Ghislaine Maxwell; The Other Half to Jeffrey Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Written by Sean Duffy: Content Writer at VotingSmarter
Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend and close confidant to Jeffery Epstein, was found guilty on five of six counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and three related counts of conspiracy. The trial, which ended on Wednesday, December 29th, saw the former socialite convicted and now facing up to 65 years in prison for her involvement in the sex trafficking ring run by Jeffrey Epstein between the ’90s and 2000s. Maxwell, 60, is likely to be behind bars for the rest of her life. Her co-conspirator died in his jail cell in 2019, and Maxwell was arrested shortly after in 2020 until her trial. Yet, justice is rather tame in this case. On one hand, the most substantial and perverse sex trafficking ring to be exposed in decades is abolished. But on the other hand, it is no secret how well-connected Epstein and Maxwell were within the world of the uber-wealthy and ultra-famous. With the ringleader dead, and his second-in-command facing a lifetime in a cell, the notorious and enigmatic case of Jeffrey Epstein may become a footnote in history.
Epstein’s grasp is so perverse that it encapsulates nearly every avenue of wealth in the modern world, and business was booming for him and Maxwell. A group as diverse as two heads of state for the U.S., a royal prince, billionaires galore, and a slew of famous actors and members of high society called him their associate and close friend.
“I invest in people-be it politics or science. It’s what I do.”
Jeffrey Epstein, himself a financier, managed the wealth of billionaires. He kept anonymity between his clients, the confidentiality a specialty of his practice. Epstein was almost always described as secretive. Many even postured how someone could come out of nowhere and amass such wealth and gain an abundance of prestigious clientele. As this poorly aged New York Magazine article entails, the International Moneyman of Mystery started at the investment bank Bear Stearns in the ’70s and ’80s, and in 1982, despite making partner at Bear Stearns a year prior, he created his firm. J. Epstein and Co., the goal: manage clients worth $1 billion or more. It worked; immediately. Quite strange for a nobody fresh in the business.
“His firm would be different, too. He was not here just to offer investment advice; he saw himself as the financial architect of every aspect of his client’s wealth — from investments to philanthropy to tax planning to security to assuaging the guilt and burdens that large sums of inherited wealth can bring on. “I want people to understand the power, the responsibility, and the burden of their money,” he said to a colleague at the time.” New York Magazine, 2002
Epstein accumulated vast wealth, at one time owning the largest private residence in Manhattan. He also possessed an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little Saint James Island. A criminal complaint described the island as,
the perfect hideaway and haven for trafficking young women and underage girls for sexual servitude, child abuse, and sexual assault. Epstein and his associates could avoid detection of their illegal activity from Virgin Islands and federal law enforcement, and prevent these young women and underage girls from leaving freely and escaping the abuse.” Independent, Dec. 6th
Epstein had established an empire. One that dealt in the sexual exploitation of minors, and his clientele was not the average joe. With his death, ruled a suicide, Epstein took the truth to the grave of who exactly took advantage of Epstein and Maxwell’s cruel debauchery of underaged women. Although, he did keep an address book at almost 100 pages in length. The book had extensive personal info on all who he deemed worthy of association. You can read it here. It entails info about politicians, actors, wealthy socialites, billionaire entrepreneurs, any and all who had dealings with Epstein. Either flying on his “Lolita express”, or visiting one of his estates where many of these crimes were committed. Go ahead and play a twisted “Where’s Waldo” with the little black book and see how many names you recognize. Probably some of the most notable connections Epstein had were the heads of state that wholly enjoyed the company of two convicted pedophiles.
“I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman”
Bill Clinton and Donald Trump; two former U.S. presidents, and two former associates of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Both former presidents have been implicated in sexual misdeeds against Epstein’s victims.
Clinton helped catapult Epstein into the mainstream on one fateful trip aboard his private jet heading to Africa, which included two tag-alongs of Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. Their voyage was to discuss economic development and combat the rise of HIV and AIDS as part of Clinton’s newfound foundation back in 2002. This trip helped the media become familiarized with Epstein. Who had at that point in his life lived a very reclusive and secretive existence in the eyes of the mainstream. Clinton would commit various excursions on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet, although he and his team dispute those claims. While former President Clinton had faced scrutiny and backlash for alleged extramarital relationships with his secretary, Monica Lewinsky, while he was in office, much less was known about his repeated visits with Jeffrey and Ghislaine. Although, we do have quite a few interesting pictures. Here’s Bill Clinton getting a neck massage from Epstein victim Chauntae Davies, accompanied by Ghislaine Maxwell. Ghislaine is also pictured at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. Bizarrely, Epstein even had an oil painting of Bill Clinton in a blue dress and red heels prominently displayed in his Manhattan estate. His estate was filled with other oddities as well, including pictures of Woody Allen and Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
“Terrific guy…He’s a lot of fun to be with.”
