As Ghislaine Maxwell’s first New York court appearance approaches, tabloid speculation about her new, post-arrest circumstances has continued to proliferate. On Monday night the
New York Post cited a “law enforcement source” in reporting that the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where she’s being held is mindful of Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide while in custody.
“They want to make sure she’ll stand trial,” the source told the Post, adding that the Bureau of Prisons wants to avoid another “black eye,” and that Maxwell will be kept under the prison’s highest security. Maxwell has been charged with four counts related to facilitating Epstein’s sexual abuse and two counts of perjury. (She has denied all wrongdoing.)
The Daily Mail reported on Monday, though, that far from wanting to avoid trial, Maxwell has planned a way to protect herself during it. An anonymous former friend of hers told the tabloid that Maxwell has a “secret stash of sex tapes” that “could end up being her get out of jail card if the authorities are willing to trade. She has copies of everything Epstein had. They could implicate some twisted movers and shakers.”
“If Ghislaine goes down,” the former friend added, “she’s going to take the whole damn lot of them with her.”
The TV host and writer Christopher Mason, who’s known Maxwell since the 1980s, had previously said to the Post that he was told Epstein’s homes were rigged with cameras, and that Maxwell likely has access to the tapes.
All the while, the reconstruction of Maxwell’s New Hampshire days continues. Before she was transferred to Brooklyn, Maxwell was held briefly at Merrimack County jail in the state where she was arrested on Thursday. The Sun quoted an anonymous source on her four days there: “The general opinion of her at Merrimack was that she’s a snooty rich bitch. Nobody wanted anything to do with her.” The source added, “Inmates knew who she was. It’s like high school—everyone gossips—but it doesn’t mean she’s a celebrity. She was a depressed loner.”
Maxwell’s arraignment is expected later this week or at the beginning of next.
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