Ghislaine Maxwell trial: How 'Government Exhibit 52' could hold key to Epstein accomplices
The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, which starts on November 29, is expected to be key in getting details about the sex scandals involving late Jeffery Epstein who mysteriously died in jail. In this regard, Epstein's alleged girlfriend's little black book, labeled 'Government Exhibit 52', could provide "compelling evidence of her guilt".
Maxwell, 65, a longtime associate of Epstein, who is accused of having played a prominent role in his sex ring, was arrested on July 2, 2020, and faces a six-week trial at federal court in New York over alleged abuse, procurement of young women and trafficking crimes dating back decades. She faces more than 80 years in jail if convicted on all charges. According to the Sunday Times, her lawyers are fighting to keep the jurors from seeing the contents of her contacts book, which is a 97-page directory allegedly similar to Epstein's 'black book' and allegedly contains contact details of some of the most influential and famous people in the world, including billionaire Richard Branson, former F1 boss Flavio Briatore, former British PM Tony Blair, as well as rocker Mick Jagger.
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Government Exhibit 52
According to court records in Maxwell's trial, the book of contacts is officially known as "Government Exhibit 52". The book remains under a court seal for now and information in it is supposed to establish what and who Maxwell knew, including "an inference that the defendant knew that at least some of these individuals were minors." It has "contact information for victims who interacted with the defendant during the relevant time period" and "is compelling evidence of her guilt."
The "black book" was acquired by the FBI in 2009 when Epstein's former butler, Alfredo Rodriguez, attempted to sell the book to an attorney representing one of Maxwell and Epstein's alleged victims, for $50,000, after taking it from Epstein's Palm Beach mansion dubbed "Pleasure Palace" where he worked from 2004 to early 2005. Rodriguez later pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2010 for trying to sell the book. He died after his criminal case ended. The book has been in FBI custody ever since.
Will the little black book be entered into evidence?
A digital copy was made public through litigation from Virginia Giuffre, a woman who's accused Epstein and Maxwell of misconduct. If the book is entered as evidence in the trial, portions of the book can be shown to the jurors for deliberation. Maxwell's attorneys have sought to exclude the book as "unauthenticated hearsay" in a motion filed on November 12. "Ms Maxwell requests that the government be precluded from discussing the book at trial prior to a proper evidentiary foundation being established," Maxwell's lawyers wrote in a partially redacted court filing.
The defense attorneys have further claimed that the copy of the book that prosecutors seek to enter into evidence could have been tampered with. Despite the photocopy submitted by prosecutors being sealed, the defense has claimed that it had "unexplained faded marks" and "photocopies of tabs" that "suggest that pages have been added, omitted or altered." "There is no evidence to suggest that these documents were created or maintained by anyone," her attorneys wrote. "It is entirely probable that whatever the documents are they were manipulated or manufactured by Mr Rodriguez in an effort to get a $50,000 payday."
However, prosecutors have said that they intend to show excerpts from the actual book itself and not just the photocopy. To prove the authenticity of the book, prosecutors also said they wanted to bring "a witness with personal knowledge of the physical book" who worked for Epstein. The witness will also talk about how Maxwell and Epstein kept "multiple copies" of two sets of contact books.
"Employee-1 has examined Government Exhibit 52 in preparation for trial and recognizes it to be the defendant's contact book, copies of which were maintained in Epstein's Palm Beach residence, among other locations," prosecutors wrote. "Employee-1 recognizes the shape, color, and binding of the book, and recognizes the formatting and style of the entries as consistent with the manner in which the defendant's book was organized and the way in which entries appeared."