Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail for fifth time
Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to be released on bail pending trial on sex-trafficking charges was shot down — for a fifth time — Wednesday, according to a new court filing.
The jailed British socialite’s request was denied in a
one-page order issued by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, court documents
show.
The appeals court also rejected her bid for a district court
hearing about the conditions she’s been living under at a Brooklyn lockup,
where she’s been cooling her heels since her arrest last July.
Maxwell has repeatedly argued to be released on bail to the
judge presiding over her criminal case in Manhattan federal court — and been
denied three times.
Her lawyers also previously appealed to the 2nd Circuit in
April, arguing she’s being unfairly punished because officials from the federal
Bureau of Prisons let her alleged cohort, Jeffrey Epstein, kill himself and
escape justice. She was denied that appeal as well.
Maxwell, the daughter of late disgraced media titan Robert
Maxwell, has complained about conditions she faces at the Metropolitan
Detention Center in Brooklyn in a number of letters to Judge Alison Nathan.
She claims guards awaken her every 15 minutes at night by
shining a flashlight in her face during checkups. Maxwell is forced to sleep
with a sock over her face to block the light, her lawyers have argued.
Maxwell is accused of procuring four girls for Epstein to
abuse in the 1990s and early 2000s and also charged with lying under oath. She
has pleaded not guilty and maintains her innocence.
In a statement Wednesday, her attorney David Oscar Markus
said she’s being punished for the “Epstein effect.”
“MDC is a complete disaster. Numerous judges have recognized
how inhumane it is. And Ghislaine Maxwell is subjected to more grueling
conditions than any other inmate there — even waking her up every 15 minutes at
night, making it impossible for her to sleep or prepare for trial,” Markus said
in an email.
“We all know the truth — this is due to the Epstein effect.
Because Epstein died on the jail’s watch, it has decided to torture Ghislaine.
That’s wrong,” he added.
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