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u.s. news Diamars 30 November 2021
Maxwell, Epstein were ‘partners in crime,’ prosecutor says
(AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell well, wearing a cream-col-
and Jeffrey Epstein were “She was in on it from the ored sweater and black pants,
“partners in crime” who start. The defendant and was at times writing and pass-
made the sexual abuse of Epstein lured their victims ing notes to her lawyers.
teenage girls since at least with a promise of a bright fu-
1994 seem normal and ca- ture, only to sexually exploit A defense lawyer was to fol-
sual, a prosecutor told ju- them,” Pomerantz said. low the prosecutor’s open-
rors Monday at the open- ing.
ing of Maxwell’s sex traf- Maxwell “was involved in
ficking trial. every detail of Epstein’s life,” The openings came in the
the prosecutor said. “The de- afternoon, after hours in the
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara fendant was the lady of the morning were lost to ques-
Pomerantz said that Epstein house.” tions about whether two pro-
and Maxwell, a British so- spective jurors could work
cialite, enticed girls as young Even after Maxwell and Ep- throughout the six weeks the
as age 14 to engage in “so- stein stopped being romanti- trial is projected to last.
called massages” by shower- cally involved, the pair “re-
ing them with money and mained the best of friends,” During the morning, Max-
gifts before they were sexu- Pomerantz said. well gazed frequently at her
ally abused. sister, who was seated in the
She said Maxwell “helped front row of a spectator sec-
The prosecutor sought to normalize abusive sexual tion diminished in space by
make clear to a jury of 12 that conduct” by making the coronavirus restrictions.
there was no confusion about teenagers feel safe and by tak- Beach, Florida; his posh family say she was Epstein’s
whether Maxwell, Epstein’s ing them on shopping trips One prospective juror was Manhattan townhouse; a pawn, now paying “a blood
longtime companion, was his and asking them about their dismissed after he acknowl- Santa Fe, New Mexico, price” to satisfy public desire
puppet or accomplice. lives, their schools and their edged he’d had to listen to ranch; a Paris apartment; and to see someone held account-
families. someone he knew who was a luxury estate in the Virgin able for his crimes.
She described the 59-year- “passionate” about the case. Islands.
old woman as central to Ep- The prosecutor spoke from Another juror’s employment The wealthy, Oxford-educat-
stein’s sex abuse scheme, an enclosed plastic see- was in jeopardy until the Epstein killed himself at a ed Maxwell is the daughter
which prosecutors say lasted through box that allowed her judge contacted the employ- Manhattan federal lockup in of British newspaper mag-
over a decade. to take off her mask. Max- er to speed the process of ap- August 2019, a month after nate Robert Maxwell, who
proval for the juror’s service. his arrest on sex trafficking died in 1991 after falling off
charges. Authorities charged his yacht — named the Lady
Maxwell — who once dated Maxwell in July 2020, arrest- Ghislaine — near the Canary
the financier — is accused of ing her after tracking her to a Islands. Robert Maxwell,
acting as Epstein’s chief en- $1 million New Hampshire whose holdings at the time
abler, recruiting and groom- estate where she had been included the New York Daily
ing young girls for him to holed up during the corona- News, was facing allegations
abuse. The charges against virus pandemic. that he had illegally looted his
her stem from the allegations businesses’ pension funds.
of four women who say she Maxwell has pleaded not
and Epstein victimized them guilty and vehemently de- Ghislaine Maxwell holds
as teens from 1994 to 2004. nies wrongdoing. She has U.S., British and French citi-
been jailed in Brooklyn since zenships and was repeatedly
Pomerantz said the abuse oc- her arrest, calling the claims denied bail in the run-up to
curred at Epstein’s homes, against her “absolute rub- her trial.
including his estate in Palm bish.” Maxwell’s lawyers and
Biden vaccine rule for health workers blocked in 10 states
(AP) — A federal judge the first legal challenge providers participating in the grams. Workers are to receive care provider case wrote that
on Monday blocked Presi- against the requirement. two government health care their first dose by Dec. 6 and federal officials likely over-
dent Joe Biden’s admin- programs for the elderly, dis- their second shot by Jan. 4 stepped their legal powers.
istration from enforcing The court order said that the abled and poor.
a coronavirus vaccine federal Centers for Medicare The court order against the “CMS seeks to overtake an
mandate on thousands of & Medicaid had no clear au- The preliminary injunction health care vaccine mandate area of traditional state au-
health care workers in 10 thority from Congress to en- by St. Louis-based U.S. Dis- comes after Biden’s admin- thority by imposing an un-
states that had brought act the vaccine mandate for trict Judge Matthew Schelp istration suffered a similar precedented demand to
applies to a coalition of su- setback for a broader policy. federally dictate the private
ing states that includes Alas- A federal court previously medical decisions of millions
ka, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, placed a hold on a separate of Americans. Such action
Missouri, Nebraska, New rule requiring businesses challenges traditional notions
Hampshire, North Dakota, with more than 100 employ- of federalism,” Schelp wrote
South Dakota and Wyoming. ees to ensure their workers in his order.
Similar lawsuits also are get vaccinated or else wear
pending in other states. masks and get tested weekly Even under an exceedingly
for the coronavirus. broad interpretation of fed-
The federal rule requires eral powers, “Congress did
COVID-19 vaccinations for Biden’s administration con- not clearly authorize CMS to
more than 17 million work- tends federal rules supersede enact the this politically and
ers nationwide in about state policies prohibiting vac- economically vast, federal-
76,000 health care facilities cine mandates and are essen- ism-altering, and boundary-
and home health care pro- tial to slowing the pandemic. pushing mandate,” Schelp
viders that get funding from wrote.
the government health pro- But the judge in the health