Ghislaine Maxwell was just convicted, and then things got even uglier for Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators
Today a jury found Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell guilty on five of six felony counts, meaning she’s looking at a lengthy prison sentence that could end up being a de facto life sentence. Rather than being the end of the line in the Epstein scandal, it could be just the start.
Maxwell surely thought there was a decent chance she’d be acquitted, or else she wouldn’t have gone to trial. But now that she’s guessed incorrectly, her only shot at any semblance of a future is if she flips on every other one of Epstein’s co-conspirators. There have been reports, allegations, and rumors that major figures in politics and society from all around the world may have participated in the hideous crimes that Epstein and Maxwell carried out. If Maxwell now decides to give them up, she could perhaps hope to get out of prison in ten years instead of twenty, or do her time in a nicer prison. But there’s more.
Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre has an ongoing civil case against Prince Andrew, whom she alleges also sexually abused her. In what is either a remarkable coincidence or an intentionally timed move, almost immediately after the Maxwell guilty verdict came in, the judge in the civil case announced that Epstein’s years-ago settlement with Giuffre will be unsealed a week from today.
This set up an interesting situation in which Maxwell may have to quickly decide whether or not to cut a cooperating deal. The Epstein-Giuffre settlement likely contains numerous details that prosecutors will be able to use to go after other alleged Epstein co-conspirators, whether it be Prince Andrew or others. Once its unsealed, the value of Maxwell’s cooperation could instantly drop. So if Maxwell is thinking about ever cutting a deal, she’ll want to seriously consider doing it within the next week. Perhaps this was the judge’s intent, or perhaps not, but it further underscores how bad of a day today is for Epstein’s co-conspirators.
