Law&Crime Sidebar - Ghislaine Maxwell Says Sex Trafficking Partner Jeffrey Epstein Was Murdered

Episode Date: January 24, 2023

Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell claimed her former associate and boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison. Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld breaks it down with Sidebar host Jesse Weber.LAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Logan HarrisGuest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. Galane Maxwell speaks. Law and Crime Managing Editor Adam Classfeld comes on to break down the shocking statements from the convicted sex trafficker in her new interview. Welcome to Sidebar, Presented by Long Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Epstein died, and they should take their disappointment and upset out on the authorities that allowed that to happen. Galane Maxwell is speaking out. That's right, the convicted child sex trafficker and former Jeffrey Epstein associate is sitting in federal prison,

serving out her 20-year sentence, and she now has. some things to say. You see, she sat down for an interview with UK broadcaster talk TV and she made some pretty stunning claims. So to help me talk a little bit more about this, I want to bring in somebody who has followed the Galane Maxwell case very closely, actually was in court during her trial. I'm joined right now by managing editor of law and crime and host of the objections podcast, Adam, classfeld. Adam, good to have you on. Good to be on. Adam, you know where I'm going to start. I'm going to start with the bombshell from Ms. Maxwell because she was asked about Jeffrey Epstein's death.

Now, you'll recall that Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sexual abuse charges. And while the death was ruled a suicide, Maxwell doesn't quite believe that. No, he didn't. I don't believe he did. I believe that he was murdered while shocked. And I wondered how it has happened. because he was going to, I was sure he was going to appeal.

Adam, what do you make of that? Well, a couple of things go through my mind when I listen to that clip. First and foremost, Galane Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell, you may remember, had been found dead after falling from his yacht in what was ruled an accident. She didn't believe that then either. She thought her father was killed. So this is, there's a little bit of biographical background here, even that. But going further, she isn't alone in the kind of prominent people who are connected to the case, who have expressed skepticism on this subject.

That includes Jeffrey Epstein's legal team. That includes his family, forensic pathologists. And I'll go farther and say that one of the top chroniclers of the entire Epstein Saka, a woman who's very almost. single-handedly responsible for reigniting interests in the case and has been credited for the prosecution. Julie K. Brown recently wrote a book about the Jeffrey Epstein saga. One of the chapters was titled Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself, a very popular meme. So Galane Maxwell isn't alone in thinking that. As you noted, Jesse, his death has been ruled as suicide. A number of prominent people connected to the case or not connected to the case have expressed willingness to

believe that. But that said, taking a step back here, let's get the big picture. Elaine Maxwell is now convicted of very serious charges, including sex trafficking. She's pushing an appeal. One of the key focuses of her appeal will be to so distrust about the system. So, of course, if you listen to the full clip, she's going to say, she said that the victims should be upset with the prison officials who let that happen. So this is a kind of theme that we're hearing here about Elaine Maxwell sewing distrust on the legal system. She's made it about the press. She's made it about the failures of the prison system throughout.

And we're seeing more of the same. And also things that are familiar themes, even before any of this happened throughout her life. And real quick, is this a surprise to you? She said this in the sense that was she concerned about her safety in federal lockup? Was she concerned about her safety while awaiting trial? Remember, she was not granted bond. So, I mean, the question, of course, was if she believed Jeffrey Epstein was killed, is this surprised to you or did we hear rumblings that she believed this and was worried about her own safety? Well, we know that she was worried about her own safety throughout. She made multiple appeals for

bond, was rejected multiple times. One of the filings, court filings that she gave in attempting to get out of prison, a pending trial, included as an exhibit, a photograph of her with a black eye. We still don't know where the alleged Shiner came from. We just saw a little discoloration under her eye. So this has been a common theme with her. She complains about the legal system, the media, the Bureau of Prisons. So this is very, this is very common. It has followed a theme that even though it's a stunner of an interview, absolutely, it is very much in keeping with what we've heard from Maxwell for years. Let's continue on with this stunner of an interview

because I want to get your take on this too. When she was asked about that infamous photograph, the photograph of Prince Andrew with Virginia Joufrey, the woman who was accused the prince of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, listen to what she had to say about it. With the fake, I don't believe that. I don't believe it's surreal for a second. fact. I'm sure it's not. Well, there's never been an original. And further, there's no

photograph. And I've only ever seen a photocopy of it. Wow. So she says that that photograph that we've all seen as a fake, that was doctor, there's never been an original copy. What's your thoughts on that? Well, I'm glad you asked me about that one, Jesse, because it's very interesting because in 2015, there was a different quote about that photograph by one Galane Maxwell in a leaked email that made its way to the UK press that said that she was saying that it looked real. Well, something happened between 2015 and the previous weekend about that photograph now. Either she got more skeptical recently or she thinks that there's some good reason to cast doubt on the credibility of Virginia Joufrey, wants to help out her friend, Prince Andrew,

and undermine the case against him right after a real setback for Virginia Joufrey. Just to take a step back here, that photograph, of course, was a photograph of Jufre and the prince with her in the background smiling. And very recently, Virginia Jufre had her case fall apart against Alan Dershowitz. Now, if the same thing happened with Prince. Andrew, and there's been some rumblings in the British press that he may reconsider the settlement. We'll see to whatever extent he's able to wriggle out of that settlement. If two cases fell apart by one of her top accusers, come in appeal time, that would be good for

her. Yeah, and just to follow up on that, right, so he settled the second assault lawsuit. He hasn't been criminally charged the prince with anything. I was curious when she made this statement that if she were called to be a witness against him in any future prosecution, she would say, well, I've never even known Virginia Joufrey to be with the prince. And one further, I think that photo was doctored. So she might be laying the seeds out there, or maybe she really does believe the actual photo was doctored. I have to ask you the main question of this. Why is she doing this interview?

Well, it seems right now, there's one person who knows the answer to that question, and that is Galane Maxwell. But I will say this. This is happening very shortly after, again, I point to the crumbling of the case that Virginia Joufrey filed against Alan Dershowitz was seen by some folks as a blow to a credibility of not only one of the top Epstein accusers, but one of the top accusers against Galane Maxwell. So it could be seizing upon that timing, the fact that the prince's settlement agreement had a one-year expiration date reportedly on the gag order. So that might be coming out soon. She might figure that if she tries to raise some doubt about one of the most visible accusers in this saga, she could maybe enhance her position pending an appeal at a time when a lot

of this is coming to a head. So there are many ways that her coming out to finally speak to the press in these jailhouse interviews are, you know, the timing is very interesting. And it's also interesting. I'll just point to that one thing, one more time about the fact that she's claiming that this photo looked fake in 2015. She said it looks real. And that's a direct quote. Do you think she seemed remorseful at all in this interview about the victims in this case?

because that became a talking point as well. If you think that she's doing this strategically for this interview, what did you think of her comments regarding the victims in the case? She's walking this line that she always has walked with the victims, where she expresses empathy with them, but not for anything that she did. She has never really kind of stepped forward and apologized them for her actions. And we'll see how that is playing out for an appeal, because she is very much trying to litigate our understanding of this case, the findings, what the jury found. She's trying to

revive a lot of this history. And this history now has a long record that including her own comments, which she's now backtracking from. Unbelievable. I'll let me ask you this before I let you go, real quick, you think she's going to do another interview? Being the media savvy former socialite that she is, I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the last. Is she going to do an interview with Adam Classfeld? Well, my line is always open, and I'll reach out to her folks. And we will have you right back on to talk about that. Adam, thanks so much.

It's great seeing you. Great seeing you, too. And that's all we have for you here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. Please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus.

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