UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK¶
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,¶
GHISLAINE MAXWELL,¶
Defendant.¶
20 Cr. 330 (AJN)¶
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S THIRD MOTION FOR RELEASE ON BAIL¶
Bobbi C. Sternheim¶
Law Offices of Bobbi C. Sternheim¶
33 West 19th Street - 4th Floor¶
New York, NY 10011¶
Phone: 212-243-1100¶
Christian R. Everdell¶
COHEN & GRESSER LLP¶
800 Third Avenue¶
New York, NY 10022¶
Phone: 212-957-7600¶
Jeffrey S. Pagliuca¶
Laura A. Menninger¶
HADDON, MORGAN & FOREMAN P.C.¶
150 East 10th Avenue¶
Denver, Colorado 80203¶
Phone: 303-831-7364¶
Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell¶
EFTA00083790¶
INTRODUCTION¶
Ghislaine Maxwell respectfully submits this Memorandum in Support of her Third Motion for Release on Bail.¶
As Ms. Maxwell has stated on numerous occasions and reaffirms here: she has no intention or desire to leave this country. She is an American citizen, has lived in United States for 30 years, has strong family ties and the support of friends and family residing in this country. She wants nothing more than to remain in the United States under whatever conditions the Court deems necessary so that she can effectively prepare for trial and vigorously defend against the 25-year-old charges in the Indictment. Ms. Maxwell has already proposed an expansive and, to our knowledge, unprecedented set of bail conditions that would reasonably assure her appearance. (See Dkt. 97.) In light of the Court’s denial of that application (see Dkt. 106), Ms. Maxwell now proposes two additional bail conditions to supplement the extraordinarily restrictive bail package she has already offered.¶
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First, Ms. Maxwell will renounce her French and British citizenship to eliminate any opportunity for her to seek refuge in those countries, if the Court so requires.
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Second, Ms. Maxwell will have her and her spouse’s assets—excluding funds earmarked for living expenses, for legal fees and other expenses necessary to defend her against the criminal charges in this case and related civil lawsuits and for taxes—placed in a new account that will be monitored by a retired federal District Court judge and former United States Attorney who will function as asset monitor and will have co-signing authority over the account.
The former condition goes well beyond the extradition waivers that the Court deemed insufficient and should satisfy any concerns the Court may have that Ms. Maxwell may try to seek a safe haven in France or the United Kingdom. (See id. at 11-13). As a non-citizen, Ms. Maxwell will not be able to avail herself of any protections against extradition that may apply¶
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citizens of those countries. The latter condition will restrain Ms. Maxwell’s assets so they cannot be used for flight or harboring her outside of the jurisdiction of this Court. This should satisfy the Court’s concern that the proposed bond was not fully secured and left assets unrestrained that could be used for such purposes. (See id. at 17-18).¶
In addition, since the last bail application, Ms. Maxwell has submitted twelve pretrial motions that raise substantial legal and factual issues that may result in the dismissal of some or all of the charges against her. Ms. Maxwell referenced some of these motions in her initial bail application (see Dkt. 18 at 19) but was not in a position to fully articulate them until she had the chance to review the discovery and research the legal issues in advance of the motion deadline of January 25. These motions significantly call into question the strength of the government’s case against Ms. Maxwell and the underlying justification for continued detention.¶
Ms. Maxwell has already been denied a fair chance in the court of public opinion. She has been maligned by the media, which has perpetuated a false narrative about her that has poisoned any open-mindedness and impartiality of a potential jury. She has been relentlessly attacked with vicious slurs, persistent lies, and blatant inaccuracies by spokespeople who have neither met nor spoken to her. She has been depicted as a cartoon-character villain in an attempt to turn her into a substitute replacement for Jeffrey Epstein. Yet, Ms. Maxwell is determined – and welcomes the opportunity – to face her accusers at trial and clear her name. The additional proposed bail conditions should quell any concerns that she would try to flee. The Court should therefore grant bail under the proposed conditions so that Ms. Maxwell can adequately prepare for trial.¶
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