OK - it's US v. #GhislaineMaxwell Day 8, starting late due to juror with slow MTA subway, day after US announced it will or may rest its case this week innercitypress.com/literary5maxim… Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below
Judge Nathan: We still have to wait for our juror who has substantial train issues. I'll step down off the bench.
Clerk: All rise!
Thread will continue. Or really, start, when juror arrives.
OK - Juror has arrived, 45 minutes late.
All rise!
Next witness: Janine Gill-Velez of Florida Property Management (that is, Mar-a-Lago).
Assistant US Attorney: How long have you worked at Mar-A-Lago?
Gill-Velez: 15 years.
AUSA: So this is exhibit 823-r, redacted [for the public]. It's a personal action notice, the hiring of Sky Roberts in April 2000.
[That is what the US wanted to establish, the hiring of Sky Roberts. So now, cross-exam]
Maxwell's lawyer Bobbi Sternheim: But you have no personal knowledge of the hiring, correct?
Gill: Correct.
Sternheim: No further questions.
Judge Nathan: Next witness, "Sean."
Judge Nathan: This witness will testify only as Shawn, to protect anonymity of previous witness [Carolyn]. No exact likeness in drawing.
Witness: I'm S-H-A-W-N. That sealed exhibit has my full name.
AUSA: How old are you?
Shawn: 38. Some college. I'm a salesman.
AUSA: What was the first name of your girlfriend?
Shawn: Carolyn. She was 14, I was 17. We dated four or five years. She worked at Arby's, and she worked for Jeffrey Epstein.
AUSA: How did she meet Epstein?
Shawn: Through Virginia Roberts.
AUSA: What's the difference between Palm Beach & West Palm Beach?
Shawn: Money --
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection!
Judge Nathan: Sustained.
AUSA Maurene Comey: Did you go to Palm Beach much?
Shawn: No. I didn't have enough money to buy anything in the gas station there
AUSA: How long did Carolyn stay in Jeffrey's house?
Shawn: An hour. Or an hour and five minutes.
AUSA: How were the session set up?
Shawn: They would call my phone: Sarah and a lady with a foreign accent. One was English and one almost French.
AUSA Comey: Did Carolyn mention anyone else?
Shawn: Maxwell. She couldn't pronounce the first name.
AUSA: Did she get a gift?
Shawn: From FedEx. Lingerie and a movie. From New York.
AUSA: Did you go to Epstein's with anyone else?
Shawn: Melissa and Amanda Laslow
AUSA: How old was Amanda when you saw her go to Epstein's house?
Shawn: 15.
Maxwell's lawyer: Objection!
AUSA: How old was Melissa when she went to Epstein's house?
Shawn: 16. She came out with hundred dollar bills.
AUSA: Were you arrested in Louisiana?
Shawn: Yes, possession of meth. And felon in possession of a firearm. Now I'm a salesman.
Now cross examination by Maxwell's lawyer Jeff Pagliuca
Pag: Shawn, you went to Epstein's house in 2002, correct?
Shawn: Yes.
Pagliuca: And it was Sarah who called you and gave you her name, right?
Shawn: Correct.
Pagliuca: You met the government, for example in July 2022, and said the accent was French.
Shawn: It was foreign.
Next witness: Nicole Hesse, worked at Epstein's and Maxwell's Palm Beach home in 2003.
AUSA Moe: What was your job?
Mrs. Hesse: Take care of the home. I was hired by Ghislaine Maxwell.
Judge Nathan: I'll give the jurors their morning break.
Soon podcast and stories on InnerCityPress.com and patreon.com/MatthewRussell… - and a thread within this thread of photos now in evidence in #MaxwellTrial 1/x photo with snow...
Here's the podcast. Jury finally back & US introduced exhibits - under seal. Inner City Press will keep live tweeting - while trying to cover a criminal proceeding in EDNY court in Brooklyn which has a call-in line, denied in #MaxwellTrialanchor.fm/innercity-pres…
AUSA: In this sealed exhibit, do you see that Carolyn called Epstein's house?
A: I do.
AUSA: Now that we're looking at this [sealed] Government Exhibit, it says "Carolyn," right?
A: Right.
Next witness is Epstein's second pilot, Mister Rogers.
