Thread by @VickyPJWard

I wrote about Day One of the Maxwell trial for my @SubstackInc newsletter. For that report, see my new column at “Vicky Ward Investigates.” 

For Day 2, here are some thoughts about what happened in the courtroom this morning. #GhislaineMaxwellTrial

vickyward.substack.com/p/notes-from-t…

So far, testimony given by Epstein pilot Larry Visoski seems much more beneficial to Maxwell’s defense than to the prosecution.

Visoski told jurors that in the thirty years he flew Epstein’s planes, he never once saw an underage woman who was not accompanied by a parent and he never once saw anybody having sex or any evidence of sex.

Visoski says that Accuser 1—pseudonym “Jane,” who prosecutors allege was only 14 when recruited by Epstein and Maxwell—looked to him like she was 20. He said she looked to him like “a mature woman.”

The defense also again brought up Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Pilot Larry Visoski said he remembered a “Virginia” being on Epstein’s plane, but that she did not appear underage to him.

Maxwell’s defense have made sure to mention the powerful men who flew on Epstein’s planes. They’ve asked Epstein pilot Larry Visoski about Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Bill Richardson, John Glenn, and Itzhak Perlman.

The only man they asked about who Visoski couldn’t remember was Bobby Kennedy, Jr.

Visoski claims that if Epstein and Maxwell were involved, it wasn’t clear what the nature of their relationship was. He told jurors that from the time he first met Maxwell in 1991 thru 2004, when she was clearly with a new boyfriend Ted Waitt, she lived separately from Epstein.

It seems to me that the defense is using Visoski to belabor a point that was made in the opening argument yesterday—that Maxwell “worked very hard.” In other words, they say she wasn’t a “socialite.”

Visoski’s testimony puts a distance between Maxwell and Epstein physically. He claims he wasn’t sure they were a romantic couple. He says he never saw them kiss or touch.

Visoski says that Maxwell’s role was to take care of every thing in Epstein’s life that wasn’t business—his properties, decorations, construction—at a time when his business was expanding. Maxwell was in charge of decorating even the planes.

The name Sarah Kellen keeps popping up. There is lots of talk about her being some sort of successor to Maxwell in Epstein’s office.

Visoski’s testimony thus far seems to so much favor the defense that it’s puzzling why the prosecutors called him as their first witness.

Lawyer Lisa Bloom told me she believes that what Visoski is saying now will fade into the background once the additional government witnesses take the stand.

I'll be back with more from this afternoon's session.

In the meanwhile, here's my dispatch from Day One of the #GhislaineMaxwellTrial: vickyward.substack.com/p/notes-from-t…