Ghislaine Maxwell Trial

[ti-amie]

What Matthew Russell Lee(@innercitypress) and Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) is not easy. I have to thank both of them for allowing their live tweets to be aggregated under @threadreaderapp. A lot of folks don't allow that.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

From Inner City Press:

Maxwell's lawyer (before jury comes in) Seeing semen on the table is going to be prejudicial.
AUSA: It was a white stain. It is entirely probative as to whether these massages were just messages or were in fact sexual.
Judge Nathan: I would permit lab tests
Assistant US Attorney: The fact that Mr. Epstein had a collection of school girl uniforms is relevant.
Maxwell's lawyer: This has little connection Ms. Maxwell and is prejudicial.
AUSA: School girl costumes, small ones, were found in the massage room.
Maxwell's lawyer: They should not be described as school girl uniforms.
AUSA: I'll just lay a foundation then ask the witness about them.
Judge Nathan: You could say, Without describing them, did you find these items.
Maxwell's lawyer: The interior and art work changed, by 2019. The witness we call "Jane" said it was creepy, with drawing of monsters on the walls and naked women. We think these photos should be excluded. The photos of nude girls in the massage room
Judge Nathan: Maybe there's a way to position two screens, and only show them to the jurors. I'll ask Ms. Williams to ask the A/V people. Can show video so that only the jurors can see it, and no one else? We'll see. Please bring in the jurors.
Judge Nathan: Mr. Alessi, you may return to the stand.
Jury enters. All rise!
Maxwell's lawyer: Mr. Alessi, you said you are called Juan but don't you sometimes say, "I am John"?
ALessi: I am John, in English.
Maxwell's lawyer: Ms. Maxwell speaks Spanish and called you Juan. You did not take it as an insult, no?
Alessi: No, I did not.
Maxwell's lawyer: You took $6300 dollars, right?
Alessi: Yes.
Maxwell's lawyer: But didn't you lie - when you stole twice, in fact?
Alessi: I did not lie.
Maxwell's lawyer: Didn't you try to steal a gun? Didn't you steal over $5000 to pay for the immigration papers of your girlfriend?
Alessi: It was not my girlfriend.
Maxwell's lawyer: Police Officer Dawson questioned you?
Alessi: No, I went to him.
Maxwell's lawyer: You told him you went in to steal a gun.
Alessi: I don't recall.
Maxwell's lawyer: You might have said it, but now you don't recall?
Alessi: That's it.
Maxwell's lawyer: & you went back once again to steal money?
Alessi: I did it one time & I think that is what I told the police.
Maxwell's lawyer: You went through the sliding glass door and stole $5600 from Mr. Epstein's briefcase, $100 bills in a white envelope?
Maxwell's lawyer: Show the witness 3504-002, deposition transcript. I move for admission under Rule 801.
[Note: "(A) is inconsistent with the declarant’s testimony & was given under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding or in a deposition;"
Maxwell's lawyer: You stole $6000, when you owned properties valued at $1 million.
Alessi: I sold those properties, to buy the property for the multi-family.
Maxwell's lawyer: Let's look again at 3504-002, deposition page 145.
[Note: During all this, Ghislaine Maxwell is leaning back and even masked, seems pleased with herself. When first we practice to deceive...]
Maxwell's lawyer: I'm having trouble seeing in here.
ALERT: Maxwell's lawyer has just openly said the real name of one of the pseudonymous survivor witnesses.
Judge Nathan: Your are admonished to abide by my rulings.
AUSA: May we approach?
Sidebar begins...
Returning from the sidebar, Maxwell's lawyer pointedly says, "Mr. Alessi, you testified about when JANE met Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell."
Alessi: In this testimony I mistook the two --
Maxwell's lawyer: In 2016 you were directed to the name JANE and you said No
Now Maxwell's lawyer is cross examining Juan Alessi about Epstein's Palm Beach house. Unclear what Judge Nathan will do about Team Maxwell repeatedly blurting out the real names of pseudonymous survivor(s).
Maxwell's lawyer: Do you see the notation, new moldings in the bedrooms?
Alessi: Yes.
Maxwell's lawyer: And during construction, no one live in its?
Alessi: No, during part of it Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell lived there.
Maxwell's lawyer: You were asked if JANE was driving and you said you never saw Jane driving a car. Those are all questions about Jane, right?
Alessi: I think so.
Maxwell's lawyer: Let's take the break.
Judge Nathan: OK.

