Maxwell requests move to general population at Brooklyn jail
By Stephen Rex Brown, New York Daily News
New York (tca/dpa) - Ghislaine Maxwell says staff members at a Brooklyn federal jail are going way overboard to prevent her from suffering the same fate as Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell is being held in "uniquely onerous conditions" at the Metropolitan Detention Center that prevent her from preparing a defense, her attorneys wrote Tuesday, asking that she be moved to general population.
"It has become apparent that the BOP's treatment of Ms. Maxwell is a reaction to the circumstances surrounding the pretrial detention and death of Mr. Epstein," attorney Christian Everdell wrote in a letter filed in Manhattan Federal Court Monday evening.
For 36 days, the British socialite has been monitored around the clock by surveillance cameras and prison guards, including ones who do not appear to be regular MDC staff, Everdell wrote.
"These prison guards constantly observe Ms. Maxwell and take notes on her every activity, including her phone conversations with defense counsel. Until recently, Ms. Maxwell was subjected to suicide watch protocols, including being woken up every few hours during the night and being forced to wear special clothing, despite the fact that she, unlike Mr. Epstein, has never been suicidal and was never diagnosed as exhibiting risk factors for suicide. Her cell is searched multiple times a day and she has been forced to undergo numerous body scans," the letter reads.
Maxwell asks to be moved to general population, where she will be able to more easily access evidence.
The New York Daily News previously reported that Maxwell is held alone on a floor of MDC, separated from other female inmates. Sources said she's routinely moved to different cells to prevent her from stashing contraband. She reportedly has been outfitted with paper clothes to reduce the risk of suicide.
Epstein hanged himself one year ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to grooming underage girls in the mid-1990s for Epstein's sick scheme. She charged with perjury and enticing minors to travel for sex.
Also Tuesday, her defense team teased bombshell new information they say justifies delaying the release of documents about Epstein's sprawling sex trafficking scheme.
Attorney Laura Menninger provided no specifics about the information, which she said the defense received in a trove of evidence from federal prosecutors.
"On Friday, August 7, 2020, counsel for Ms. Maxwell learned of critical new information. ... The information implicates Ms. Maxwell's right to due process and fairness," Menninger wrote.
The lawyer claimed the information implicated Maxwell's criminal case for allegedly grooming Epstein's underage victims, as well as the unsealing of documents in a long-running defamation lawsuit pitting Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre against the British socialite.
A judge unsealed thousands of papers in that case last month, reviving lurid allegations against Maxwell and other prominent men. Maxwell has won a delay of two depositions she took in connection to the Giuffre case, in which she shared "intimate information about her personal life."
"These prison guards constantly observe Ms. Maxwell and take notes on her every activity, including her phone conversations with defense counsel. Until recently, Ms. Maxwell was subjected to suicide watch protocols, including being woken up every few hours during the night and being forced to wear special clothing, despite the fact that she, unlike Mr. Epstein, has never been suicidal and was never diagnosed as exhibiting risk factors for suicide. Her cell is searched multiple times a day and she has been forced to undergo numerous body scans," the letter reads.
Maxwell asks to be moved to general population, where she will be able to more easily access evidence.
The New York Daily News previously reported that Maxwell is held alone on a floor of MDC, separated from other female inmates. Sources said she's routinely moved to different cells to prevent her from stashing contraband. She reportedly has been outfitted with paper clothes to reduce the risk of suicide.
Epstein hanged himself one year ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to grooming underage girls in the mid-1990s for Epstein's sick scheme. She charged with perjury and enticing minors to travel for sex.
Also Tuesday, her defense team teased bombshell new information they say justifies delaying the release of documents about Epstein's sprawling sex trafficking scheme.
Attorney Laura Menninger provided no specifics about the information, which she said the defense received in a trove of evidence from federal prosecutors.
"On Friday, August 7, 2020, counsel for Ms. Maxwell learned of critical new information. ... The information implicates Ms. Maxwell's right to due process and fairness," Menninger wrote.
The lawyer claimed the information implicated Maxwell's criminal case for allegedly grooming Epstein's underage victims, as well as the unsealing of documents in a long-running defamation lawsuit pitting Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre against the British socialite.
A judge unsealed thousands of papers in that case last month, reviving lurid allegations against Maxwell and other prominent men. Maxwell has won a delay of two depositions she took in connection to the Giuffre case, in which she shared "intimate information about her personal life."