Who is Ghislaine Maxwell, and why US authorities want to speak to her on Jeffrey Epstein
US deputy attorney general is working on President Trump's directions “to release all credible evidence” about associates of sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein
US authorities are now working on President Donald Trump's directions “to release all credible evidence” about possible associates of sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. This has brought Ghislaine Maxwell, a jailed friend of the late Epstein, back in focus.
US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche plans to talk to Maxwell, a French-origin British national currently imprisoned for her role in the abuse of underage girls by Epstein, who died by suicide in jail.
Blanche did not specify a date but said that if Maxwell has “information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims", US authorities "will hear what she has to say”. This is being seen as an attempt by Donald Trump to placate critics who claim key details of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation have been withheld.
Maxwell, thus, becomes a central figure.
Born in an extravagantly rich household, to publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell and his wife Betty, Ghislaine completed her graduation from Marlborough College and Oxford University. She studied modern history and languages.
After graduation, her father appointed her as a director of a football club that he owned and chaired, called the Oxford United. He also set her up with her own company supplying corporate gifts, said a report by the BBC.
In 1991, Maxwell formally entered Manhattan as she was made the representative of her father at New York Daily News.
She lived in a mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Several years down the line, when Maxwell was tried in court, prosecutors argued that the particular property might have been funded by Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell's probable intent of joining hands with Epstein
During her trial, it was suggested by lawyers that Maxwell tied up with Epstein so that she could introduce him to her wealthy and powerful friends, in exchange for a funding that would cushion her lifestyle. Maxwell's prosecutors argued that she was "not a particularly wealthy person when she met Epstein”.
At the end of the trial in December 2021, the court pronounced an indictment against Maxwell. Four of the charges against her dated to the period 1994-97, including the most serious charge of sex trafficking of a minor.
The court said she was among Epstein's closest associates and that she was also in an "intimate relationship" with him.
It was also reported that she was married to a tech CEO named Scott Borgerson at some point.
What was Maxwell to Epstein?
According to a profile by Vanity Fair that was published in 2003, Epstein described Maxwell as his “best friend”. The report also noted that much of Epstein's life appeared to be organised by than Maxwell.
Intimate photos of Maxwell and Epstein together released by prosecutors suggested they had remained close, said a BBC report.
Employees at Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach house in Florida said Maxwell acted as a house manager, supervising staff, taking care of finances and serving as more of Epstein's “social coordinator”.
The court said the closeness between the two was a crucial factor in Epstein's paedophilic pattern of abuse, with her looking out for victims and reportedly grooming them for Epstein.
From the riches to a 6-by-9 cell
Defence lawyers also argued that Maxwell acted as a scapegoat for Epstein, in keeping with an age-old tradition of women taking blame for the partner's misdoings. Sarah Ransome, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein, spoke out during a BBC interview.
“Ghislaine controlled the girls,” she claimed. “She would be the one getting all the girls in check. She knew what Jeffrey liked… this was very much a joint effort,” Ransome said.
In July 2020, when Maxwell was residing in a mansion in New Hampshire, she was arrested. Her brother told BBC that she was being held in a 6ft-by-9ft cell that had a concrete bed.