Maxwell's lawyer: I'm asking about what you [Alessi] said --
AUSA: We ask for the whole thing to be read.
Maxwell's lawyer: So you say, Summer, I remember, I was sweating like hell in the car waiting for Ms. Maxwell to come out of the car.
[This could take a while]
Maxwell's lawyer: Mr. Alessi, didn't you keep a Rolodex of the girls?
Alessi: No, of the massage therapists.
Maxwell's lawyer: You got referrals for massage therapists?
Alessi: No sir.
Maxwell's lawyer: You said, One of Jeffrey Epstein's friends would say, I got a good massage and you'd say, please give me the answer.
Alessi: I never -
Maxwell's lawyer: You previously said this under oath. May I continue your Honor?
Judge Nathan: Yes.
Maxwell's lawyer: Isn't it true that Mr Epstein bought other women to the house and told you to remove the pictures of Ms. Maxwell from the house?
Alessi: I did what he told me to do.
Maxwell's lawyer: Why did you THINK you were taking Ms. Maxwell's picture down, when Mr. Epstein had the other women over?
Alessi: I have no idea.
Maxwell's lawyer: Mr. Alessi, as Mr. Epstein's direction you called women and set up massages, correct?
Alessi: Yes.
Maxwell's lawyer: And that doesn't make you guilty of sex trafficking, does it?
Assistant US Attorney: Objection!
Maxwell's lawyer: And when you cleaned the massage room, you have saw signs of violence, right? No one complained to your of that?
Alessi (voice rising) No but I wish they had, I would have done something.
[Some laughter]
[Programming note, as Alessi ends - some may not believe his statements that he didn't know, or especially the claim near the end of cross examination that if only the victim has complained, he would have acted. Some, it seems, found that laughable. Discretely]
AUSA: No re-direct.

Judge Nathan: Next witness:
It's Gregory Parkinson, questioned by AUSA Maurene Comey. The topic, we believe, will be search of Epstein's home.
But first, his credential and career. This could take a while.
Parkinson: I participated in a search in Palm Beach.
AUSA Maurene Comey: What is this?
Parkinson: A map or aerial view.
AUSA: Had you been there before?
Parkinson: Yes, on a report of a theft of currency. I met Mr. Jeffrey Epstein.
Now before it gets into what was found during the search - Judge Nathan calls the lunch break; A/V will set up screens only jurors can see. There is a press conference at SDNY prosecutors' office on another topic but thread will continue - watch this site.

[ti-amie]

From Adam Klasfeld:

Good morning from New York.

Yesterday, Jeffrey Epstein's ex-house manager backed up testimony by Ghislaine Maxwell's accuser "Jane" in important respects. He said he saw "Jane" with the duo without her mother present.

The government concluded the direct examination of that house manager, Juan Alessi, ended on Thursday.

Cross-examination kicks off this morning.
In pre-trial proceedings, the parties have been arguing about the admission of certain evidence — such as schoolgirl costumes found in Jeffrey Epstein's massage room and art sexualizing minors.
More on that later:

This is being debated now because the upcoming witnesses are expected to be Florida law enforcement.
Alessi testified yesterday about remembering seeing two girls in Epstein's house who appeared to be minors: "Jane," who testified earlier this week.

The other was Virginia Giuffre, whose civil suit against Maxwell helped spark her criminal prosecution.
"All rise."

The jury is entering.

The witness is on the stand.
Pagliuca's cross-examination begins for the defense.

He asks Alessi about testimony that Epstein and Maxwell both called him "John," not "Juan."

Alessi agrees that everyone called him John, and he didn't take it as disrespectful.
Alessi conceded at the end of direct examination that he stole $6,300 from Epstein, which he returned.

Pagliuca is rattling off what he describes as other alleged thefts.

Alessi replies: "That's not true."
Q: Do you remember telling him that stole money to pay for the girlfriend's immigration papers?
A: First of all, she was not my girlfriend [...] We were not involved.
Q: Is it true that you stole the money, to pay for the immigration papers?
A: Yes.
Alessi concedes that he testified on Sept. 8, 2009 that he stole from Epstein at least twice.

"I guess it was," he said.

Pagliuci moves for the admission of that testimony.
Q: You weren't poor when you went into Mr. Epstein's house in 2003, and you stole the money?
A: I wasn't poor but the money was sequestered because I was going through a divorce.
Pagliuca turns back to Alessi's testimony about Jane.

