On Friday, the second day of the defense in the trial against Jeffrey Epstein girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, one witness for the defense would not come to court despite being subpoenaed; one insisted they would cite the Fifth Amendment in order to avoid commenting on the case, and a third did not give any further evidence, with the defense team saying he was experiencing “technical issues” according to The Daily Mail.
A witness named Kelly would not respond to a subpoena; Maxwell’s lawyer Laura Menninger said the subpoena had been issued two-and-a-half weeks ago and requested that the court force Kelly to testify. Judge Alison Nathan responded, “Why am I hearing about it for the first time now?” The Daily Mail reported.
Menninger protested, “There’s been a lot going on. To be honest your honor, it’s a lot of work.” Nathan stated, “A non-responsive witness is not a little thing.” Menninger argued that Maxwell’s “life is on the line” and complained that the defense had only a day and a half to present their case.
Nathan said she did not want to delay the trial, adding, “If this case closes today … it closes today.”
“Prosecutors argued that Ms. Maxwell’s defense had already had time to plan its case — Ms. Maxwell has been in custody since the summer of 2020 — and the judge appeared to agree,” The New York Times noted, adding that Nathan asserted, “You have your witnesses, or you rest.”
“A British man named Alexander Hamilton had been due to give evidence for Maxwell via video link to claim that the accuser Kate told him that the Epstein case ‘fell into my lap,” The Daily Mail reported, “Maxwell’s lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said he would not be giving evidence anymore and blamed technical issues.”
“On Thursday, Nathan rejected what she called an ‘unprecedented’ request by Maxwell’s team to allow three of the witnesses the lawyers intended to call to testify using a pseudonym or only by their first name,” the Miami Herald stated. “She also rejected their request to call lawyers who had represented two of her accusers, but allowed them to call a lawyer who had represented another of her accusers, on a limited basis.”
During the trial, The Daily Wire reported, the defense argued that Maxwell’s accusers have “contaminated” and possibly “false” memories of their abuse. “Besides casting doubt on their credibility, the defense also questioned the motivations of the women who say Maxwell groomed them, saying they are motivated by money in going after Maxwell decades after the alleged abuse occurred, The Daily Wire added.
Maxwell is standing trial in federal court in Manhattan on six counts related to the sex trafficking of minors including sex trafficking of a minor, enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, and transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. If convicted, Maxwell faces up to 80 years in prison.