Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer claims that the socialite, like Eve in the Garden of Eden, is being blamed for a man’s bad behavior.
The sex trafficking trial of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell began on Monday, November 29, at the Federal Court House in Manhattan, New York, where the 59-year-old faces up to 80 years in prison if found guilty.
She is accused of grooming minors to engage in sexual acts with late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Bobbi Sternheim, the socialite’s “superstar” lawyer, described Maxwell’s accusers as money-grabbers looking for a “jackpot of money” on Monday.
‘Ever since Eve was accused of tempting Adam with the apple, women have been blamed for men’s bad behavior, and women are often vilified and punished more than men,’ Miss Sternheim told the court.
‘The allegations against Ghislaine Maxwell stem from actions taken by Jeffrey Epstein. She isn’t, however, Jeffrey Epstein.
‘She is not Jeffrey Epstein, and she is not any of the other powerful men, business moguls, who have abused women.’
Maxwell was a “scapegoat” for Epstein, whose death had “left a gaping hole in the pursuit of justice,” she said.
‘He’s the proverbial elephant in the room,’ says the speaker. He is not visible, but he is consuming this entire courtroom as well as overflow courtrooms where members of the public are watching,’ she added.
Miss Sternheim, a lawyer who has previously represented Osama Bin Laden’s London spokesman, Adel Abdel-Bary, when he admitted planning bombings for Al Qaeda, said the only thing the four witnesses in the case have in common is that they all received ‘big bucks’ in compensation from Epstein’s estate.
The defense attorney said she was ‘proud’ to represent her client in the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in Manhattan, New York.
While awaiting trial for sex trafficking minors, Epstein committed suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. Miss Sternheim claimed that his accusers were motivated by a settlement fund established after his death.
‘His accusers have shaken the money tree, and millions of dollars have fallen their way,’ the lawyer said.
Miss Sternheim claimed that the case was about’memory, manipulation, and money,’ alleging that the accusers’ memories had been ‘corrupted’ by lawyers seeking payouts and ‘contaminated’ by time.
‘As we all know, memories fade over time, and we will learn in this case that not only have memories faded, but they have also been contaminated by outside information, media reports,’ Miss Sternheim said.
She also went after each of the case’s four witnesses, calling one “a consummate actress” before slamming the others.
Miss Sternheim claimed that Epstein’s wealth and Einstein’s mystique piqued public interest. He was described as a “patron of the arts” with “many desirable traits, attractiveness, charisma, intelligence, status, and charm,” according to her.
She went on to describe Maxwell as an Oxford graduate and a helicopter pilot, claiming that she had “socialized with extraordinary people.”
She did, however, ask the jurors not to be swayed by Maxwell’s wealth.
‘A privileged background, a comfortable lifestyle, and a high social status are all things that can easily check the wrong box, but they are not crimes,’ she said.
Miss Sternheim then claimed that Maxwell is only being prosecuted because US authorities were unable to bring Epstein to justice because he committed suicide in his jail cell just before his sentencing for child prostitution and grooming in 2019.
‘When all is said and done,’ Sternheim said, the prosecution could not prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
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