls for accused sex trafficker Epstein.