Q: Isn't it true that you met Jane in 1998 and 2000?
A: That's not true.
Maxwell's lawyer just said Jane's real name and was admonished by Judge Nathan. I won't be repeating it here.
Pagliuca moves onto Alessi's testimony that Jane would see Epstein and Maxwell without her mother present.
Q: When Mr. Epstein was going to be in the residence, he wanted you and your wife there?

Only us. No contractors in the house.

Pagliuca asks whether he had to be there 24 hours a day on these occasions.

"Yes, it was slavery," Alessi says.
Alessi starts to get testy as Pagliuca asks if Epstein liked to show off the Palm Beach property to famous visitors.

"I don't know if he liked to show off that property," he snaps.

The dispute is over what he knew Epstein "liked" to do.
Alessi says of Epstein: "He had very little contact with me in the later years."

Pagliuca calls that inconsistent with his prior testimony that his direct supervisor was "Mr. Epstein."

"He would deal with me directly, and if he was not available, Ms. Maxwell."
Pagliuca's questioning turns to the "Household Manual," which has this bullet point under "Grooming & Guest Relations":

"Remember that you see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing, except to answer a question directed at you. Respect their privacy."



Cross-examination resumes with questioning about Virginia Roberts (aka, Virginia Giuffre).

Alessi testified that he met Virginia at Mar-a-Lago.
Alessi says he doesn't know whether Ghislaine Maxwell went in for a treatment or not.

Pagliuca says that he previously testified that Maxwell did.
On the weather that day Alessi says he met Virginia Roberts at Mar-a-Lago:

Q: You recalled that it was very hot out.
A: I recalled that very much.

They are disputing whether he said the meeting happened in 2001 or 2002.
Pagliuca has been grilling Alessi as to whether his testimony about this encounter changed in subtle ways over the years, e.g. whether Maxwell got a treatment then.

Q: That's when Ms. Maxwell had her treatment, right?
A: I don't know what she had. I'd never seen the treatments.
Alessi on Epstein: "He never shared anything about his personal life with me."

"He never suggested, implied or tell me anything about it."
Alessi agreed after being asked on cross-examination that he said Epstein asked him to take down pictures of Maxwell when other women visited the house.
Q: Why did you think he told you to take her pictures down?
A: I had no idea, sir.
Pagliuca asks if a number of foreign people visited the house, including people with accents. Alessi agrees.

A: "English accents. French accents. Italian accents."

Q: Lots of different accents?

Alessi answers in the affirmative.
Pagliuca asks Alessi whether he ever arranged professional massages for Epstein at The Breakers at Palm Beach.

After Pagliuca asks whether these arrangements made Alessi a sex trafficker, the prosecutor objects.

Sustained.

(Context: Those massages in question were professional messages from a Palm Beach spa.)
Pagliuca asks whether he ever heard someone looking afraid, screaming or in distress.

"No, sir. Never."

The lawyer asks if he ever saw any signs that anyone was hurt or injured during these massages.

He replies no.
Pagliuca asks if anyone ever complained to him.

"I wish they would have," he says, "because I would have done something to stop it."

But the witness says no, nobody ever complained.
Q: When you were working for Mr. Epstein, you didn't have any doubt that the girls were provided for massages were not of proper age, correct?

Prosecutor: I'm going to object to form.

Judge: Sustained.
Asked whether he believed the people sent to perform sessions on Epstein were "of age," Alessi responds: "I believed so."
Cross examination concludes.

No redirect.

Alessi steps down.
The government calls their next witness: Gregory Parkinson, a crime scene investigator.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Parkinson," AUSA says, a few minutes before noon.

"Good afternoon," Parkinson replies, as the morning ends.
Now retired, Parkinson worked as a crime scene manager with the Palm Beach Police Department.
The government introduces a map of Palm Beach with a red dot that the witness identifies as the El Brillo property.

Parkinson gives jurors the lay of the land.
Testimony turns to Parkinson's visit to Epstein's property, 358 El Brillo Way.
Parkinson describes his search of Epstein's Palm Beach property on Oct. 20, 2005:

He says he went into the:

* Garden room, on the south side, passed into
* The Lake Room, which was like an office and a library, and also
* walked into the kitchen area.
Parkinson says that evidence was transferred to the FBI in 2006.
Parkinson describes a photo submitted into evidence: Epstein's kitchen.