Not to be outshined by a Clinton, Donald J. Trump was also counted as a close confidant to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. If you were a rich socialite in the New York and Palm Beach areas around the ’80s and ’90s, two people would cross your paths on numerous occasions: Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. The now infamous quote taken from the New York magazine, where Trump states how he has known Epstein for 15 years and,
“He likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Strange thing to say about a notorious, convicted pedophile who ran an underage sex trafficking ring. Epstein was a prolific participant within Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort parties, and you can even spot Ghislaine Maxwell in the backdrop within this archived footage. Donald Trump is also accused of taking numerous flights on the notorious private jet. Add to that the 26 counts of sexual assault levied at Trump, including former victims of Epstein. He’s also been photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell, front and center at various posh events. Being quite buddy-buddy throughout the years. One includes Donald Trump with then Melania Knauss right next to Epstein and Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, having a grand ol’ time with two of the biggest convicted sex traffickers in decades. He even wished her well after she was initially arrested. Totally unprovoked as well, after acting as though he never heard of Epstein before his death. While they were friends back in Trump’s socialite era, there was a falling out between the two. Not because Epstein was a pedophile, but because the two were fighting over some real estate in Florida. Which Trump went on to win.
Don’t forget Prince Andrew, the man who doesn’t sweat. The Duke of York was a close friend to both Epstein and Maxwell, even well after Epstein was convicted for child prostitution. So close that he let the couple stay on the Queen’s Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands. The prince also had a disastrous interview with the BBC, one where he was remorseless about his friendship with Epstein, and denied all allegations levied against him. The interview was so bad and put enough shame onto the royal family, that Prince Andrew was stripped of his titles and shunned from public appearance. Documents from Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s 2009 settlement were also finally released in the same week as the trial. Roberts Giuffre, a victim of Epstein’s, was paid $500,000 to drop the charges, which included alleging that she was trafficked to Prince Andrew when she was 17. There is also a not-so-flattering picture of Prince Andrew, hands around Roberts Giuffre, and Maxwell lurking in the backdrop. But the disgraced prince has no recollection of these past events.
Epstein’s overall crimes finally caught up to him in 2019. Even though he was initially charged back in 2008. Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor but avoided federal conviction through a non-prosecution agreement. Later, in 2019, Epstein was once again charged outside of Florida, in which he later died in his cell awaiting trial. Epstein served only 13 months for his charges. He spent it in a separate, private prison wing and was allowed to leave daily. The U.S. attorney who orchestrated the plea deal was Alex Acosta, who served as Trump’s U.S. Secretary of Labor. Acosta later stepped down after Epstein was re-charged with pedophilia and sex trafficking. Another figure tied to Epstein’s 2008 trial was the lawyer who represented him in that case, the one and only Alan Dershowitz.
“Alan Dershowitz, Devil’s Advocate”
Dershowitz, who initially gained fame on the O.J. Simpson trial, represented Epstein in 2008. He would help secure a very lenient sentence for his client. He was also accused of sexual assault by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. He was introduced to her by his client, Jeffrey Epstein. The Harvard Law School emeritus professor has made a career out of controversy and outrage. In a New Yorker article covering Dershowitz, one op-ed written by the former lawyer stuck out. That op-ed, written by Dershowitz in 1997, argued that the age of consent should be lowered, and statutory rape law should reflect that. Dershowitz still defends his opinion on this case. Seeing how intimately involved in the legal proceedings of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, you would think it would be detrimental to have Dershowitz express his legal advice on her conviction. Not for the BBC. In a display of excellent journalistic integrity, the BBC decided to feature Dershowitz on their broadcast without a whisper to his involvement. Dershowitz used this time to call Roberts Giuffre a virulent liar. If the BBC were not going to do their duty to let their audience know of his involvement, then the Dersch himself would. The BBC would later pull the segment.
“It’s hard not to pity Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Aside from the BBC, other media outlets decided it was their turn for some truly abnormal and out-there takes. With Maxwell’s case looming, The Spectator decided to feature this wonderful story. Pity for the pedophile sex trafficker. Who could have such a take? None other than Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson’s sister. You see, being the rich socialite that she was, Maxwell seemingly rubbed a lot of her ilk in such a way to just ignore all those pesky crimes she kept committing. Aside from poor journalism or just poor morals, mainstream media did its part as well. Many were probably unaware of this case until the verdict was met. And many more were likely doggedly unaware of just how far that rabbit hole went. In what might be the most colossal sex trafficking ring of minors to ever be exposed, the tail end of that saga seemed to have sputtered out. The case evidence sealed, conveniently storing away that little black book of Epstein’s in a box to be lost forever. This trial, along with Epstein’s death, was barely a footnote in the 24/7 news cycle of modern America. Good for the powerful and wealthy, bad for those who might want more than a crumb of justice.
Make no mistake, this trial is not the absolute win that many might portray it as. Yes, the two ringleaders may be gone, but what of all the others? Maxwell and Epstein were not the only ones. Numerous co-conspirators are left scot-free. There are hundreds of victims of the devilish duo, and they were abused by countless individuals who will never see a courtroom. Epstein’s business was managing some of the most wealthy and high-status individuals in the world. He had ties to world leaders, past and present. Entertainers, scientists, religious leaders, socialites, etc., partook in his services, yet it will all be swept away. A neat little bow will be wrapped up on this saga, with barely an epilogue to the end of this twisted saga. Maybe hundreds of victims’ voices will be unheard, and the abuse and torment will go unpunished. This was allowed to fester for decades, and neither Epstein nor Maxwell were the only ones to operate. Yet those in power deem it unworthy of true justice, as it may affect them negatively so, it is better to act as if nothing had partaken.