AUSA: Who did you work for until 2019?
Rogers: Jeffrey Epstein. As a pilot, since 1999. I was hired in Columbus, Ohio.
Rogers: We mostly flew between his houses. From 1991 he had a smaller plane, then a Gulfstream. Then a Cesna 421 followed by the Boeing 727...
AUSA: On the Gulfstream, what divider was there?
Rogers: A door, always closed.
Rogers: I kept a log book. Including passenger names.
AUSA: We offer the log book - as a sealed exhibit.
NOTE: Rogers' log book, as shown on the screen, has the entire column of passenger named redacted or blacked out.
Press question: Is there really a reasonable expectation of privacy for flying on the private jet of a pedophile?
AUSA: How did you find out the names of the passengers?
Rogers: Sometimes we'd be told.
AUSA: Would you always know?
Rogers: No.
OK - jury's set to come back in, Ghislaine Maxwell in red sweater siddled over to whisper in lawyer's ear, here's quick midday stand-up from Foley Square outside the courthouse, something of a curtain raiser...
FINALLY, jury back in their chairs.
AUSA: Mr. Rogers, please turn in your binder to GX 12. Without saying the name out loud, is that the name of a passenger on Mr. Epstein's plane?
Rogers: Yes.
AUSA: Let's look back at sealed exhibit 662, at page 44. Flight number 916... Who drove passengers to the plane in Palm Beach?
Rogers: Juan Alessi.
AUSA: And this flight?
Rogers: From Palm Beach to New Jersey. Jane was on the flight. By first name.
AUSA: Are there others on the flight?
Rogers: Yes.
AUSA: Let's move to another flight. [Who else was on not disclosed, nor asked on direct]
AUSA: Flight 818.
Rogers: Van Nuys CA to Santa Fe NM, only Jeffrey on the flight.
AUSA: How many times do you remember Virginia Roberts flying on Jeffrey Epstein's planes?
Rogers: Thirty two (32) times.
AUSA: This flight to St. Thomas - were Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Roberts passengers??
Rogers: Yes.
AUSA: And was there one other person on the flight?
Rogers: Yes.
AUSA: Let's move to another flight [The additional passenger UNdisclosed]
AUSA: And this flight?
Rogers: From Spain to Tangier, Morocco.
[Epstein and Maxwell on the flight]
Now cross examination of pilot David Rogers.
Maxwell's lawyer: Sometimes the cockpit door would be open and you could see the passengers, right?
Rogers: Correct.
Maxwell's lawyer: And you did that sometimes, yes?
Rogers: Yes.
Maxwell's lawyer: You never found in the cabin any sex toys or used condoms, right?
Rogers: No I did not.
Maxwell's lawyer: Isn't it common to own private planes through companies, one company per plane to limit liability, right?
Rogers: Yes.
Judge Nathan: Let's take our mid afternoon break.
[What is being accomplished by this cross examination?]
Thread will continue.
They're back, with Maxwell's lawyer Everdell still flaying around on cross examination.
Everdell: Mr. Rogers, you know the real name of Jane, don't you?
Judge Nathan: Without saying it.
Rogers: Yes.
Everdell: But Epstein had an assistant with the same first name as Jane's real first name, didn't he?
Rogers: Yes.
[Note: This is another way of outing or doxing]
Everdell: And Eva Dubin was on this flight, and her husband is a hedge fund manager who was an Epstein client?
Rogers: I don't know.
Everdell: So these trips to Columbus, Ohio, that's where Leslie Wexner lives, right, the owner of The Limited?
Rogers: Yes.
Everdell: And Mr. Wexner is a billionaire, Jeffrey Epstein's client?
Rogers: Yes.
Everdell: And you never saw Annie Farmer in your planes, or your logs?
Rogers: I did not.
Everdell (after a time) I though it was later than it is.
Judge Nathan: It just feels that way.
Maxwell's lawyer Everdell: Now Mr. Visoski --
Judge Nathan: It's Mr. Rogers.
Everdell: [Uncomfortable laugh]
Now at the end, more on scheduling.
Judge Nathan: I would prefer to not do the charging conference Friday (in 9 days) in case you don't have a case going that day... Given the expedition of the Government's case, maybe we can use Friday for charging.
