Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual trafficking of minors to which the US Prosecutor's Office wants to interrogate again in the case of Jeffrey Epstein

The deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said they planned to ask “what do you know?” He added that he intended to meet her “soon.”

Maxwell's legal team told the BBC that they were in conversations with the government and that she “would always testify truthfully.”

“This Department of Justice does not avoid the awkward truths or the responsibility of seeking justice wherever the facts lead,” said Blanche, who was Trump's personal lawyer in his criminal trial of 2024.

“If Ghislane Maxwell has information about someone who has committed crimes against the victims, the FBI and the Department of Justice will listen to what he has to say,” he added.

The renewed attention to this case occurs after in recent weeks, the president of the USA, Donald Trump, received strong pressures, even of his own supporters, so that more information in the case is revealed, after the Department of Justice affirmed – for the surprise of many – that there was no evidence that Epstein had a “list of customers.”

This seemed to contradict his previous statements, as well as those of other Trump allies.

Immediately afterwards, the US government dismissed the prosecutor of the case, Maurene Comey, without giving explanations.

Here we tell you the story of Maxwell.

Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 under suspicion of having helped the abuse of minors by Epstein by recruiting and preparing victims that were known were minors.

In December 2021, a jury in New York City declared it guilty of five out of six positions, including the most serious: the sexual traffic of a minor.

Therefore, the woman celebrates a 20 -year prison sentence.

Some of the charges date back to the years 1994 y 1997a time when, according to the accusation, she was one of Epstein's closest partners and had an “intimate relationship” with him.

In December 2020, one of the women who declared himself a victim of Epstein pointed to the BBC that Maxwell controlled women who were at the service of the billionaire.

“Ghislaine controlled the girls. It was like the madame“said Sarah Ransome in the program Panorama of the BBC.

“She was one of the basic elements of the sex traffic operation and always visited Jeffrey on the island to make sure the girls were doing what they were supposed to be doing,” he said.

“She knew what Jeffrey liked. With intimidation, she helped maintain Jeffrey's standards; she intimidated the girls, so it was a joint effort,” he said.

The accusations against Maxwell were made public for the first time in judicial documents in 2009.

And although his lawyers have said that they are using it as a “scapegoat” of the crimes of the tycoon, the evidence against him has been blunt.

Virginia Giufan alleged victim of the billionaire who worked as a costume assistant at the Mar-A-Lago Club of Donald Trump in Florida, which Epstein used to go He accused Maxwell of “recruiting her” when he was 15 years old as “masseuse” for the financial.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Epstein allegedly paid minors in exchange for a massage in his residence, which in most cases ended in some kind of sexual exchange.

Maxwell then called Giuffre as a liar and the young woman filed a demand for defamation that the parties resolved before arriving at trial in 2017.

Giuffre's lawyers indicated that “multiple witnesses” had accused her of “recruiting, maintaining, staying and traffic” minors for Epstein.

Born on Christmas Day 1961 on the outskirts of Paris, Maxwell was educated at Oxford University, in England, and speaks several languages.

It has British, American and French nationality.

American media point out that from a young age he was a person with numerous contacts in the upper class and that it was she who introduced Epstein to many of her rich and powerful friends, including, among them former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrés.

According to the newspaper The Washington Postthe couple's friends point out that Maxwell's sentimental relationship with Epstein lasted a few yearsalthough she continued working for him later.

“She was a person of education and refined tastes and knew how to handle a house or a boat and how to serve the guests,” said an acquaintance of both of the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

In a profile of Vanity Fair Published in 2003, Epstein commented that he did not consider Maxwell an employee but his “best friend”.

In judicial documents, the extrabajadores of the Epstein mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, also describe it as the house manager, which supervised the staff and handled finance.

Maxwell is the ninth and last daughter of the British media tycoon Robert Maxwellwith whom I had a very close relationship.

In fact, the billionaire was in charge of his football club, the Oxford United, and appointed his yacht in his honor: Lady Ghislaine.

It was in that boat that the tycoon died – which was of Czech origin – in front of the Canary Islands, Spain, in November 1991.

After finding the body, the authorities attributed their death to an “accidental drowning.”

Robert Maxwell had managed to build a world editorial empire. But after his death, it was learned that he had taken money from the pension funds of one of his companies to keep his companies afloat.

Shortly after his father's death, Ghislaine Maxwell left the United Kingdom to settle in the United Stateswhere he worked in the real estate sector.

It was shortly after when he met Jeffrey Epstein and his relationship evolved over the years: As sentimental couple it is said that it became your assistant and confidant.

According to some media, Epstein bought a house in Manhattan for US $ 5 million. She accompanied him frequently in her private jet on trips around the world.

After his ex -boyfriend faced a legal process for sexual exploitation of minors in 2008he began to move away from him.

Maxwell founded an NGO, Terrara project, dedicated to preserving the oceans and was invited to give a talk already speak on the United Nations on the subject.

But in the years prior to his arrest, he knew little.

It is believed that he left the United States and sold his villa in Manhattan in 2016.

He maintained a low profile until in July 2020 he was arrested in his New Hampshire mansion and imprisoned in New York.

After his conviction in June 2022, Maxwell said: “The greatest regret of my life is to have met Jeffrey Epstein.”

He also regretted the pain that the victims experienced and added: “I hope my conviction, along with my hard imprisonment, helps them to have a closure.”

*This story was originally posted on January 5, 2024 and was updated after the US Department of Justice announced its interest in re -interviewing Maxwell.

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