Next photo: Another view of the same room.

Lunch recess.

To be continued...
The afternoon session begins:

Parkinson is viewing and being questioned about a video of a walk-through of Epstein's Palm Beach residence.
Parkinson describes a photograph of Pope John Paul with Jeffrey Epstein.
Parkinson: "That is a picture of Fidel Castro with Jeffrey Epstein."

[ti-amie]

@KlasfeldReports continued

The government calls their next witness: Gregory Parkinson, a crime scene investigator.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Parkinson," AUSA says, a few minutes before noon.

"Good afternoon," Parkinson replies, as the morning ends.
Now retired, Parkinson worked as a crime scene manager with the Palm Beach Police Department.
The government introduces a map of Palm Beach with a red dot that the witness identifies as the El Brillo property.

Parkinson gives jurors the lay of the land.
Testimony turns to Parkinson's visit to Epstein's property, 358 El Brillo Way.
Parkinson describes his search of Epstein's Palm Beach property on Oct. 20, 2005:

He says he went into the:

* Garden room, on the south side, passed into
* The Lake Room, which was like an office and a library, and also
* walked into the kitchen area.
Parkinson says that evidence was transferred to the FBI in 2006.
Parkinson describes a photo submitted into evidence: Epstein's kitchen.

Next photo: Another view of the same room.
Lunch recess.

To be continued...
The afternoon session begins:

Parkinson is viewing and being questioned about a video of a walk-through of Epstein's Palm Beach residence.
Parkinson describes a photograph of Pope John Paul with Jeffrey Epstein.
Parkinson: "That is a picture of Fidel Castro with Jeffrey Epstein."
The video, which the press and public cannot see, turns to the second floor of Epstein's Palm Beach residence.

[ti-amie]

From earlier today:

[ti-amie]

@KlasfeldReports continued

Deleted a tweet with a generalized description of the photos and art that prosecutors said authorities found in Epstein's house.

Instead, I'm sharing my colleague's story that has this in greater detail.
"Maxwell prosecutors: ‘sexualized’ photo of young girl displayed outside Epstein bedroom," @vicbekiempis reports.

A tour through several photographs and art.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... photograph

[ti-amie]

Via Matthew Russell Lee as @innercitypress

[ti-amie]

@KlasfeldReports continued

AUSA is leading the witness through photographs, which are being openly displayed.

Witness on one of them: "This is a view from the garden room, standing at the [...] southeast, looking at the northwest."

(Jurors are being asked to privately view another exhibit.)

Mid-afternoon recess.

Service advisory: Much of this testimony is visual, including of sealed exhibits that are not available to the press and public.

Live-tweets will be sporadic.
Judge Nathan on the video:

"I don't see why a public version can't be made," in redacted form, to protect the privacy of "a few individuals."
Maxwell's lawyer Bobbi Sternheim tells the judge that sealing the roughly 40-minute video conveys a public impression that the house was a "domicile of debauchery."

Only a couple of images in the video were at issue, she said.

Court is back in session after a long recess.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

The 58 page handbook Mr. Juan Alessi referred to yesterday has been released. Or something.

[ti-amie]

Inner City Press
@innercitypress
Maxwell's lawyer Everdell: You previously investigated a burglary there, correct?
Parkinson: True.
Everdell: And Mr. Epstein said that several thousand dollars had been stolen, right?
Parkinson: True.

[ti-amie]

I wonder what he finds humorous in this situation?

[ti-amie]

Inner City Press
@innercitypress

AUSA: What were you looking for, during the search?
Dawson: Massage tables and oil. Sex toys. There were a lot of photos of nude females. We seized a phone book, a massage table, photo of a nude female, a sex toy called the torpedo
[Flashes on screen & is gone]

Anyone who has seen "Requiem for a Dream" knows about this particular sex toy and its uses.

[ti-amie]

Adam Klasfeld @KlasfeldReports

Judge Nathan: "We're done for the night."

She is prompt about stopping proceedings at 5 p.m.

Inner City Press
@innercitypress

Judge Nathan: We're done for the week. Obey my instructions. Oh and by the way, we will not sit Dec 13, 14 or 15... Why, is not explained. Some letters due Sat & Sunday, both at 8 pm.
All rise!
It's done. #MaximumMaxwell to be updated