Judge Nathan: I'm comfortable letting the defense begin its case on Thursday (in 8 days). The result may be that the jury has (this) Friday off as well.
[Things are moving FAST...]
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OK - now in Rapp v. Kevin Spacey (for rape of 14 year-old), a proceeding in SDNY by phone, in a case which Inner City Press has been reporting on innercitypress.com/sdny17lkaplans… and will, in haitus from #MaxwellTrial which has no call-in line, live tweet, thread below
Spacey, defending himself from claim he raped Rapp, wanted get discovery into all of his past relationships.
Spacey's lawyer: He's only alleging that Mr Fowler [that is, Kevin Spacey] picked him up and dropped him. It's essentially child abuse, not sexual assault.
Rapp's lawyer: From coast to coast, from country to country, Kevin Spacey leaves a trail of young boys and men who say he touched them without their consent. He just lost an arbitration to Netflix about House of Cards.
OK - it's US v. #GhislaineMaxwell Day 9, after receiving a letter from a former police official investigating Epstein & Maxwell who got no witness subpoena or contact from @SDNYLIVE. More soon- Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below patreon.com/posts/59710515
New US witness is Tracy Chapell of FedEx.
AUSA: What is this?
Chapell: It's from Jeffrey Epstein's FedEx account.
AUSA: We want it sealed.
Judge Nathan: Granted.
Chapell: It's an invoice.
AUSA: Under seal.
Judge Nathan: Yes.
The sealed invoices are from 2002; the redacted version, on the screens, are illegible. Now cross examination.
Maxwell's lawyer: Look at [sealed] Exhibit 806.
OK - now in US v. #GhislaineMaxwell, her lawyer Pagliuca is cross-examining survivor Carolyn who testified Maxwell paid her $300 to have sex with Jeffrey Epstein. Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below, after midday podcast here anchor.fm/innercity-pres…
Pagliuca: Look at the notes the FBI took during your interview, about a lady with short black hair and an "unknown" accent. They didn't cut you off, correct?
Carolyn: That was a bad day for me. I was not expecting the FBI to come to my home.
Pagliuca: You knew what a British accent was, but you said "an unknown accent," right?
Carolyn: The day that you're talking about --
Pagliuca: I'd ask the Court to make her answer.
OK - it's US v. @GhislaineMaxwell Day 7, starting with lawyers' arguments about witnesses learning what's been said in court the previous day. The issue will have to be decided by Judge Nathan. Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below patreon.com/posts/59625123
Maxwell's lawyer Menninger: My request is to find out what was communication to him by Jane, before he gets on the stand in front of the jury. He was shown a document Jane was asked about.
Judge Nathan: Which one?
Menninger: The Interlochen [school] application
Assistant US Attorney: Jane told him, The defense lawyer is an expletive.
Menninger: But what else did she tell him?
Judge Nathan: He shouldn't testify until after lunch.
OK - it's US v. #GhislaineMaxwell trial Day 6, beginning with Judge Nathan ruling on the admissibility of exhibits and, Inner City Press hopes and has requested, the unsealing of court filings storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below
Now before the jury comes in, Judge Nathan is reading rulings on exhibits.
Judge Nathan: The pictures on the wall [of Epstein's massage room] risk prejudice and distracting the jury. They should be redacted. The other photos, of vibrators, the court will exclude.
Judge Nathan: I will also exclude the photos of the "creepy animals" Jane testified to. The tigers, for example, are high idiosyncratic. The school girl uniforms may be admissible, depending on the testimony.
OK - US v. #GhislaineMaxwell Day 5, PM edition, with officer on search of Epstein's residence (found photos of young girls, school girl uniforms, etc). Screens will exclude public & press. Inner City Press will live tweet, thread below patreon.com/posts/59466473
They are showing the jurors a video of the search warrant reading (and execution?) at Epstein's house. But we the Press and public can't see it.
AUSA Maurene Comey: at 1 minute, were are we?
Parkinson: In the 3 car garage
Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey: What do we see here, during the search?
Officer Parkinson: A picture of Pope John Paul with Jeffrey Epstein.
[Note: while these exhibits are sealed, for some reason, could it be this one, with #GhislaineMaxwell? #MaximumMaxwell